Frederick T. Frelinghuysen

Frederick T. Frelinghuysen was Secretary of State under Chester A. Arthur from December 1881 to 1885. A New Jersey lawyer, former state attorney general, and United States senator, he replaced James G. Blaine after the assassination of James A. Garfield and the change in administration. ¹

Frelinghuysen canceled Blaine’s proposed conference of American republics. He feared that its peace and arbitration program would entangle the United States in disputes and provoke suspicion among Latin American governments. He nevertheless continued efforts to mediate the War of the Pacific. American diplomacy could not dictate the outcome, and Chile’s military victories shaped the eventual settlement with Peru. ¹

His department pursued a canal agreement with Nicaragua that would have given the United States exclusive control, conflicting with the existing arrangement with Britain under the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty. The proposed agreement failed to obtain Senate approval. Elsewhere, Frelinghuysen approved the opening of treaty relations with Korea and instructed the American delegation to the Berlin conference on African affairs. These initiatives enlarged American diplomatic and commercial involvement without providing a consistent program for territorial expansion. His four years in office reflected a cautious response to Blaine’s hemispheric ambitions alongside continued interest in trade routes and access to overseas markets. ¹