Political activity of Secretary of State James G. Blaine 1880-1881

Abstract

This research sheds light on the political activity of James G. Blaine, one of the most prominent American political figures of his time. Despite his failure to run for the 1880 US elections, he became Secretary of State in the administration of President Garfield. The first period in which he assumed the ministry (March 7, 1881 - December 19, 1881) was very short, as it exceeded nine months. Despite its brevity, Blaine played a major role in shaping the foreign policy of the United States of America in the late nineteenth century. His plans and ideas were the intellectual basis and ideological justification for the United States’ dominance of world politics in the twentieth century. He sought to give the United States of America a prominent position in world politics and a share in world trade commensurate with the growth of its population and wealth. It was natural that Britain would pose the most serious challenge to Blaine’s ambitions to gain American prestige, so he tried to reduce British influence in Latin American countries. He was very interested in the issue of convincing the Latin American republics to voluntarily recognize some kind of protection from the United States of America. He worked to expand the scope of American relations with those countries and enhance the prestige of the United States in them. On the other hand, he also sought to strengthen trade relations with France.