Secretary of State Blaine Resigns (1881)
Secretary of State James G. Blaine resigned on December 15, 1881, shortly after
Chester A. Arthur took office following the assassination of James A. Garfield. While
the new president would replace his entire Cabinet in time, it was unsurprising that
Blaine was one of the first to depart. Blaine and Arthur were in opposing factions of the
Republican Party and their political differences made the relationship untenable.
The Republican Party during the late 1870s was divided between two factions, the
“Stalwarts” and the “Half-breeds.” The “Stalwarts,” of which President Arthur was a
member, were conservative supporters of Ulysses S. Grant and opponents of Rutherford
B. Hayes’s southern policy and civil-service reform efforts. The “Half-breeds” of which
Blaine was a leader, opposed civil service reform as well, but placed greater emphasis on
the tariff issue. While the groups’ positions were not drastically different, the party split
was very real and had significant effects. Arthur earned the vice-presidential nomination
because Garfield wanted to secure “Stalwart” support. Once Arthur assumed the
presidency, many believed that the “Half-breed” cabinet members would resign. While it
is possible that some sort of arrangement could have been worked out between Arthur
and Blaine that would have allowed Blaine to stay in his post, such an event was unlikely.
Blaine’s resignation insured that the Arthur Administration would not be debilitated by
the major splits that wracked the Republican Party.
Blaine’s tenure as Secretary of State was so short that it is difficult to assess his
policies, especially those towards Latin America. He simply never had enough time to
fully pursue them. Blaine, however, would have another opportunity to try his hand at
foreign policy when President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Secretary of State in
1889. Nonetheless, Blaine’s resignation in 1881 demonstrated one very important lesson:
the importance of political unity within a presidential administration.
Sources: David Healy, James G. Blaine and Latin America (London: University of
Missouri Press, 2001), Justus D. Doenecke, The Presidencies of James A. Garfield &
Chester A. Arthur (Lawrence: The Regents Press of Kansas, 1981), Lester Brune,
Chronological History of United States Foreign Relations (New York: Garland
Publishing, 1985),