Frelinghuysen, Frederick Theodore
Frelinghuysen, Frederick Theodore
(frē`lĭnghī'zən), 1817–85, U.S. secretary of state (1881–85), b. Millstone, Somerset co., N.J. He studied law in the office of his uncle, Theodore FrelinghuysenFrelinghuysen, Theodore,1787–1862, American politician and educator, b. Franklin, N.J. Admitted to the bar in 1808, he practiced law in Newark and soon gained political prominence. As U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. , who had adopted him when he was three, and on admission to the bar in 1839 inherited his uncle's practice. Frelinghuysen, a Republican, was attorney general of New Jersey (1861–66) and U.S. senator (1866–69, 1871–77). In the Senate he supported the radical Republican Reconstruction program and later was associated with the Stalwarts led by Roscoe ConklingConkling, Roscoe,
1829–88, American politician, b. Albany, N.Y. On his admission to the bar in 1850, he was immediately appointed district attorney of Albany. The son of Alfred Conkling, Congressman and federal judge, he became a U.S.
..... Click the link for more information. . On the death of James A. GarfieldGarfield, James Abram,
1831–81, 20th President of the United States (Mar.–Sept., 1881). Born on a frontier farm in Cuyahoga co., Ohio, he spent his early years in poverty. As a youth he worked as farmer, carpenter, and canal boatman.
..... Click the link for more information. and the accession of Chester A. ArthurArthur, Chester Alan,
1829–86, 21st President of the United States (1881–85), b. Fairfield, Vt. He studied law and before the Civil War practiced in New York City. In the war he was (1861–63) quartermaster general of New York State.
..... Click the link for more information. to the presidency, James G. BlaineBlaine, James Gillespie,
1830–93, American politician, b. West Brownsville, Pa. Early Career
Blaine taught school and studied law before moving (1854) to Maine, where he became an influential newspaper editor.
..... Click the link for more information. resigned as secretary of state to be succeeded (Dec., 1881) by Frelinghuysen, who canceled Blaine's plans for a Pan-American Congress and urged reciprocity agreements with Latin American countries. Unable, like his predecessors, to persuade Great Britain to modify the terms of the Clayton-Bulwer TreatyClayton-Bulwer Treaty,
concluded (Apr. 19, 1850) at Washington, D.C., between the United States, represented by Secretary of State John M. Clayton, and Great Britain, represented by the British plenipotentiary Sir Henry Bulwer.
..... Click the link for more information. , he negotiated (Dec., 1884) a treaty with Nicaragua allowing the United States the right to build a canal there under joint ownership of the two countries. However, Grover ClevelandCleveland, Grover
(Stephen Grover Cleveland), 1837–1908, 22d (1885–89) and 24th (1893–97) President of the United States, b. Caldwell, N.J.; son of a Presbyterian clergyman.
..... Click the link for more information. , when he became president, withdrew the treaty from consideration by the Senate. Frelinghuysen generally carried on a patient, pacifistic policy throughout Arthur's term.
Bibliography
See S. F. Bemis, ed., The American Secretaries of State and Their Diplomacy, Vol. VIII (1928).