Editing James A. Garfield (section)

===Foreign policy and naval reform===
{{Further|History of U.S. foreign policy, 1861–1897}}
[[Image:James G. Blaine - Brady-Handy.jpg|thumb |upright|left|[[James G. Blaine]], Garfield's Secretary of State]]
Garfield had little foreign policy experience, so he leaned heavily on Blaine.<ref>David M. Pletcher, ''The Awkward Years: American Foreign Relations under Garfield and Arthur'' (U of Missouri Press, 1962).</ref> They agreed on the need to promote freer trade, especially within the [[Western Hemisphere]].{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} Garfield and Blaine believed increasing trade with [[Latin America]] would be the best way to keep the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland]] from dominating the region.{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} And by encouraging exports, they believed they could increase American prosperity.{{sfn|Crapol|2000|pp=62–64}} Garfield authorized Blaine to call for a Pan-American conference in 1882 to mediate disputes among the Latin American nations and to serve as a forum for talks on increasing trade.{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=65–66|Doenecke|1981|2pp=55–57}}

At the same time, they hoped to negotiate a peace in the [[War of the Pacific]] then being fought by [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], and [[Peru]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=65–66|Doenecke|1981|2pp=55–57}} Blaine favored a resolution that would result in Peru yielding no territory, but Chile by 1881 had occupied the Peruvian capital of [[Lima]], and rejected any settlement that restored the previous ''status quo''.{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1p=70|Doenecke|1981|2pp=57–58}}

Garfield sought to expand American influence in other areas, calling for renegotiation of the [[Clayton–Bulwer Treaty]] to allow the United States to construct [[Panama Canal|a canal through Panama]] without British involvement and attempting to reduce British influence in the strategically located [[Kingdom of Hawaii]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1pp=74–80|Peskin|1978|2pp=576–577}} Garfield's and Blaine's plans for the United States' involvement in the world stretched even beyond the Western Hemisphere, as he sought commercial treaties with [[Joseon Dynasty|Korea]] and [[Merina Kingdom|Madagascar]].{{sfnm|Crapol|2000|1p=81|Doenecke|1981|2pp=71–73}} Garfield also considered enhancing U.S. military strength abroad, asking Navy Secretary Hunt to investigate the navy's condition with an eye toward expansion and modernization.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=145–147}} In the end, these ambitious plans came to nothing after Garfield was assassinated. Nine countries had accepted invitations to the Pan-American conference, but the invitations were withdrawn in April 1882 after Blaine resigned from the cabinet and Arthur, Garfield's successor, cancelled the conference.{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=130–131}}{{efn|In October 1883, the War of the Pacific was settled without American involvement, with the [[Treaty of Ancón]].}} Naval reform continued under Arthur, on a more modest scale than Garfield and Hunt had envisioned, ultimately ending in the construction of the [[Squadron of Evolution]].{{sfn|Doenecke|1981|pp=148–149}}