Walter Q. Gresham, 1893–1895

Abstract

Walter Quintin Gresham served as Grover Cleveland’s secretary of state from the inauguration in March 1893 until his death on May 28, 1895. During his two years in office Gresham would be confronted by a variety of problems, large and small, which required his attention. While none would match the Hawaiian revolution in terms of complexity or direct significance to the United States, several posed important questions as to how the United States should conduct itself in the world, and these problems would play key roles in the evolution of the Cleveland administration’s foreign policy. Two incidents in particular shed light on the legalistic approach to foreign policy and the inherent difficulties encountered by a growing power attempting to maintain its traditional posture of neutrality and friendly relations with all. These two incidents were the Brazilian Naval Revolt that occurred over the winter of 1893–1894 and the Sino–Japanese War of 1894–1895. Many of the themes that can be identified in Cleveland’s and Gresham’s management of the Hawaiian revolution can also been seen to be at work in these incidents from which it is possible to establish an understanding of not just how the men perceived the role of foreign policy, but also how they perceived the world and the U.S, position in it.