The history of U.S. foreign policy from 1829 to 1861 concerns the foreign policy of the United States during the presidential administrations of Andrew Jackson, Martin Van Buren, William Henry Harrison, John Tyler, James K. Polk, Zachary Taylor, Millard Fillmore, Franklin Pierce, and James Buchanan. During this era, the United States annexed the Republic of Texas, acquired the Mexican Cession by defeating Mexico in the Mexican–American War and partitioned Oregon Country with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The period began with the inauguration of Jackson in 1829, while the onset of the American Civil War in 1861 marked the start of the next period in U.S. foreign policy.
Jackson's foreign policy focused on expanding trade and settling spoliation claims, and he reached an agreement with Britain to open Canadian and Caribbean ports to U.S. trade. After gaining independence from Mexico in 1835, the Republic of Texas sought annexation by the United States, but President Jackson and President Van Buren both opposed annexation due to fears of stirring up sectional unrest. Texas had been settled by many American slave-owners, and many anti-slavery Northerners were opposed to adding a new slave state; others opposed annexation because they believed it would lead to war with Mexico. Nonetheless, President Tyler made the annexation of Texas the chief goal of his presidency, and it became a major campaign issue in the 1844 presidential election. After Polk's victory in the election, the United States annexed Texas, and tensions at the Texas–Mexico border led to the outbreak of the Mexican–American War in 1846. The U.S. defeated Mexico in the war, and gained control of the Mexican provinces of Alta California and the New Mexico through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.
Tensions with Britain escalated after the outbreak of the Canadian Rebellions of 1837–1838, but President Van Buren and General Winfield Scott avoided war despite several incidents. In 1842, Britain and the United States agreed to the Webster–Ashburton Treaty, thereby resolving several border issues. The two countries agreed to partition Oregon Country at the 49th parallel north in the 1846 Oregon Treaty. In 1853, the borders of the present-day contiguous United States took their current shape when the United States and Mexico agreed to the Gadsden Purchase. The Polk, Pierce, and Buchanan administrations sought to gain control of the Spanish colony of Cuba, but opposition from both Spain and domestic anti-slavery elements ensured that it remained part of Spain. The United States expanded its influence in the Pacific Ocean throughout the 1840s and 1850s, and in 1842 President Tyler announced that the U.S. would oppose European colonization of the Hawaiian Islands. The Perry Expedition of 1853–1854 opened trade with Japan and ultimately set the Meiji Restoration in motion.
Leadership Jackson administration, 1829–1837
Democrat Andrew Jackson took office in 1829 after defeating incumbent president John Quincy Adams in the 1828 presidential election. For the key position of secretary of state, Jackson chose Martin Van Buren of New York. Jackson inaugural cabinet suffered from bitter partisanship and gossip, especially between Secretary of War John Eaton, Vice President John C. Calhoun and Van Buren. In 1831, Senator Edward Livingston of Louisiana became secretary of state and former Congressman Louis McLane of Delaware took the position of Secretary of the Treasury. At the start of his second term, Jackson transferred McLane to the position of secretary of state. McLane resigned in 1834 and was replaced by John Forsyth of Georgia. Aside from the issue of Texas, foreign affairs under Jackson were generally uneventful,John M. Belohlavek, Let the Eagle Soar!: The Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson (1985)John M. Belohlavek, "'Let the Eagle Soar!': Democratic Constraints on the Foreign Policy of Andrew Jackson." Presidential Studies Quarterly 10#1 (1980) pp: 36-50 in JSTOR and his administration's foreign policy focused on expanding trade opportunities for American commerce.
According to Jonathan Goldstein, Jackson was the first presidency to actively promote export and import opportunities with Asia. Secretary of the Navy Levi Woodbury, diplomat Edmund Roberts and several navy commodores took the lead. The Navy landed Marines in Sumatra and the Fiji islands to punish attacks on American merchant ships. The Navy charted hazardous Pacific zones. the State Department sent Roberts to conclude treaties to protect American trade.Jonathan Goldstein, "For Gold, Glory and Knowledge: The Andrew Jackson Administration and the Orient, 1829–1837." International Journal of Maritime History 13.2 (2001): 137-163.
Van Buren administration, 1837–1841
Jackson's preferred successor, Martin Van Buren, took office in 1837 after winning the 1836 presidential election. Van Buren retained many of Jackson's appointees, including Secretary of State John Forsyth. Though he gave his other Cabinet members a high level of autonomy, Van Buren was closely involved in foreign affairs and matters pertaining to the Treasury Department.
Harrison and Tyler administrations, 1841–1845
Whig William Henry Harrison became president in 1841 after defeating Van Buren in the 1840 presidential election. He died just one month into office and was succeeded by John Tyler. In September 1841, every member of the Cabinet except for Secretary of State Daniel Webster resigned after Tyler voted a bill to re-establish a national bank. With his domestic agenda frustrated in Congress, Tyler worked with Secretary of State Webster to pursue an ambitious foreign policy.Peterson, pp. 113, 145. Webster struggled with his role in the Whig Party and the Tyler administration, and he finally resigned from the Cabinet in May 1843.Peterson, pp. 167–169, 180. Abel Upshur replaced Webster as secretary of state, and he focused on Tyler's priority of annexing the Republic of Texas.May, pp. 99-101. After Upshur was killed in a naval accident in early 1844, Tyler brought in John C. Calhoun as secretary of state.Peterson, pp. 203–204, 210.
Henry Wheaton, the minister to Prussia, 1835–46, negotiated a commercial reciprocity treaty with the German Zollverein, or economic union. The union covered Prussia and eighteen smaller states. The treaty called for a reciprocal lowering of tariffs, especially on American tobacco and on German lard and German manufactured items. All the members of the Zollverein assented to the treaty, and it was signed on March 25, 1844. However the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations reported, June 14, 1844, against ratification and it never went into effect. Senators disliked having tariff rates fixed by treaty rather than by legislation. Britain lobbied against it and Prussia lacked a diplomat in Washington. President Tyler was unpopular, and some American mercantile interests were opposed.Elizabeth Feaster Baker, Henry Wheaton, 1785-1848 (1937)
Polk administration, 1845–1849
Democrat James K. Polk took office in 1845 after defeating Whig Henry Clay in the 1844 presidential election. Polk appointed James Buchanan as secretary of state; Polk respected Buchanan's opinion and Buchanan played an important role in Polk's presidency, but the two often clashed over foreign policy and appointments.Merry, pg. 134, 220-221 The Polk administration pursued an expansionist foreign policy focused on the acquisition of western territories.
Taylor and Fillmore administrations, 1849–1853
Whig Zachary Taylor took office in 1849 after defeating Democrat Lewis Cass in the 1848 presidential election. Taylor asked John J. Crittenden to serve as secretary of state, but Crittenden insisted on serving out the Governorship of Kentucky to which he had just been elected, and Taylor instead appointed Senator John M. Clayton of Delaware, a close associate of Crittenden's.Bauer, pp. 248–251. Taylor and his secretary of state, John M. Clayton, both lacked diplomatic experience, and came into office at a relatively uneventful time in American–international politics. Their shared nationalism allowed Taylor to devolve foreign policy matters to Clayton with minimal oversight, although no decisive foreign policy was established under their administration.Bauer, 273–274, 288. Taylor died in 1850 and was succeeded by Millard Fillmore; Taylor's cabinet appointees all submitted their resignation shortly after Fillmore took office. Fillmore appointed Daniel Webster as secretary of state, and Webster became Fillmore's most important adviser. Fillmore appointed Edward Everett as secretary of state after Webster died in 1852.
Pierce administration, 1853–1857
Democrat Franklin Pierce took office in 1853 after defeating Whig Winfield Scott in the 1852 presidential election. Pierce appointed William L. Marcy as secretary of state; Marcy had previously served as Secretary of War under President Polk.Gara (1991), pp. 44–47. The Pierce administration fell in line with the expansionist Young America movement, with William L. Marcy leading the charge as secretary of state. Marcy sought to present to the world a distinctively American, republican image. He issued a circular recommending that U.S. diplomats wear "the simple dress of an American citizen" instead of the elaborate diplomatic uniforms worn in the courts of Europe, and that they only hire American citizens to work in consulates.Wallner (2007), pp. 25–32; Gara (1991), p. 128. Marcy received international praise for his 73-page letter defending Austrian refugee Martin Koszta, who had been captured abroad in mid-1853 by the Austrian government despite his intention to become a U.S. citizen.Wallner (2007), pp. 61–63; Gara (1991), pp. 128–29.
Buchanan administration, 1857–1861
Democrat James Buchanan took office in 1857 after defeating Pierce at the 1856 Democratic National Convention and subsequently winning the 1856 presidential election. Anticipating that his administration would concentrate on foreign policy and that Buchanan himself would largely direct foreign policy, he appointed the aging Lewis Cass as secretary of state. Cass would become marginalized in Buchanan's administration, with Buchanan and Assistant Secretary of State John Appleton instead directing foreign affairs.
Spoliation and commercial treaties
The Jackson administration negotiated a trade agreement with Great Britain that opened the British West Indies and Canada to American exports, though the British refused to allow American ships to engage in the West Indian carrying trade. The agreement with Britain, which had been sought by previous presidents, represented a major foreign policy success for Jackson. The State Department also negotiated routine trade agreements with Russia, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and Siam. American exports (chiefly cotton) increased 75%, while imports increased 250%. Jackson increased funding to the navy and used it to defend American commercial interests in far-flung areas such as the Falkland Islands and Sumatra.
A second major foreign policy emphasis in the Jackson administration was the settlement of spoliation claims. The most serious crisis involved a debt that France owed for the damage Napoleon had done two decades earlier. France agreed to pay the debt, but kept postponing payment. Jackson made warlike gestures, while domestic political opponents ridiculed his bellicosity. Jackson's Minister to France William C. Rives finally obtained the ₣ 25,000,000 francs involved (about $5,000,000) in 1836.Robert Charles Thomas, "Andrew Jackson Versus France American Policy toward France, 1834-36." Tennessee Historical Quarterly (1976): 51-64 in JSTORRichard Aubrey McLemore, "The French Spoliation Claims, 1816-1836: A Study in Jacksonian Diplomacy," Tennessee Historical Magazine (1932): 234-254 in JSTOR. The Department of State also settled smaller spoliation claims with Denmark, Portugal, and Spain.