Frederick Theodore Freylinghuysen

 

Frederick Theodore Frelinghuysen (August 4, 1817 – May 20, 1885)^[1] was an American lawyer and politician from New Jersey who served as a U.S. Senator and later as United States Secretary of State under President Chester A. Arthur.

Following his admission to the bar, he became attorney for the Central Railroad of New Jersey, the Morris Canal and Banking Company and other corporations.^[2]

Political career

According to The New York Times, Frelinghuysen was a member of the Whig Party until joining the Republican Party upon its inception.^[4] He was also crucial in establishing New Jersey's state GOP.^[5]

During the Civil War, Frelinghuysen was active in public office rather than joining the Union Army.^[6] He was a delegate in 1861 to the Peace Congress, and appointed Attorney General of New Jersey by Governor Charles S. Olden that year to serve in the post until 1867. Frelinghuysen was encouraged by some to run for governor in 1862, though declined.^[7]

Frelinghuysen was a delegate to the 1860 Republican National Convention from New Jersey and from 1861 to 1867 was Attorney General of New Jersey. He was a delegate to the Peace conference of 1861 in Washington, and in 1866 was appointed by the Governor of New Jersey, as a Republican, to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. In the winter of 1867, he was elected to fill the unexpired term, but a Democratic majority in the New Jersey Legislature prevented his re-election in 1869.^[2][3]

In 1870, he was nominated by President Ulysses S. Grant, and confirmed by the Senate, as United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom to succeed John Lothrop Motley, but declined the mission. From 1871 to 1877 he was again a member of the United States Senate, in which he was prominent in debate and in committee work, and was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs during the Alabama Claims negotiations.^[2][3]

He was a strong opponent of the Reconstruction measures of President Andrew Johnson, for whose conviction he voted (on most of the specific charges) in the impeachment trial.^[8] Frelinghuysen supported the Radical Republicans' program for Reconstruction that emphasized a harsh treatment of former Confederates.^[9] He later allied with the GOP Stalwart faction whose members tended to utilize corruption/patronage effectively, though was considered to have a clean record.^[10]

He was a member of the joint committee which drew up and reported (1877) the Electoral Commission Bill, and subsequently served as a member of the Electoral Commission that decided the 1876 Presidential election.^[3] As a Republican, he voted with the eight-member majority on all counts.^[2]

U.S. Secretary of State

On December 12, 1881, he was appointed United States Secretary of State by President Chester A. Arthur to succeed James G. Blaine, and served until the inauguration of President Grover Cleveland in 1885.^[11]

Upon taking the post, Frelinghuysen was tasked with resolving a number of consequences resulted by the actions of his predecessor Blaine.^[10] Taking a pacifistic and patient approach,^[5][9] he shared the vision held by William H. Seward of the United States dominating the global market in setting an example for other nations to follow, he withdrew the U.S. from the War of the Pacific between Chile and Peru in which his predecessor unsuccessfully backed the Peruvians.^[10][12]

Frelinghuysen's other actions included canceling a scheduled Pan-American conference against President Arthur's wishes that Blaine had originally planned.^[9][10][12] In addition, he negotiated a treaty change with Hawaii that allowed for a naval base for the U.S. in Pearl Harbor,^[5] which was later known for being bombed by Japan in World War II.

In contrast to his predecessors in the position of U.S. Secretary of State, Frelinghuysen proved unable to urge Great Britain to modify the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty terms in a re-negotiation attempt,^[12] and instead pushed through a treaty with Nicaragua that would permit the construction of a canal in the country under joint ownership.^[9] However, it was withdrawn later during the presidency of Grover Cleveland by the U.S. Senate, which did not ratify it.^[12] Other efforts rejected by Congress included proposals to negotiate reciprocity Spain, Mexico, and Santo Dominigo, in addition to opening an international consortium between the Congo, U.S. and other countries.^[10]

Frelinghuysen served in the post until the end of President Arthur's term, effectively resigning in early March 1885.^[12]

After his term as Secretary of State Frelinghuysen returned to his home in Newark where he died less than three months after retiring.

On January 25, 1842, Frelinghuysen married Matilda Elizabeth Griswold (1817–1889).^[14] She was the daughter of George Griswold,^[15] a merchant in New York City who "made an immense fortune in the time of the clipper trade with China."^[14] Together, they were the parents of three daughters and three sons, including:^[15]

• Matilda Griswold Frelinghuysen (1846–1926),^[16] who married Henry Winthrop Gray (1840–1906),^[17] a prominent merchant^[15] in 1889.^[18]
• Charlotte Louisa "Lucy" Frelinghuysen (1847–1930),^[19][15]
• Frederick Frelinghuysen (1848–1924),^[20] who married Estelle B. Kinney, daughter of Thomas T. Kinney, in 1902.^[21]
• George Griswold Frelinghuysen (1851–1936),^[22] who married Sara Linen Ballantine, granddaughter of Peter Ballantine, in 1881.^[23]
• Sarah Helen Frelinghuysen (1856–1939),^[24] who first married Judge John J. Davis (1851–1902), the grandson of Massachusetts governor John Davis. After his death, she married Brig. Gen. Charles Laurie McCawley (1865–1935), the son of Charles G. McCawley, the 8th Commandant of the Marine Corps, in 1906.^[24]
• Theodore Frelinghuysen (1860–1928),^[25] who married Alice Dudley Coats (1861–1889) in 1885.^[26] After her death, he married Elizabeth Mary "Lily" (née Thompson) Cannon, a daughter of William G. Thompson and descendant of Elijah Brush, both Mayors of Detroit, and the widow of Henry Lee Grand Cannon.^[25]

Frelinghuysen died at Newark on May 20, 1885, aged 67.^[1] He was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Newark, Wikipedia