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The Service of William A. Harris at Buenos Aires 1846–1851

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2015

William Dusenberry
William Dusenberry*
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
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Extract

William A. Harris ably served the United States as chargé d'affaires at Buenos Aires from June, 1846, until October, 1851, during one of the most critical periods in Argentine history. When he went to his post of duty, Argentina was suffering both from external and internal strife. France and England had intervened in affairs in the Río de la Plata, and had blockaded the coast. Relations between Argentina and two of her neighbors, Paraguay and Brazil, were strained. The government of Buenos Aires was fomenting civil war in Uruguay. There was mounting tension between Buenos Aires and the back country provinces. Public discontent prevailed within Buenos Aires Province. Foreign nationals residing there became increasingly apprehensive about the future of their business enterprises. The heavy hand of the violent caudillo, Juan Manuel de Rosas, Governor of Buenos Aires Province, was felt throughout the entire area of the Río de la Plata. His position was so strong that in most respects he controlled affairs of the whole Argentine Confederation, comprising fourteen provinces.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Americas , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , January 1960 , pp. 251 - 269
Copyright
Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1960

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References

1 William A. Harris, United States’ Chargé d’Affaires at Buenos Aires to Secretary of State James Buchanan, July 14, 1846, National Archives, State Department Diplomatic Despatches, Argentina (cited hereafter as NA, SDDDA), Vol. 6.

Harris was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, on August 8, 1805. His background, training, and knowledge of world affairs stood him in good stead in his diplomatic career. He received a classical education, studied law, and was admitted to the bar in 1827. After practicing law for some ten years, he was elected to the legislature of Virginia. He was a member of Congress from 1841 to 1843.

Harris was an able journalist. For several years he was editor of the Spectator and subsequently the Constitution of Washington, D. C. Late in 1845 President Polk appointed him chargé d’affaires to Buenos Aires, as the successor of William Brent, Jr., also a Virginian. After returning from Argentina, Harris became the editor and proprietor of the Washington Union. He served briefly thereafter as printer for the United States Senate. After retirement he repaired to Pike County, Missouri, where he died on March 28, 1864. See The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography (50 vols, including 8 current vols.; New York, 1898-1959), XII, 529–530.

2 Ibid.

3 Ibid.

4 Hopkins to Rosas, March 19, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 5. Carlos Maria de Alvear, Argentine Minister to the United States, said: “This letter daring and calumneous in all its parts, was delivered by Mr. Hopkins to the daughter of the Most Excellent Governor … thus adding to his audacity the indelicacy of employing the respectable and sacred channel of a daughter for the conveyance of an insulting letter to her own Father.” See Alvear to Buchanan, July 20, 1846, Manning, William R., Diplomatic Correspondence of the United States. Inter-American Affairs, 1831–1860 (12 vols.; Washington, 1932), I, 383–385.Google Scholar

5 Harris to Buchanan, July 14, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6. Hopkins had a personal interest in the development of transportation in Paraguay and Argentina. Recognition of Paraguayan independence, and freedom of navigation on rivers in the La Plata basin, would have been advantageous to his private interests and promotion schemes. See Peterson, Harold F., “Edward A. Hopkins: A Pioneer Promoter in Paraguay,” Hispanic American Historical Review, 22 (May, 1942), 245–261 CrossRefGoogle Scholar; Johnson, Victor, “Edward A. Hopkins and the Development of Argentine Transportation and Communication,” Hispanic American Historical Review, 26 (Feb., 1946), 19–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar

6 Harris to Buchanan, Aug. 1, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

7 Harris to Buchanan, July 21, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6; Stuart, Graham H., Latin America and the United States (5th ed.; New York, 1955), p. 357.Google Scholar

8 William Brent, Jr., United States Charge d’ Affaires at Buenos Aires, to Buchanan, Jan. 10, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 5. See also Cady, John F., Foreign Intervention in the Rio de la Fiata, 1838–1850 (Philadelphia, 1929), p. 156.Google Scholar

9 Harris to Buchanan, July 15, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6; Harris to Buchanan, Sept. 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

10 Harris to Buchanan, Sept. 10, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

11 Harris to Buchanan, May 11, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

12 Harris to Buchanan, June 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

13 Harris to Buchanan, May 25, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

14 Harris to Buchanan, June 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

15 Ibid.

16 Ibid.

17 Harris to Lord Howden, Special British Commissioner, Buenos Aires, July 1, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

18 Harris to Buchanan, July 15, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

19 Harris to Buchanan, July 21, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

20 Harris to Buchanan, Jan. 15, J849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

21 Harris to Secretary of State John M. Clayton, May 14, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

22 Harris to Buchanan, Jan. 15, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6; Harris to Clayton, July 20, 1850, and Sept. 8, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7. See also Stuart, op. cit., p. 358.

23 Convention between the Junta of Paraguay and the Junta of Buenos Aires, signed at Asuncion, Oct. 12, 1811, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

24 Harris to Buchanan, July 14, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

25 Harris to Buchanan, Feb. 14, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

26 Harris to López, April 14, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

27 During the year 1850 alone Oribe’s forces stole some 800,000 head of cattle over an area of 600 square leagues in southern Brazil. See Calógeras, João Pandiá, A History of Brazil, trans, by Martin, Percy A. (Chapel Hill, 1939), p. 181.Google Scholar

28 Harris to Buchanan, Sept. 10, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

29 Ibid.

30 Harris to Buchanan, July 14, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6; Harris to Clayton, Oct. 5, 1850, and Oct. 24, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

31 Harris to Buchanan, Oct. 10, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

32 Harris to Buchanan, Oct. 17, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

33 Harris to Secretary of State Daniel Webster, May 4, 1851, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

34 Harris to Buchanan, Sept. 23, 1848, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

35 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 14, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

36 Harris to Buchanan, May 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

37 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 14, 1849, Jan. 26, 1850, March 24, 1850 and Sept. 8, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

38 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 8, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

39 Harris to Clayton, July 23, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6, and Sept. 14, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

40 Harris to Webster, Feb. 25, 1851, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

41 Harris to Webster, Oct. 14, 1851, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 8.

42 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 24, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

43 Harris to Graham, Jan. 13, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

44 Parsons to Harris, Jan. 24, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

45 Harris to Parsons, Jan. 24, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

46 Parsons to Harris, March 29, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

47 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 24, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

48 Harris to Arana, May 16, 1849, and June 29, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

49 Harris to Arana, Sept. 8, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

50 Harris to Buchanan, Aug. 1, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

51 Ibid.

52 Harris to Buchanan, July 15, 1847, July 21, 1847, and Sept. 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

53 Harris to Buchanan, May 16, Í847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

54 Harris to Clayton, Oct. 10, 1849, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

55 Harris to Arana, Aug. 6, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

56 Arana to Harris, Aug. 8, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

57 Harris to Buchanan, June 16, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

58 Harris to Arana, Sept. 15, 1846, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

59 Harris to Buchanan, July 15, 1847, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 6.

60 Harris to Don Pedro de Angelis, ed. Archivo Americano, Sept. 17, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.

61 Ibid.

62 Harris to Clayton, Sept. 20, 1850, NA, SDDDA, Vol. 7.