John W. Foster

John W. Foster
John W. Foster
Born	John Watson Foster 2 3, 1836
Birthplace	Petersburg, Indiana, U.S.
Died	Template:Death date and age Washington, D.C., U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Diplomat, military officer, lawyer, journalist
Known for	32nd United States Secretary of State; U.S. Minister to Mexico, Russia, and Spain
Education	Indiana University Bloomington (BA); Harvard University (LLB)
Children	2
Awards	Brevet Brigadier General of Volunteers

John Watson Foster (March 2, 1836 – November 15, 1917) was an American diplomat, military officer, lawyer, and journalist who served as the 32nd United States Secretary of State from 1892 to 1893 under President Benjamin Harrison. A veteran of the American Civil War, in which he rose to the rank of colonel in the Union Army, Foster went on to build one of the most extensive diplomatic careers of the late nineteenth century, serving as United States Minister to Mexico (1873–1880), United States Minister to Russia (1880–1881), and United States Minister to Spain (1883–1885) before his appointment to lead the Department of State. After leaving government service, Foster became an influential figure in international law, representing foreign governments and advising on treaty negotiations. He was the grandfather of John Foster Dulles, who would himself serve as Secretary of State during the Eisenhower administration, making the Foster–Dulles family one of the most prominent dynasties in American diplomatic history.

Early Life

John Watson Foster was born on March 2, 1836, in Petersburg, in Pike County, Indiana, a small community in the southern part of the state. He grew up in rural Indiana during a period of significant national expansion and increasing sectional tension over the issue of slavery. The details of his parents and family background in Petersburg placed him squarely within the traditions of the American frontier Midwest, where civic engagement and public service were valued pursuits.

Foster came of age during the turbulent years leading up to the American Civil War. Like many young men of his generation in the Union states, his early adulthood would be shaped decisively by the outbreak of hostilities between the North and South. Before the war, however, Foster pursued education and professional training that would equip him for both his military and later diplomatic career.

Education

Foster attended Indiana University Bloomington, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. He subsequently studied law at Harvard University, receiving a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree. His legal training at Harvard provided a strong foundation for the diplomatic and legal career that would follow, equipping him with the analytical and rhetorical skills necessary for the complex negotiations he would later undertake on behalf of the United States and various foreign governments. The combination of a broad liberal arts education at Indiana University and rigorous legal study at Harvard was relatively uncommon for the era and positioned Foster among the more thoroughly educated public figures of his generation.

Career

Civil War Service

When the American Civil War broke out in 1861, Foster enlisted in the Union Army and served throughout the duration of the conflict until 1865. He was initially assigned to the 25th Indiana Volunteer Infantry and later served with the 65th Indiana Volunteer Mounted Infantry and the 136th Indiana Volunteer Infantry. Over the course of the war, Foster rose to the rank of colonel, demonstrating sufficient leadership and distinction in the field to earn a brevet promotion to brigadier general of volunteers. His military service, though not as celebrated as that of some more prominent Civil War commanders, provided him with experience in leadership, organization, and the conduct of affairs under difficult and consequential circumstances — qualities that would serve him throughout his subsequent career in diplomacy and law.

Journalism and Early Legal Career

Following the conclusion of the Civil War, Foster settled in Evansville, Indiana, where he embarked on careers in both journalism and law. He became an active figure in the civic and political life of southern Indiana, establishing himself as an editor and practicing attorney. His involvement in Republican Party politics during the Reconstruction era helped bring him to the attention of national political figures and set the stage for his entry into diplomatic service. Evansville, as one of the larger cities in Indiana at the time, provided Foster with a platform from which to build both his professional reputation and his political connections.

United States Minister to Mexico (1873–1880)

Foster's first major diplomatic appointment came in 1873, when President Ulysses S. Grant named him United States Minister to Mexico. He succeeded Thomas H. Nelson in the post and served under both Grant and President Rutherford B. Hayes, remaining in Mexico City until 1880. His tenure as minister to Mexico was the longest of his three ministerial appointments and came during a period of considerable complexity in U.S.–Mexican relations.

During the 1870s, the U.S.–Mexico border was a source of persistent tension, with cross-border raids, cattle rustling, and questions of commercial relations dominating the bilateral agenda. Foster was tasked with navigating these difficulties while representing American interests and maintaining workable relations with the Mexican government. His nearly seven years in the post gave him an unusually deep understanding of Mexican politics and of the challenges inherent in managing relations between the two neighboring countries.

Foster's extended service in Mexico also provided him with extensive practical experience in the conduct of diplomacy — negotiating, reporting, and advocating for American commercial and security interests in a complex and sometimes unstable political environment. His work there established his reputation as a competent and reliable diplomat, which led to subsequent appointments. He was succeeded as minister by Philip H. Morgan.

United States Minister to Russia (1880–1881)

In 1880, President Hayes appointed Foster as United States Minister to Russia, succeeding Edwin W. Stoughton. Foster arrived in Saint Petersburg and served during the final months of the Hayes administration and the early weeks of the Garfield administration. His tenure in Russia was comparatively brief, lasting from June 11, 1880, to August 1, 1881. The period coincided with a time of significant internal upheaval in the Russian Empire, including the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in March 1881 and the accession of Alexander III, whose reign would be characterized by increased conservatism and repression.

Foster's brief service in Russia nonetheless added to his growing portfolio of diplomatic experience, giving him exposure to the politics of a major European power and broadening his understanding of international affairs beyond the Western Hemisphere. He was succeeded in the post by William H. Hunt.

United States Minister to Spain (1883–1885)

Foster received his third ministerial appointment in 1883, when President Chester A. Arthur named him United States Minister to Spain, succeeding former Vice President Hannibal Hamlin. He continued in the role after Grover Cleveland assumed the presidency in 1885, serving until August 28 of that year. Foster's time in Madrid came during a period when Spain still maintained significant colonial possessions, including Cuba and the Philippines, and U.S.–Spanish relations involved questions of trade, colonial administration, and the treatment of American citizens and interests in Spanish territories.

His appointment to three different ministerial posts — Mexico, Russia, and Spain — under four different presidents (Grant, Hayes, Arthur, and briefly Cleveland) reflected the high regard in which Foster was held across the Republican establishment and, to some degree, across party lines. The breadth of his diplomatic experience across three continents was unusual for the era and made him one of the most seasoned American diplomats of the late nineteenth century. He was succeeded as minister to Spain by Jabez Curry.

Secretary of State (1892–1893)

Foster's most prominent government appointment came on June 29, 1892, when President Benjamin Harrison named him the 32nd United States Secretary of State, succeeding the ailing James G. Blaine, who had resigned from the position. Foster's appointment came late in the Harrison administration, and his tenure as Secretary of State lasted less than eight months, ending on February 23, 1893, shortly before the inauguration of President Cleveland for his second term. He was succeeded by Walter Q. Gresham.

Despite the brevity of his time at the head of the Department of State, Foster's appointment was a natural culmination of decades of diplomatic experience. During his tenure, he handled ongoing diplomatic matters with characteristic professionalism. Among the issues that occupied his attention were questions related to the Bering Sea fur seal arbitration, in which the United States and Great Britain were engaged in a dispute over sealing rights in the North Pacific. Foster played a role in advancing the American position in the arbitration proceedings.

Foster's selection as Secretary of State was notable in part because it was based on professional diplomatic expertise rather than primarily on political patronage or party service, though he was a loyal Republican. His appointment reflected a growing recognition of the value of experience and technical competence in the conduct of American foreign policy, even as the system of political appointments continued to dominate the staffing of senior government positions.

International Law Practice and Advisory Roles

After leaving the office of Secretary of State in 1893, Foster did not retire from public life. Instead, he became one of the most influential practitioners of international law in the United States, operating from Washington, D.C., in what was technically private practice but which involved him deeply in matters of international relations and diplomacy.

Foster served as a legal adviser and representative for various foreign governments and was involved in numerous international negotiations and arbitrations. His expertise in treaty law and diplomatic procedure made him a sought-after figure in an era when international disputes were increasingly being resolved through legal and arbitral mechanisms rather than through force alone. His role as an international lawyer blurred the line between private practice and public service, as his work frequently had significant implications for U.S. foreign policy and for the relations between sovereign states.

Among the notable advisory roles Foster undertook after leaving office was his involvement in negotiations related to the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895, in which he served as an adviser to the Chinese government during the negotiations that ended the First Sino-Japanese War. This engagement demonstrated the breadth of Foster's international reputation and the degree to which his expertise was valued beyond American borders.

Foster also served as an agent for the United States in the fur seal arbitration with Great Britain, continuing work he had begun during his time as Secretary of State. His involvement in this case further cemented his reputation as one of the foremost practitioners of international arbitration in the United States.

Writings and Intellectual Contributions

In addition to his diplomatic and legal work, Foster was an author and contributed to the intellectual discourse on American foreign policy and international law. His published works included reflections on diplomatic practice and the conduct of international relations, drawing on his extensive personal experience. These writings served as both a record of his career and a contribution to the developing field of international law in the United States.

Personal Life

John Watson Foster settled in Washington, D.C., following his years of active diplomatic service, and the city remained his home for the remainder of his life. He had two children. His family connections to American diplomacy extended far beyond his own career. Foster's grandson, John Foster Dulles, served as Secretary of State under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 to 1959, becoming one of the most prominent figures in American Cold War diplomacy. Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., is named in his grandson's honor. Another grandson, Allen Dulles, served as Director of Central Intelligence and was a central figure in the early CIA. The Foster and Dulles families thus constituted one of the most influential family networks in American foreign policy history.

Foster died on November 15, 1917, in Washington, D.C., at the age of 81, during the early American involvement in World War I. He had lived long enough to see the transformation of the United States from a predominantly continental power into an increasingly global one — a transformation to which he had contributed through decades of diplomatic service and international legal work.

Recognition

Foster received the brevet rank of brigadier general for his service during the Civil War, an honor that recognized his contributions to the Union war effort. His appointment as Secretary of State was itself a significant recognition of his decades of diplomatic experience, placing him among a select group of individuals entrusted with the senior-most position in American foreign policy.

Foster's career and contributions have been the subject of biographical study, including scholarly treatments that examine his role in the development of American diplomacy during the Gilded Age. The Office of the Historian at the U.S. Department of State maintains a biographical entry for Foster as part of its records of secretaries of state and other senior diplomatic officials.

His entry in the American National Biography provides a scholarly assessment of his life and career within the broader context of American history. Foster is also documented in the National Archives and Records Administration holdings, which include records related to his diplomatic service.

Legacy

John Watson Foster's career spanned some of the most consequential decades in the development of American foreign policy. Beginning his public life as a Civil War soldier and small-city lawyer and journalist in Indiana, he rose through the ranks of Republican politics and diplomatic service to become the nation's chief diplomat. His three ministerial appointments — to Mexico, Russia, and Spain — gave him a range of international experience that was unusual among American public figures of his era, and his subsequent appointment as Secretary of State represented a recognition of that accumulated expertise.

Foster's influence extended beyond his own government service. His post-government career as an international lawyer and adviser demonstrated the growing importance of legal expertise in the conduct of international relations and helped establish a model for the intersection of private legal practice and public diplomacy that would become increasingly common in the twentieth century. His advisory role in the negotiations ending the First Sino-Japanese War and his involvement in the Bering Sea arbitration illustrated the global scope of his influence.

Perhaps most enduringly, Foster's legacy is intertwined with that of his descendants, particularly his grandson John Foster Dulles, who shaped American foreign policy during the Cold War. The continuity from grandfather to grandson in the highest ranks of American diplomacy underscores the significance of the Foster family in the history of U.S. international relations. The family's influence on American statecraft across multiple generations remains a notable chapter in the broader story of how the United States developed its institutions and practices of foreign policy.

Foster's career also reflected the broader transformation of the United States during his lifetime — from a divided nation torn by civil war to an emerging world power with expanding commercial, diplomatic, and strategic interests across the globe. His work as a diplomat, lawyer, and adviser contributed to this transformation and helped lay the groundwork for the more assertive American role in world affairs that would characterize the twentieth century.