James A. Garfield: Foreign Affairs [cite this] ↑James A. Garfield Home Page James A. Garfield Essays Life in Brief Life Before the Presidency Campaigns and Elections Domestic Affairs Foreign Affairs Death of a President Family Life The American Franchise Impact and Legacy [ print all essays ] James A. Garfield's foreign policy activities were limited to filling vacant diplomatic positions, most notably his appointments of writer James Russell Lowell as U.S. minister to England and Lew Wallace, a former Union general and popular writer, to the post in Turkey. Garfield had hoped that Wallace might write a novel equal to his best-seller Ben Hur based on his experiences in the region. During Garfield's short term in office, Secretary of State Blaine was so involved with patronage matters that he had little time to deal with Latin American affairs, the Chinese immigration issue, or fishing disputes with the British in the Pacific—all of which demanded his attention. James A. Garfield Essays Life in Brief Life Before the Presidency Campaigns and Elections Domestic Affairs Foreign Affairs Death of a President Family Life The American Franchise Impact and Legacy [ print all essays ] James A. Garfield Home Citation Information Consulting Editor Justus Doenecke Professor Doenecke is a professor emeritus of history at the New College of Florida. His writings include: The Presidencies of James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur (University Press of Kansas, 1981) Debating Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Foreign Policies, 1933–1945 (With Mark S. Stoler, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005) American President has changed! Click here to take a short survey and tell us what you think!