A Diplomatic Sequel to the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870): United States President Rutherford B. Hayes' 1878 Arbitration for Paraguay and Argentina

Rutherford B. Hayes (1822-1893), the 19th United States (U.S) President, served as arbiter in 1878 for Paraguay and Argentina when the countries’ governments disputed a portion of the South American Grand Chaco after the War of the Triple Alliance (1864-1870). To present their claims to Hayes, Paraguayan and Argentine diplomats submitted thousands of pages of argumentative evidence. For Paraguay’s leaders, a successful arbitration was a desirable victory for the nation-state, which was devastated from the war. For Argentina’s leaders, the arbitration was a chance to aggrandize its physical size with territory also claimed by Paraguay but was only justified after Brazil, its wartime ally but post-war competitor, had successfully annexed land from Paraguay in 1872. As the first to use internal U.S State Department sources, the thesis lays out the origin and mechanics of the Hayes Arbitration while advancing an explanation as why the award favored Paraguay. In doing so, it explains why Hayes is a national hero in Paraguay, despite his perceived mediocrity in the U.S, as his award was pivotal for the recovery of the morale of the weak nation-state in the aftermath of the devastating war.