page_title: Robert Milligan McLane
section_title: Ambassador to China and Mexico
hierarchical_section_title: Robert Milligan McLane / Political and diplomatic career / Ambassador to China and Mexico
caption_attribution_description: Robert Milligan McLane (1815-1898), American ambassador and politician. Governor of Maryland.
context_page_description: Robert Milligan McLane was an American politician, military officer, and diplomat. He served as Ambassador to Mexico, France, and China, as a member of the House of Representatives from the fourth district of Maryland, as chairman of the Democratic National Committee, and as the 39th Governor of Maryland.
context_section_description: In 1853, during the Taiping Rebellion, President Pierce appointed McLane as commissioner to China, with the powers of a Minister Plenipotentiary, and at the same time accredited to Japan, Siam, Korea, and Cochin China.  Despite the civil war, McLane was ordered to secure commercial relations between China and the United States, and was also ordered to negotiate with the rebels while also retaining diplomatic relations with the Imperial Government.  He successfully renewed trade relations between both nations, but returned to the United States in 1854 due to poor health.  After his return to the United States, he resumed his political activity by serving as delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1856, during which he supported future President James Buchanan.
  The United States and Mexico had broken off diplomatic relations in 1858, after which civil war broke out in Mexico.  McLane was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to Mexico on March 7, 1859, and was charged to determine if the government of Benito Juárez, in opposition to the Emperor, was worthy of recognition.  He also negotiated, as ambassador, the McLane-Ocampo Treaty, which would have expanded the transit rights of the U.S. across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec to include an interoceanic canal concession. However, the treaty was not ratified by the United States Senate.  McLane retired as Ambassador to Mexico on December 22, 1860 :c
caption: Robert Milligan McLane
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