the President to obtain satisfaction, using force if necessary." The antecedents The adventures of Edward A. Hopkins Edward Anthony Hopkins was an adventurer who caused trouble with the government of Paraguay. As will appear, insofar as a single person could be to blame for the Paraguayan debacle, that person was Hopkins. A former midshipman in the U.S. Navy who had been court-martialled three times and dismissed from his squadron, he has been described as "undisciplined, imprudent, arrogant, aggressive", "unruly, quarrelsome, pugnacious, and arrogant", and "swaggering, bullying and tyranical". According to yet another scholar, His first appointment to Paraguay In 1845 James Buchanan, at that time Secretary of State, needed to appoint a confidential agent to visit Paraguay, so he could determine whether it was worth granting diplomatic recognition. The man Buchanan chose for the job was the 22-year old Edward A. Hopkins. Despite his unpromising record, Hopkins got himself appointed, through family influence. Hopkins had no diplomatic status. His sole functions were to communicate American goodwill and to report the facts on the ground to the U.S. government. He soon exceeded his remit, not only trying to mediate a longstanding dispute between Paraguay and Buenos Aires dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas — falsely claiming he had U.S. authorization to do it — but making wild and intemperate proposals. When Rosas paid no attention, Hopkins wrote him a letter that was so insulting the United States felt constrained to apologize. Hopkins was recalled. His second appointment, and his rejection by Paraguay Hopkins was a persuasive optimist. He persuaded prominent Rhode Island investors, including Governor Samuel G. Arnold, that Paraguay was an excellent business opportunity. They incorporated the United States and Paraguay Navigation Company. With a capital of $100,000, it would build and sail ships on the rivers of South America as well as conduct other business. Hopkins had himself appointed U.S. Consul in Paraguay, a diplomatic post he secured despite his calamitous record: he was the only applicant. He assumed office in June 1853. He was also the general agent of the Rhode Island company in Paraguay. The business venture of the United States and Paraguay Navigation Company was a failure. Its main asset, a steamship loaded with machinery and merchandise, was shipwrecked well before it could get to Paraguay. Salvaging the cargo as best as he could, Hopkins arrived in Paraguay and borrowed 11,500 pesos from its president, Carlos Antonio