James G. Blaine was one of the more charismatic Republicans of the 19^th Century.

Blaine: A Brief Bio

James Gillespie Blaine

James Gillespie Blaine (1830-93) was Pennsylvania born and raised, but once married, moved to Maine. A sometime journalist, he purchased a newspaper in Kennebec, managed it into one of Maine’s finest, and became involved in politics, which by the Civil War (and Maine) was predominantly Republican. They sent him to Congress.

Tall, slim, relatively nice looking (by Victorian bearded standards), what JGB had in abundance was charisma. He was a charmer. He was an engaging speaker. He had an easy going disposition and good sense of humor. He was disinclined to take anything too seriously – even the Presidency, which he wanted very much. His politics were generally middle-of-the-road.

The Gilded Age that blossomed into a virtual garden of gold after the Civil War, was predominantly centered around the railroads, which now brought the continent together. JGB (and others) invested in railroad stock which increased and cemented their fortunes.

As Speaker of the House for 6 years, he became involved in a complicated railroad construction company scheme called Credit Mobilier, which greatly discounted railroad stock to members of Congress, requesting nothing in return, except perhaps to be “open to the needs of the railroads.” It became a nasty scandal in the mid-1870s, and Blaine was deeply tarnished. He was never formally accused of anything (other than poor judgement) and while there was a congressional investigation, he never stood trial, nor was censured. And his constituents sent him back to Congress – as a Senator. Nevertheless, many believed that “where there’s smoke there’s fire,” and in Blaine’s case, it would be an ongoing smudge pot.

But the Presidential Bug is an insidious ailment, and Blaine was infected. He ran for the Republican nomination in 1880, but lost to James Garfield, who named him as Secretary of State. It was a brief tenure. Garfield died by assassination six months later, and the new Vice POTUS-turned-POTUS Chester Alan Arthur quickly replaced him.

The Politics of 1884

Interestingly enough, the presidential elections between Grant and McKinley, i.e. the five elections between 1876-1896, were incredibly close!  The electoral votes were heavy on the Republican side, but the popular votes were by whiskers. A majority of barely a thousand votes could tilt a major electoral state like New York. And it did that routinely.

The issues were generally mild and mechanical, like trade and tariffs, which accounts for the “boring” years between Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. In the 1880s, a good deal of politicking was also focused on Civil Service Reform, basically a mechanism for assigning political patronage jobs. There was rampant corruption: no-show jobs, no-bid contract awards, insider information, etc., not to mention redundancy and brain-drain. The political bosses ran their shows and were loath to relinquish an iota of power. The reformers naturally wanted reform. The “people” by and large, were lukewarm. Trade, tariffs and reform were not sexy issues.

The tarnished Plumed Knight.

Blaine, The Plumed Knight, was popular, considered capable and moderate, and in 1884, the election was his to lose despite his tainted image via Credit Mobilier.

Democrat Grover Cleveland

His Democratic opponent was little-known Grover Cleveland, whose political rise was barely three years old: Mayor of Buffalo, Governor of NY, and now poised for the White House. The Democrats were more concerned with morality, and Cleveland fit that bill. The worst that could be said is that he paid for a substitute during the Civil War – so he could provide for his widowed mother and four unmarried sisters.

Blaine campaigned hard this time. He traveled to the key states (NY, NJ, IN and CT), made speeches (he was much better at that than Cleveland), and attended all the dinners and events incumbent on a candidate for high office.

“Where’s My Pa?”

Very late in the campaign, when Cleveland was accused of (and admitted to) fathering an out-of-wedlock child, it appeared that Blaine’s election was in the bag. Until….

The Burchard-Belshazzar Bookends

Rev. Samuel Burchard stirred up a hornet’s nest.

Samuel Burchard was a New York Presbyterian minister of medium clout in 1884. Politically active in Republican ranks, he hosted a breakfast for 100 fellow clergymen a week before the election. Blaine was happy to accept. The press, which had become either a glowing beacon or a thorn in the side of many, was there. So was a Democratic “mole.” Blaine made his usual pleasant speech and was happy to glad-hand around the table.

But it was Rev. Burchard himself who provided the impetus for downfall!! In urging his fellow-ministers to beat the drum loudly for Blaine, he waved the usual “bloody shirt,” calling the Democrats the party of “rum, Romanism and rebellion.” Blaine himself was not even listening. But the “mole” heard every word and recognized a major oops.

Prohibition was becoming a popular issue, and leftover Civil War affiliations had been around for two decades… but Romanism! Catholics were indeed predominantly Democratic, and now Burchard was insinuating that Catholics were a) drunkards and b) traitors. The mole couldn’t wait to get to Democratic Headquarters and spread the word. (Had Blaine been listening, he might have spoken up, after all, his own mother was Catholic.)

The NY World had a headline cartoon!

Shortly afterwards, Blaine was another guest of honor – this time at a fancy banquet at Delmonico’s, hosted by an assortment of some of the richest and most politically powerful men in New York. Again, the newspapers got wind of it, likened it to the Biblical story of Belshazzar’s feast, and prepared a damning “illustration” of perceived graft, corruption and disregard of the lower classes. Blaine had been invited to similar dinners dozens of time during his career. But this one did him in.

Grover Cleveland claimed NY’s electoral votes and squeaked by. The first elected Democrat in nearly 30 years.

Sources:

Jeffers, H. Paul – An Honest President – William Morrow, 2000

Stoddard, Henry L. – As I Knew Them – Harper & Brothers, 1927

https://www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1884

https://www.history.com/topics/19th-century/credit-mobilier