Presidential Election of 1880

WITH THE RECONSTRUCTION efforts of the Republicans following the Civil War in the south fully underway with little or no fanfare, small issues arose in the presidential election of 1880, which were mostly resolved with agreement by all parties. However, the presidential election of 1880 is unique in that it is regarded as one of the smallest popular vote victories by a candidate to date and the level of participation by third party candidates demonstrated democracy at its finest.

The presidential election of 1880 began in earnest with the fulfillment of a promise. President Rutherford B. Hayes vowed in 1876 that, if elected, he would serve only one term as president. As the presidential campaign season began, there were five political parties vying for supremacy. They included the Democrats, the Republicans, the Greenback-Labor Party, the Prohibition Party, and the American Party. The two major parties were the Republican Party and the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party held its national convention in Chicago and was faced with selecting a successor to Hayes. Former President Ulysses S. Grant (in office 1869–77) campaigned for a third term, an idea that did not appeal to many traditionalists within the Republican Party, who adhered to the two-term tradition initiated by President Washington. However, many Republicans supported Grant and were known as Stalwarts. This conservative faction of the Republican Party saw themselves as stalwarts in opposition to the reconstruction of the south. They also backed tariffs and opposed all forms of civil service reform.

At the other end of the spectrum were the liberals, who supported active civil service reform and a tariff that would generate revenue for the states and government as a whole. The other two major candidates vying for the nomination were fohn Sherman (Ohio) and lames Gil-lespie Blaine (Maine). The “Half-Breeds of the Republican Party” endorsed both Sherman and Blaine. The Half-Breeds supported moderate civil service reform and moderate levels of Reconstruction in the south.

Senator lames Garfield (Ohio), a Republican Half-Breed, gave a rousing speech in support of Sherman. The speech was so well-received that Garfield found himself receiving delegate votes and, on the 36th ballot, Garfield garnered 399 delegate votes to Grant's 313 votes, and Blaine's 285 votes, to win the nomination. Despite Garfield's opposition and overwhelming endorsement of Grant, he was selected as the nominee and Grant would return to Ohio to assume Garfield's vacated Senate seat. Chester A. Arthur (New York), a Stalwart, received the endorsement of Garfield as the vice presidential nominee, as Garfield needed the support of the Stalwart faction to be victorious in the general election.

The Democrats decided to meet the Republicans head on, beginning by holding their nominating convention in Cincinnati, Ohio. The convention proved to be a lively event, with dozens of candidates seeking the nomination on the first ballot. However, by the second ballot, retired Civil War General Winfield Scott Hancock received 705 delegate votes to Thomas Bayard (154), Samuel Randall (129), Henry Paine (81), Allen G. Thurman (69), Stephen Field (66), and many others. Hancock had tackled the major issue of Reconstruction in the south and had taken on the Stalwarts [Page 595]of the Republican Party by supporting whites and Democrats. William H. English (Indiana) was selected as Hancock's running mate.

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