James Garfield and James G. Blaine
James Garfield was President for less than a year, and for the last two months he was convalescing from the gunshot wound which ultimately ended his life. He was selected as his party's nominee for president as a compromise candidate after neither of the candidates for the two leading factions could garner enough support to win the nomination. Garfield could have played it safe and tried to placate both factions. Instead he rejected the Stalwart faction led by Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York, and close the leader of the other faction, James G. Blaine, to be his Secretary of State and his closest adviser.
A year before the election of 1880, the Ohio legislature had chosen Garfield to fill one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. In early 1880 Garfield endorsed his fellow Ohioan John Sherman for the party's Presidential nomination and even nominated Sherman at the convention. However, at the convention, a deadlock ensued between supporters of former President Grant (who was backed by Conkling and the Stalwarts), James G. Blaine, and Sherman. The delegates ended up choosing Garfield as compromise choice.
In the wake of such a fractured convention, the outlook for Garfield's campaign did not look good. In an effort to heal residual wounds from the convention, Garfield traveled to New York to bring the party's warring factions together in what was called the "New York Conference". Earlier, Garfield had selected Stalwart Chester Alan Arthur as his running mate.
In the general election, Garfield defeated the Democratic candidate Winfield Scott Hancock, another distinguished former Union Army general, by 214 electoral votes to 155. The popular vote was much closer. Garfield had a plurality of just over 7,000 votes out of more than 8.89 million cast. He became the only man ever to be elected to the Presidency directly from the House of Representatives.
Between his election and his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with assembling a cabinet that would establish peace between the warring factions of the Republican Party, led by Conkling and Blaine. Blaine was appointed Secretary of State. Blaine was not only the President's closest advisor, it is said that he was obsessed with knowing everything that took place in the White House, and he was even said to have spies posted there in his absence.
Early on in his term, Garfield appointed Thomas Lemuel James as U.S. Postmaster-General. This appointment infuriated Stalwart Senator Roscoe Conkling, who demanded that one of his supporters be named Secretary of Treasury. The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the President, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be Collector of the Port of New York. Conkling attempted to defeat the nomination, but to no avail. Garfield would not back down and was determined to "settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States."Conkling and his colleague, Senator Thomas C. Platt, resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication, but they suffered further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others in their places. Garfield had won a victory, but instead of gloating, he returned to his goal of balancing the interests of party factions, and re-nominated a number of Conkling's Stalwart friends to their former positions.
Former President Ulysses S. Grant, an ally of Sen. Conkling, notified Garfield by letter that he disapproved of Blaine's nomination. Garfield wrote Grant a stern reply saying that stated he would not be bound by party patronage and would appoint "men who represented any valuable element in the Republican party." But Garfield adopted a policy of forbidding Vice President Chester A. Arthur, a Conkling ally, from attending cabinet meetings. Blaine encouraged and supported Garfield in this decision.
As Secretary of State, Blaine had to contend with Chinese immigration, fishing disputes with Britain, and obtaining U.S. recognition from Korea. Blaine's primary task was settling a complex international war between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru that started on April 5, 1879, known as the War of the Pacific. In January 1881, Chile's naval forces had captured the Peruvian capital city Lima. Rather than remain neutral, Blaine chose to side with Peruvian leader Fracisco G. Calderón, who had been appointed by the Chilean government. Concerned over potential British military involvement in the war, Blaine extended invitations to Latin American countries for a conference to meet in Washington the following November. Nine countries had accepted, but these invitations were withdrawn in April 1882 when Congress and President Arthur, Garfield's successor, cancelled the conference.
On the morning of July 2, 1881, President Garfield was on his way to speak at his alma mater, Williams College. He was accompanied by James G. Blaine, Robert Todd Lincoln, and his two sons, James and Harry. As the President was walking through the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington at 9:30 am, he was shot twice from behind, once across the arm and once in the back, by assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, a rejected and disillusioned Federal office seeker. Secretary Blaine had denied Guiteau a Federal appointment as the United States consul in Paris because Guiteau had no qualifications for the job. He banned Guiteau from the White House for his aggressive behavior. When the appointment did not materialize, Guiteau believed he had been betrayed. As Guiteau was being arrested after the shooting, he said, "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now! This very briefly led to unfounded suspicions that Arthur or his supporters had put Guiteau up to the crime.
Garfield failed to recover from the wounds, and died on September 19, 1881. Blaine resigned as Secretary of State in December. He was the Republican nominee for President in 1884, losing to Grover Cleveland. He served as Secretary of State again in the administration of Benjamin Harrison. His health declined rapidly in the winter of 1892–1893, and he died in his Washington home on January 27, 1893.
A year before the election of 1880, the Ohio legislature had chosen Garfield to fill one of the state's two U.S. Senate seats. In early 1880 Garfield endorsed his fellow Ohioan John Sherman for the party's Presidential nomination and even nominated Sherman at the convention. However, at the convention, a deadlock ensued between supporters of former President Grant (who was backed by Conkling and the Stalwarts), James G. Blaine, and Sherman. The delegates ended up choosing Garfield as compromise choice.
In the wake of such a fractured convention, the outlook for Garfield's campaign did not look good. In an effort to heal residual wounds from the convention, Garfield traveled to New York to bring the party's warring factions together in what was called the "New York Conference". Earlier, Garfield had selected Stalwart Chester Alan Arthur as his running mate.
In the general election, Garfield defeated the Democratic candidate Winfield Scott Hancock, another distinguished former Union Army general, by 214 electoral votes to 155. The popular vote was much closer. Garfield had a plurality of just over 7,000 votes out of more than 8.89 million cast. He became the only man ever to be elected to the Presidency directly from the House of Representatives.
Between his election and his inauguration, Garfield was occupied with assembling a cabinet that would establish peace between the warring factions of the Republican Party, led by Conkling and Blaine. Blaine was appointed Secretary of State. Blaine was not only the President's closest advisor, it is said that he was obsessed with knowing everything that took place in the White House, and he was even said to have spies posted there in his absence.
Early on in his term, Garfield appointed Thomas Lemuel James as U.S. Postmaster-General. This appointment infuriated Stalwart Senator Roscoe Conkling, who demanded that one of his supporters be named Secretary of Treasury. The feud with Conkling reached a climax when the President, at Blaine's instigation, nominated Conkling's enemy, Judge William H. Robertson, to be Collector of the Port of New York. Conkling attempted to defeat the nomination, but to no avail. Garfield would not back down and was determined to "settle the question whether the President is registering clerk of the Senate or the Executive of the United States."Conkling and his colleague, Senator Thomas C. Platt, resigned their Senate seats to seek vindication, but they suffered further humiliation when the New York legislature elected others in their places. Garfield had won a victory, but instead of gloating, he returned to his goal of balancing the interests of party factions, and re-nominated a number of Conkling's Stalwart friends to their former positions.
Former President Ulysses S. Grant, an ally of Sen. Conkling, notified Garfield by letter that he disapproved of Blaine's nomination. Garfield wrote Grant a stern reply saying that stated he would not be bound by party patronage and would appoint "men who represented any valuable element in the Republican party." But Garfield adopted a policy of forbidding Vice President Chester A. Arthur, a Conkling ally, from attending cabinet meetings. Blaine encouraged and supported Garfield in this decision.
As Secretary of State, Blaine had to contend with Chinese immigration, fishing disputes with Britain, and obtaining U.S. recognition from Korea. Blaine's primary task was settling a complex international war between Chile, Bolivia, and Peru that started on April 5, 1879, known as the War of the Pacific. In January 1881, Chile's naval forces had captured the Peruvian capital city Lima. Rather than remain neutral, Blaine chose to side with Peruvian leader Fracisco G. Calderón, who had been appointed by the Chilean government. Concerned over potential British military involvement in the war, Blaine extended invitations to Latin American countries for a conference to meet in Washington the following November. Nine countries had accepted, but these invitations were withdrawn in April 1882 when Congress and President Arthur, Garfield's successor, cancelled the conference.
On the morning of July 2, 1881, President Garfield was on his way to speak at his alma mater, Williams College. He was accompanied by James G. Blaine, Robert Todd Lincoln, and his two sons, James and Harry. As the President was walking through the Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington at 9:30 am, he was shot twice from behind, once across the arm and once in the back, by assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, a rejected and disillusioned Federal office seeker. Secretary Blaine had denied Guiteau a Federal appointment as the United States consul in Paris because Guiteau had no qualifications for the job. He banned Guiteau from the White House for his aggressive behavior. When the appointment did not materialize, Guiteau believed he had been betrayed. As Guiteau was being arrested after the shooting, he said, "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! I did it and I want to be arrested! Arthur is President now! This very briefly led to unfounded suspicions that Arthur or his supporters had put Guiteau up to the crime.
Garfield failed to recover from the wounds, and died on September 19, 1881. Blaine resigned as Secretary of State in December. He was the Republican nominee for President in 1884, losing to Grover Cleveland. He served as Secretary of State again in the administration of Benjamin Harrison. His health declined rapidly in the winter of 1892–1893, and he died in his Washington home on January 27, 1893.