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'''James Gillespie Blaine''' (1830-1893) was a leading Republican politician and statesman of the [[Gilded Age]], and a power in the [[Third party System]]. He served in the House and Senate from [[Maine]]. He was defeated for president by [[Grover Cleveland]] in a close race in 1884, and closed his career as Secretary of State in the early 1890s.  A powerful party leader, he was surrounded by suspicions of corruption, but created an innovative foreign policy.

'''James Gillespie Blaine''' (1830-1893) was a leading Republican politician and statesman of the [[Gilded Age]], and a power in the [[Third Party System]]. He served in the House and Senate from [[Maine]]. He was defeated for president by [[Grover Cleveland]] in a close race in 1884, and closed his career as Secretary of State in the early 1890s.  A powerful party leader, he was surrounded by suspicions of corruption, but created an innovative foreign policy.

==Career==

==Career==

[[Image:Burnletter.jpg|thumb|300px|"Burn this letter!" Keppler cartoon shows public opinion hostile to Blaine, begging forgiveness; ''Puck'' 1884]]

[[Image:Burnletter.jpg|thumb|300px|"Burn this letter!" Keppler cartoon shows public opinion hostile to Blaine, begging forgiveness; ''Puck'' 1884]]

Blaine was again the leading candidate in 1880; but the same bitter factionalism defeated him once more. His ally [[James A. Garfield]] was nominated and elected, and Blaine was appointed Secretary of State.  Garfield was soon assassinated and after a few months Blaine left the cabinet. Finally in 1884 he was nominated on the first ballot, with General [[John A. Logan]] of Illinois as his running mate. Blaine's opponent was [[Grover Cleveland]], a [[Bourbon Democrat]]  who, as governor of New York, was a leader in political reform, particularly of the civil service.  The election was very close but Blaine could not shake the corruption allegations. [[Mugwumps]], led by prominent Republican reformers, switched to Cleveland. Late in the campaign came an indiscreet remark of one of his supporters, the Reverend S. D. Burchard, who ridiculed the Democratic opposition as the party of "rum, Romanism, and rebellion." (That is, saloons, Catholics and ex-Confederates.) It was an insult especially to Irish Catholics, a Democratic constituency Blaine was courting. Blaine won only 182 out of a total of 401 electoral votes, but Cleveland's popular vote margin was less than 25,000 in a total of more than 10,000,000.

Blaine was again the leading candidate in 1880; but the same bitter factionalism defeated him once more. His ally [[James A. Garfield]] was nominated and elected, and Blaine was appointed Secretary of State.  Garfield was soon assassinated and after a few months Blaine left the cabinet. Finally in 1884 he was nominated on the first ballot, with General [[John A. Logan]] of Illinois as his running mate. Blaine's opponent was [[Grover Cleveland]], a conservative [[Bourbon Democrats|Bourbon Democrat]]  who, as governor of New York, was a leader in political reform, particularly of the civil service.  The election was very close but Blaine could not shake the corruption allegations. [[Mugwumps]], led by prominent Republican reformers, switched to Cleveland. Late in the campaign came an indiscreet remark of one of his supporters, the Reverend S. D. Burchard, who ridiculed the Democratic opposition as the party of "rum, Romanism, and rebellion." (That is, saloons, Catholics and ex-Confederates.) It was an insult especially to Irish Catholics, a Democratic constituency Blaine was courting. Blaine won only 182 out of a total of 401 electoral votes, but Cleveland's popular vote margin was less than 25,000 in a total of more than 10,000,000.

[[Image:84ticket.jpg|200px|left|thumb|there were no secret ballots; men voted by taking this Republican ticket from a GOP pollworker and dropping it in a glass jar]]

[[Image:84ticket.jpg|200px|left|thumb|there were no secret ballots; men voted by taking this Republican ticket from a GOP pollworker and dropping it in a glass jar]]