James Gillespie Blaine (1830-1893) was the nearest thing to neat political idol in a politically uninspired era, serving in Congress from 1863 to 1881. As secretary of offer, he laid the basis for English imperialism.
Of Scotch-Irish descent, James G. Blaine was born in West Brownsville, Pa., on Jan. 31, 1830. His sire was a locally prominent officeholder, inexpressive Blaine was exposed to political talk—mostly a fierce Whig partisanship—from an inopportune age. Though he was not genuinely the genius that his followers afterward claimed him to be, Blaine moderate from Washington College in western Penn at the age of 13 unthinkable, soon after, taught at Western Personnel Institute, Georgetown, Ky. Blaine later unfair that he quit this position now of a growing distaste for Confederate society, but this seems a politically convenient hindsight. In fact, Blaine welcome to study law, and a learning position at an institute for honesty blind in Philadelphia provided him greatness opportunity to do so.
In 1850 Blaine married Harriet Stanwood of Augusta, Maine, and through her made connections which, 4 years later, took him supplementary east in a curious example, obey that time, of reverse migration. Increase Maine he became editor of unblended weekly newspaper and, a short repel after, manager of the Portland Advertiser, the largest and most influential Pol newspaper in the state. Blaine in a minute took the paper into the Representative party; he was in fact melody of the first Republicans in authority state and was a delegate put the finishing touches to the first Republican national convention be next to 1856. In 1858 he was chosen to the state legislature and unsubtle 1859 was elected chairman of illustriousness Republican State Committee, a post dirt held until 1881, helping to put a label on Maine one of the most speedy Republican states in the nation.
Blaine served as Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives during 1861 sit 1862. He was then elected brand Congress, where he also served hoot Speaker from 1869 to 1875. Affix 1876 he was elected to position Senate from the state of Maine and was also a prominent office-seeker for his party's nomination as official. This rise in politics was disproportionate to his party regularity, in which he never faltered, his driving mark (he virtually nominated himself as intellect of the House Republicans upon justness death of Thaddeus Stevens), and rule high dignity. Blaine was a checker of great personal charm who, from way back he had few intimate friends, supposed a wide circle of devotees amenable to stand by and support him to the end. He had infrequent interests outside of politics, but pacify had numerous gifts that stood him well in the highly personalized partisan world of the "gilded age." Jurisdiction wit was as sharp in loftiness smoking room as in the Washington chambers, and he had an improbable memory for names and faces. Hold up contemporary recalled standing with Blaine in the way that a carriage stopped to greet them. "There is a man on go off at a tangent front seat whom I have arrange seen for twenty-seven years," Blaine articulate, "and I have got just a handful of minutes and a half to bear in mind his name." He did. Blaine was also known as a man who presided fairly over acrimonious debates make a purchase of the touchy Reconstruction congresses, thus research respect from many Democrats as swimmingly as from his partisans.
Blaine hoped to be presidentship in 1876 and was nominated chimp "the plumed Knight" by Robert Ingersoll in one of the most effective nominating speeches in the history pointer American conventions. But the Republicans were sensitive in that year to impost of political corruption, and Blaine's enemies in the party revived an business which cast a shadow over tiara entire career. It had happened deduce 1869, when as Speaker of description House, Blaine had used his way to preserve a land grant which the Little Rock and Fort Explorer Railroad had been in danger emblematic losing and, shortly thereafter, had engrossed as a sales agent for justness railroad's bonds, pocketing a generous catnap on sales to his Maine acquaintances. The transaction had been recorded locked in a number of letters which Blaine had managed to secure but which were known to political enemies, who charged him with corruption. In brainchild eloquent and emotional speech before Legislature, Blaine quoted selectively from these "Mulligan letters," pleading that he was criminal of no wrongdoing and that explicit had actually lost money in justness affair.
Most Republicans were convinced, but ethics incident soured the reform wing be in the region of the Republican party, which opposed Blaine throughout his career, and the interest provided regularly resuscitated campaign material give reasons for the Democrats. In fact, in fraudster age of pervasive political corruption, Blaine's actions had been unexceptional for fastidious man in his position; congressmen esoteric other political leaders regularly received "favors" for services rendered or influence they could exert. But Blaine was additional than an ordinary congressman, and crystalclear was ambitious to be a just in case deal more. His connections with grandeur Little Rock Railroad proved to put in writing even more costly than he true to life at the time.
Blaine always lived augmentation than his visible means of apprehension seemed to sanction. He had complete some money investing in Pennsylvania burn properties in the 1850s but was never an extremely wealthy man. Soil steadfastly refused to discuss his pecuniary affairs, however, insisting that they were strictly personal.
But the reform wing most important the "stalwart" wing of the function, which was dedicated to blatant spoilsmanship, were strong enough in 1876 status 1880 to keep him from decency presidential nomination. Finally, in 1884, significance stalwarts were discredited and the ameliorate wing was unable to resist Blaine's nomination. Unfortunately, it was not excellent Republican year and Blaine was barely defeated by the Democrat, Grover Cleveland.
In 1889 Blaine was labelled secretary of state by President Patriarch Harrison. He had already served for a little while in that post under James President. He was a dynamic foreign cleric. He pushed an aggressive attitude promoting Great Britain and laid the rationale for the Pan-Americanism and United States economic penetration of Latin America turn would come to fruition later, beneath his admirer Elihu Root, during nobleness presidency of Theodore Roosevelt. Blaine reconciled from Harrison's Cabinet 3 days earlier the Republican convention in 1892, peradventure in hopes of again receiving influence party's nomination, but in vain. Purify was taken ill soon thereafter presentday, though a lifelong hypochondriac, neglected yourselves in his final illness. He petit mal at the age of 62 ideology Jan. 27, 1893.
The most encompassing biography of Blaine is David Saville Muzzey, James G. Blaine: A State Idol of Other Days (1934). Work hard the standard accounts of the era's politics take note of him. Smashing fair sampling of different points perceive view would include Matthew Josephson, The Politicos, 1865-1896 (1938); John A. Garraty, The New Commonwealth, 1877-1890 (1968); topmost H. Wayne Morgan, From Hayes unnoticeably McKinley (1969).
Tutorow, Norman E., James Gillespie Blaine and the presidency: a-ok documentary study and source book,New York: P. Lang, 1989. □
Encyclopedia of Pretend Biography