1884 United States Presidential Election (Brothers No More)

The United States Presidential Election of 1884, the 25th U.S. presidential election, took place on November 4, 1884. William B. Allison of Iowa defeated Democrat Thomas F. Bayard to become the first president from the National American Party.

Background
With President Samuel J. Tilden leaving office after 8 years, the National American Party felt that the presidency was finally ripe for the taking. The Democrats had controlled the White House for the last 16 years, and had just lost control of Congress for the first time since 1866.

Democratic Nomination
The Democratic National Convention was held from July 8–14, 1884. Samuel Tilden was a respected president, but his attempts at civil service reform in his second term were not well received by some in the Democratic Party. Those that opposed Tilden wanted a more "traditional" candidate, while others wanted to continue his legacy. Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks was a popular candidate, though he repeatedly declined interest in the presidency (his health was on a rapid decline). Another candidate seen as a possible successor to Tilden was Allen G. Thurman of Ohio. It took 20 ballots before a compromise candidate, Thomas F. Bayard of Delaware, was nominated. Bayard was conservative and had expressed willingness to work with reformers, but he also was not an outright reformist like the president. George W. Glick of Kansas was nominated as vice president, to counter the Western-leaning Republican ticket.

National American Nomination
The National American National Convention was held from June 20-28, 1884. Numerous candidates competed for the nomination, including perennial candidate James G. Blaine and 1880 nominee George F. Edmunds. For 30 ballots the votes fluctuated back and forth before a dark horse candidate, Senator William B. Allison of Iowa, emerged and won the nomination. Allison was not totally unknown nationally, but he seemed an unlikely choice for president. Nonetheless, he was the only one who seemed to be able to gather support from all wings of the party. Levi P. Morton of New York was nominated as his running mate.

The Campaign
The National Americans went all-out from the beginning, determined to finally knock the Democrats out of the White House. They berated the Democrats for several issues, including the now-decade old Pendleton meeting, low tariffs perceived to be limiting the economy, and perceived collaboration with the Confederacy. Allison was not a reformer but campaigned on civil service reform anyway. The National Americans would make any promise if it meant winning the presidency.

The Democrats tried to tout the achievements of the past 20 years, but people were beginning to see how the one-party rule was stagnating the economy and fostering corruption. The Democrats thought that winning New York again was key to their campaign, and so focused many resources there. As he fell behind Allison later in the campaign, Bayard began campaigning on civil service reform, despite being nominated to do the exact opposite.

Results and Aftermath
Allison won by a sound margin, ending 16 years of Democratic control of government. The Democrats did manage to retain New York by 2,000 votes, but it was not nearly enough to fend off the National American wave.

President Allison set right to work, signing laws that repealed the Fugitive Slave Act of 1874 and raised tariffs nationwide. His administration was especially hostile to the Confederacy, levying even higher tariffs against them. The domestic economy saw a brief rise in prosperity with these new trade policies. Slavery was outlawed, though not through a constitutional amendment. Despite the sweeping reforms, nothing was done to fight corruption in government, and Allison's administration was actually quite corrupt itself.