1884 United States Presidential Election (Brothers No More)

United States presidential election, 1884
All 294 electoral votes of the Electoral College; 148 electoral votes needed to win
	Electoral College results
President before election; Samuel J. Tilden; Democrat	Elected President ; William B. Allison; National American

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 A. Hendricks to become the first president from the National American Party and the first non-Democrat president in 16 years. Both at the time and by modern scholarship, it has been called the most consequential United States presidential election since 1860.

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 recently lost control of Congress for the first time since 1866. The National Americans had worked with President Tilden to pass national abolition of slavery and a switch to a hard gold standard, which triggered the Panic of 1883. The country was in dire economic straights as this election arrived.

Democratic Nomination[]

The Democratic National Convention was held from July 8–14, 1884. It was the climax of years of factional infighting. The Bullwhacker faction supported the policies of former president Pendleton, while the Tildenites supported the policies of Tilden. The main breaks between the factions was over slavery and the gold standards. Tildenites charged that the Bullwhackers were beholden to the Confederacy and slave power. The Bullwhackers accused Tilden of starting an economic recession, disrespecting states' rights with the national abolition of slavery, and betraying the party by working with the National Americans several times to pass landmark legislation. A third faction, the Mudlegs, opposed civil service reform and both other factions.

Photograph of Daniel W — Daniel W. Voorhees

The primary Bullwhacker candidate was Pendleton himself. Although Pendleton publicly denied any interest in a third term as president, he did not work to stop his potential nomination. In the likely case that Pendleton's nomination could not be pushed through, Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana was the other primary candidate of the faction. The Tildenites were divided between several main candidates, including Henry B. Payne of Ohio and Samuel J. Randall of Pennsylvania. A minority supported a third consecutive term for Tilden. The Mudlegs rallied around David B. Hill of New York and ultimately hoped to be kingmakers between the other two factions.

Both Tilden and Pendleton had ended their terms with controversial actions that diluted an otherwise positive legacy in the minds of their supporters. The Tildenites came into the convention with a slight advantage over the other two factions, but not enough to nominate a candidate unilaterally. Everyone expected a hotly contested convention that would go for many rounds of balloting before probably settling on a dark horse candidate. Unexpectedly, a candidate was chosen in only three ballots.

On the first round, voting was as expected, with Pendleton leading the tally but not having nearly enough votes to win nomination. Vice President Thomas A. Hendricks received a single vote from the Indiana delegation. Hendricks requested that the vote be withdrawn as he was not a candidate due to his ill health. On the second ballot, over 200 votes swung to Hendricks. He once again requested for his name to be taken out of the running. All of his protests only increased enthusiasm on the floor for his nomination. An anonymous shout from the floor called out "We must have Hendricks!"

Photograph of William W — William W. Eaton

On the third ballot, Hendricks secured a majority of votes, which turned into a unanimous nomination after shifts. Hendricks reluctantly accepted the nomination. The vice president was acceptable to both major factions. Bullwhackers supported his openness to soft money as opposed to the gold standard, his known opposition to "radical" civil rights legislation, and his hailing from an agrarian Midwestern state. Tildenites supported him due to his close, productive relationship with the administration- he and Tilden regularly praised the other's work and character. Overall, he had been a very popular national figure for over a decade and it was thought he would bolster the ticket overall. Tilden and Pendleton both endorsed him soon after his nomination was secured.

The vice presidential nomination actually turned out to be more contentious. With Hendricks' very public ill health, it was known that his vice president would have a better than average chance to rise to the presidency during his term. It was also considered important to have a figure from the Eastern states on the ticket to balance the Indianian Hendricks. The nomination was first offered to Senator Thomas F. Bayard, who represented a compromise in the opposite direction as Hendricks- he was supportive of the gold standard and also closer relations with the Confederacy. However, Bayard declined the nomination, preferring to remain in the senate. Most of the other candidates were Bullwhackers from Eastern states. Famous writer Thomas Dunn English entered consideration. The nomination ultimately went to Senator William W. Eaton of Connecticut, on the 11th ballot.

National American Nomination[]

The National American National Convention was held from June 20-28, 1884. This convention was also contested between two main factions of the party, the Nationals and the Americans. Most Nationals supported their faction leader James G. Blaine, with some others supporting George F. Edmunds. The Americans were divided between candidates including Frederick T. Frelinghuysen, Roscoe Conkling, and Charles J. Folger.

The American faction suspected that their National opponents would try to blame their radical policies for the party's defeat in 1880 and use this as the basis to deny them the nomination. They spent the years between the elections diligently building up their support among potential delegates, determined to hold a majority by the time the convention started. They were, of course, accused of corruption and cronyism in doing this, but by the time the convention arrived, they did indeed have a slight advantage over the Nationals. It was not enough to select the candidate on their own, however.

The Americans switched between several main candidates, all of them falling just short of nomination. The convention went for over 20 ballots before somewhat of a dark horse emerged. Senator William B. Allison was known as a compromiser in the senate, mainly favoring the American faction but fostering good relationships with everyone in the party. This reputation proved to be just enough to garner support from the other side, and he barely secured nomination on the 22nd ballot.

Photograph of Chauncey Depew — Chauncey Depew

The vice presidential nomination was not considered to be extremely important- the party mainly just desired a candidate from New York to balance the Iowan Allison and help them win the pivotal state. They offered the nomination to Chauncey Depew, an attorney and executive for various railroad companies, mainly the Vanderbilt system. It was hoped that his connections to the railroad industry would bolster the campaign's funding and guarantee victory in New York. Depew accepted the nomination without hesitation.

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. They charged that the current economic crisis was not due to the gold standard but was actually the result of irresponsible, inflationary economic measures enacted by the Pendleton administration. They refrained from attacks on the incumbent president.

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 Hendricks campaign tried to link the National Americans to the Republican Party, saying that they were a rehash of old, failed ideas and would lead the country back into ruin. Hendricks himself was unable to do much direct work on the campaign. Occasionally he was even unable to deliver speeches to visitors at his home as he was too ill. The much younger Allison led a vigorous campaign by the standards of the time. President Tilden was similarly frail but supported his vice president with statements from the White House. Pendleton campaigned more actively for Hendricks. The two men said that, whatever differences they had, a Democrat in the White House was still better than a National American under any circumstance. Eaton and Depew battled in New York and for control of the East's pivotal electoral votes. Depew was noted for his engaging style of speaking which captivated audiences of vital swing voters. Democrats tried to use his career to link the National American campaign to business interests.

Each party tried to blame the other for the current economic failure. National Americans claimed that the crisis was a natural result of ending irresponsible management of the country's monetary system by the Democrats. Once it was over, they said, their higher tariffs would help industrial production and jump start the economy to new levels of prosperity. Democrats promised to return the country to bimetallism and help end the crisis by inflating the money supply once again. It was noted that Allison was open to compromise on the money issue in order to solve the economic crisis.

The campaign also focused on issues of diplomacy with the Confederacy and the lack of civil rights reform under the Democrats. The majority of voters felt that it was time to move onto a new era with new policies rather than the Democrats' ideas from the past.

Results and Aftermath[]

Allison won easily, ending 16 years of Democratic control of the White House. Whatever complexities existed, the party in office was simply more likely to receive the blame for the state of the economy. Depew's outstanding showing against Eaton in the Northeast is credited with securing New York for the National Americans. Even if the Democrats had won New York, though, it would not have been nearly enough to win the election. Not counting their split in 1860, this election was the worst showing for Democrats in a presidential election since 1840.

Hendricks did die in October 1885, what would have been seven months into his term as president. Shockingly, though, Allison would actually die first as he was assassinated by Charles J. Guiteau in June. Chauncey Depew became president for the majority of Allison's term. Combined, the two National American presidents were able to pass most of their agenda with the backing of Congress.