1888 United States Presidential Election (Brothers No More)

United States presidential election, 1888
All 294 electoral votes of the Electoral College; 148 electoral votes needed to win
	Electoral College results
President before election; Chauncey Depew; National American	Elected President ; Chauncey Depew; National American

The United States Presidential Election of 1888, the 26th U.S. presidential election, took place on November 6, 1888. President Chauncey Depew won reelection over Democrat Thomas F. Bayard.

Background[]

The United States seemed to be heading on a new path after the election of National American William B. Allison in the 1884 election. There was great potential in his presidency, but he was shot and killed just three months into his term. His short time in office was still productive- he raised tariffs, restored bimetallism, strengthened civil rights, and passed a slave sanctuary law protecting escaped slaves from the Confederacy. New York businessman and vice president Chauncey Depew took over as president after Allison's death and continued his agenda. Depew was controversial as president. Democrats frequently accused him of being owned by railroad interests due to his previous career as a railroad executive and attorney. His administration was highly pro-business and pro-railroad, raising tariffs even further in a bid to stoke the economy. The economy marginally recovered but still lagged in a depression stemming from the Panic of 1883. Democrats believed they had a chance to retake the presidency after just one term of National American control.

Democratic Nomination[]

The 1888 Democratic National Convention was held from June 5-10 in St. Louis. The party put an emphasis on reform, both on civil service and on big business such as railroads. They wished to promote themselves as the populist alternative to the "corrupt" and "greedy" President Depew. The factional warfare between the Bullwhackers and Tildenites had begun to die down. The Bullwhacker position of warm relations with the Confederacy lost favor among most of the public, including Democrats, and so Tildenites became the dominant faction in the party heading into this convention.

The leading Tildenite candidates were Allen G. Thurman and Abram Hewitt. Both had issues- Thurman was old and the party did not want a repeat of Hendricks' 1884 campaign. Hewitt was seen as too closely linked to industry.

The leading Bullwhacker candidate was Daniel W. Voorhees of Indiana, with some delegates again supporting former president George H. Pendleton for a third term. Looming over everyone was the popular candidacy of Thomas F. Bayard, who fell somewhere between the two factions but leaned towards the Tildenites due to his support of the gold standard.

Photograph of William Ralls Morrison — William Ralls Morrison

After the Tildenites failed to get any of their more committed candidates nominated, most of them switched their support to Bayard. Pendleton, in the interest of party unity against the National Americans, also threw his support to Bayard. This won him the nomination on the 8th ballot. Bayard was acceptable to the Bullwhackers as he had formerly been a peace Democrat.

There were many candidates for the vice presidency. George W. Glick, former governor of Kansas, received support for his anti-business reputation. However, he was from an electorally unimportant state that the Democrats likely couldn't win anyway. In order to balance any perceived softness on the Confederacy by Bayard, some delegates suggested nominating a former Civil War general. This would have been a risky move as all major parties had generally avoided linking themselves to the failed war effort. A compromise emerged in the form of William Ralls Morrison, who had served in the war and been permanently injured during his service. He had most recently served as a longtime representative from Illinois and would help the Democrats compete in the vital state.

National American Nomination[]

Photograph of William Windom — William Windom

The 1888 National American National Convention was held from June 27-July 2 in New York. Incumbent president Chauncey Depew actively sought the nomination but was not guaranteed it. His pursuit of party unity had left him without a strong base among either of the major factions in the party. Some of his decisions in office had been controversial, such as withdrawing his support for strong civil service reform. His pro-railroad reputation was seen as potentially damaging to the ticket.

Some delegates sought an alternative more similar to former president Allison. John J. Ingalls of Kansas was a leading candidate in this regard. Others looked for a more traditional candidate such as John Sherman, James G. Blaine, or James A. Garfield. With the opposition unable to unite around a single candidate, Depew won the nomination on the second ballot.

It was desired for the vice presidential candidate to be from the west and also a noted opponent of railroad interests to reassure voters about Depew's integrity. Senator William Windom of Minnesota fit this bill and was nominated.

The Campaign[]

Observers generally believed the election to be a tossup, potentially leaning towards the Democrats. However true or untrue it was, the corruption narrative against Depew was very effective and captured the imagination of the public. High tariffs and bimetallism had yet to substantially improve the economy, so the Democrats' economic proposals of lowering tariffs and reinstating the gold standard seemed to have merit. Democrats hoped that Bayard's support of the gold standard would attract additional votes in the Northeast where they had traditionally struggled.

The Democrats also had notable weaknesses in this campaign. The public was still suspicious of them for potentially being too soft on the Confederacy, a notion not dispelled by Bayard's past sentiments. They had also not forgotten that it was Tilden and his implementation of the gold standard which had immediately triggered the recession in the first place. Overall, without the solid Southern states, the electoral map in the Union just wasn't extremely favorable for the Democrats. They would almost be required to win New York and then also stack several high value targets on top of it such as Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio. The fact that Depew hailed from New York did not help their cause.

Campaign activities were relatively calm. Depew continued to serve as president while Bayard continued to serve as a senator. Bayard made sure to frequently criticize the president in his floor speeches and call for reform. Democrat-aligned media continued to attack Depew as corrupt as they had since the moment he had risen to the presidency. National Americans accused Bayard and the Democrats of being much too soft on the Confederacy- they alleged that this stance was the root of their support for lower tariffs. They continued to point to The Great Disgrace of 1876 as evidence of their leanings.

Democrats did not campaign on reversing abolition, but Bayard did express his desire to return voting rights policy to the states. He believed that the Sanctuary Act had gone too far in punishing citizens who aided in returning slaves to the Confederacy. National Americans used this fact to fuel their attacks on him. However, most Americans cared about the economy above everything else.

Results and Aftermath[]

The election was close as anticipated. It came down to a narrow victory by Depew in his home state- if Bayard had won New York, the election would have been tied and gone to the House of Representatives. There were many who felt that Depew was not deserving of a second term, but the president himself took it as a sign that his own policies, unbeholden to either party faction, had popular support. He took a more forward role in running his administration after being sworn in as president in his own right.

Depew continued to push for even higher tariffs in his second term. The economy came out of recession in 1889. In 1890, the McKinley Tariff passed, the highest tariff imposed in United States history. More importantly, it imposed even higher punitive tariffs on slaveholding nations. This tariff and other measures supported by President Depew sparked a diplomatic crisis with the Confederacy, known as the New Orleans Crisis, resolution of which would dominate Depew's legacy and the election of 1892.

Depew was the fourth straight incumbent president who sought reelection to win reelection, the others being Abraham Lincoln in 1864, George H. Pendleton in 1872, and Samuel J. Tilden in 1880. That remains the longest streak in US history. Depew was also the first individual to succeed to the presidency by way of the vice presidency and then win reelection to a term as president in their own right.