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Political writers have been unable to find a dirtier presidential election than the 1884 race between Cleveland and Blaine. Charges of graft, lasciviousness, and bigotry were only some of the allegations made in this hotly disputed election. And because the 1884 race was one of the closest presidential elections in history, political pundits have been fond of playing the game of "What if..." Only small changes in the campaign could easily have resulted in the election of a President Blaine.
In nominating Blaine, the Republicans were selecting their clear front-runner. Blaine had been Speaker of the House, member of the Senate, and a strong presidential hopeful of 1876 and 1880. He had served as Garfield's Secretary of State. He was an excellent speaker, and even had a flamboyant nickname given him by a congressional colleague: "the plumed knight."
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Unfortunately, Blaine had a number of bitter enemies. Foremost among these was Roscoe Conkling, who on more than one occasional had battled Blaine for the Republican presidential nomination. Moreover, many believed Blaine had engaged in crooked financial dealings, accepting business favors in exchange for congressional influence. In particular, Blaine's investments in an Arkansas railroad had attracted attention. A man named Mulligan had produced some incriminating Blaine missives, some of which ended with the statement, "burn this letter."
Some reformers in the Republican party were dismayed enough to leave the Grand Old Party, and to implore the Democrats to nominate a man of rectitude. These so-called Mugwumps got their wish, as the Democrats turned to Grover Cleveland to head their ticket. Cleveland had a reputation as a civil service reformer, and as governor of New York he had freely vetoed bills that were in the nature of special favors for certain constituents. Thus Cleveland got off to a good start, with most Democratic partisans enthusiastic about his candidacy, and reformist Republicans offering their support as well.
Cleveland's clean reputation was quickly sullied. Republicans reported that the Democratic standard-bearer was a draft-dodger who avoided his country's call during the Civil War. Cleveland admitted that he had hired a substitute, as permitted under the nation's conscription laws. Still, given that every president since Andrew Johnson had been a war veteran (a general, in fact) Cleveland's less-than-illustrious military record was troubling to many, including the Mugwumps.
Equally serious was the allegation that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child. Much to everyone's surprise, after the charges surfaced Cleveland ordered his handlers to confirm the truth of the allegations. Cleveland admitted sleeping with Maria Halpin, and explained that he had paid support for the time that young Oscar Folsom Cleveland was in a New York orphanage. Delighted Republicans began pushing baby carriages in their parades, singing the ditty that would become famous:
Yet Cleveland's honesty about the charges was refreshing. Some Mugwumps came to reason that at least Cleveland's sin was a private one, while Blaine (they believed) had prostituted his political office.
Of course during all this controversy both candidates stayed quietly at home, while their supporters did the campaigning for them. It was believed undignified for a candidate to have to ask personally for voters' support. When the supporters weren't talking about the seamy Mulligan letters or illegitimate children, they occasionally found time to address current affairs. The chief issue of the 1884 campaign, aside from mud-slinging, was the tariff. Predictably, the Republican Blaine favored a high tariff to protect American manufacturers and laborers. The Democrat Cleveland advocated a low tariff to make American companies more competitive, and to keep consumer prices low.
Sensing he was falling behind, Blaine eventually made the decision to launch a campaign tour. While he was not the first presidential candidate to do so, his course was certainly unusual, and demonstrated to the Democrats that Blaine was worried. The candidate delivered some 425 speeches, ending the campaign with nine days in the key state of New York. In the city of New York in particular, Blaine hoped to win some Irish-American votes, which would be a notable accomplishment for a Republican.
With only a few days left in the campaign, Blaine listened from the speaker's platform as a Presbyterian minister urged that real Republicans would refuse to leave their party and to identify "with the party whose antecedents have been rum, Romanism, and rebellion." Despite the mudslinging and bigoted nature of the remark, when Blaine rose to speak he made no effort to distance himself from the comments. Democrats plastered the three "r's" over every Democratic newspaper for the four days or so before the election. By so doing, they insured that no Democrat would desert Cleveland, and that Democrats would turn out in large numbers to avenge the insult. Blaine did eventually issue a weak statement saying speakers shouldn't belittle other people's religion, but his comments were too little, too late.
The results were so close that the victor was not known for several days after the election. Cleveland carried the South plus four other states, with New York in doubt. Finally the news emerged: Cleveland had carried New York by 1,149 votes. He was the first Democratic presidential candidate to win an election since 1856, and he had won it with less than a majority.
What if the economy weren't in a mild recession in 1884? Voters tend to blame hard times on the party in power, and Cleveland undoubtedly benefited from this. With the economy on a sounder footing, Blaine might well have been victorious.
What if the Republicans had nominated someone with less of a checkered past? If Republicans had managed to find someone with the rectitude of a Hayes or a Garfield, the Mugwumps would not have bolted, and the Republicans should have had little problem hanging on to the presidency.
What if New York City politicians weren't so adept at ballot-box stuffing? After the election many Republicans charged that certain Democratic ward bosses waited for the early returns before sending in the returns from their neighborhood, first asking the state party leaders "how many votes are needed to elect Cleveland?"
What if that Republican speaker hadn't made the rum, Romanism, and rebellion comments, or what if Blaine had disavowed them promptly? Blaine might have won a few Irish-American votes—and recall that Blaine's loss in the Empire State was by a margin of only 1,149 votes. Thus he needed on