The last Lincoln Republican : the presidential election of 1880

Author / Creator

Arrington, B. T. (Benjamin T.) author

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Summary

"Of all the great "what if" scenarios in American history, the aftermath of the presidential election of 1880 stands out as one of the most significant. The end of the Civil War and the assassinati...

"Of all the great "what if" scenarios in American history, the aftermath of the presidential election of 1880 stands out as one of the most significant. The end of the Civil War and the assassination of Abraham Lincoln threw the future of Lincoln's vision for the country into considerable doubt. The years that followed--marked by impeachment, constitutional change, and presidential scandals--were a contest between competing ideas regarding civil rights that ultimately led to the end of Reconstruction by the time of the contested election of 1876, in which the Republican Rutherford B. Hayes, thanks to a congressionally appointed commission, won the presidency over Samuel J. Tilden despite losing the popular vote. Democrats spent the next four years claiming Tilden had been robbed, while Republicans sought to retain power as they transitioned into the party of "big business." In this tense situation, the candidacy of James A. Garfield, a seasoned politician known for his advocacy for civil rights, represented the last potential Reconstruction presidency. A fierce opponent of slavery before the Civil War and a Union volunteer during it, Garfield had fought for civil rights for Black Americans for years in Congress. Garfield was the last true "Lincoln Republican," and with his death in 1881 at the hands of Charles Guiteau, that vision died as well. The 1880 presidential contest between Garfield and Winfield Scott Hancock--the only time both candidates were Union Civil War veterans--could have been the start of a period of greater civil rights legislation. Instead, it marked the start of the "solid South" and confirmed the Republican Party's turn away from the values that characterized it during the Civil War"--

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