The Man From the State of Maine: The Presidency of James G. Blaine

After long, hard dealing with Blaine, Greenback candidate Peter Cooper pulls out of the race, and backs Blaine. Many scoff at this; they say "Are the Greenbacks big enought to matter?" Blaine pleasently remindes them "Gentlemen, every vote counts".

This could be quite significant - depending on what Blaine's promised the Greenbackers, who were a quite forward thinking bunch, backing paper currency, the eight-hour day, the income tax, and the legalization of the right to strike. For example, if Blaine shifts on Republican hard-money orthodoxy and can actually bring the Republicans or most of them with him, instead of Hayes' last-ditch opposition to inflating the currency, an inflationary bill will probably pass the Congress, which would help bring the Panic of '73 to an end a couple of years faster than OTL, and possibly create a precedent for monetary stimulus in the recessions that hit in the 80s and the Depression of 1893.

On the other hand, there's a huge list of questions about how Blaine would govern differently from Hayes. Obviously, avoiding the crisis of 1876 and the final abandonment of Reconstruction would be a big change, although much of the South had already slipped back into "Redeemer" control. Then there's the issue of civil service reform, where Hayes spent his time feuding with Conkling and didn't really get much done. Critically, there's the Great Railroad Strike of 1877 - if Blaine can pull a T.R, then the political future of the working class if much more open. Will Blaine veto the Chinese Exclusion Act in '79, or try to assimilate American Indians by breaking up the reservations? Is John Marshall Harlan going to the SC?

Overall, there's a big question mark here about whether Blaine can swing an additional 10 seats in the House of Representatives, and have enough coattails in the state legislatures to prevent losing 6 seats in the Senate (although the Republicans still held a majority).
 

Abhakhazia

Banned
The Election of 1876​

Going into the election, James Blaine remained confident on his chances.

With Peter Cooper on his side, many a Greenback voter would vopte for him.

Also, trying to slander Samuel Tilden as a Conservative who would bow to the will of the former Confederates in the south certainly helped. A campaign poster showed Tilden saluting the Confederate flag, and selling his soul to devil who looked suspiciously like Jefferson Davis in exchange for victory. At the bottom of the poster it said in big block letters- "Americans, will you let this happen?"

The answer would be a resounding "no".

James Garfield helped out in home state of Ohio, and Ohio's block of votes went quickly for Blaine. Cooper helped in Indiana, it's block of votes when into the Blaine camp.

In the south, Blaine gained a toehold in the tropical state of Florida, winning it by about a thousand votes. The rest of the South went solidly for Tilden.

Towards the northeast, Tilden took his home state of New York, along with solidly Democratic New Jersey, but Blaine took New England's votes.

At the end of the day, Blaine took victory. The next day, Tilden conceded.

In his inauguration speech, the next March, Blaine promised several things. Thse things were often called "Blaine's 5 Points" they were-
1. Work to track and stomp out corruption
2. Work to rebuild the South
3. Work to create Negro equality
4. Work to settle disputes between Natives and settlers in the West
5. Work to increase commerce across the country





Hence began the Presidency of James G. Blaine.
 
Interesting!

I look forwards to reading this! I've been reading up on this time, myself, as I work on my own timeline, and considered Blaine getting the nomination in mine. (The POD is a multi-megaton blast in New Hampshire, blasting a crater a mile wide out of Franconia Notch--a respectable meteorite impact.)

It sounds like you have a good grasp of the era's politics!
 
Can't wait to see how the Blaine Presidency goes! I always said the man got a bad rap in AH from TL-191, I'm excited to see how he does here!
 
Top