Editing James G. Blaine (section)

=== Plumed Knight ===
{{Main|1876 Republican National Convention}}
[[File:1876 Republican National Convention - Ohio.jpg|thumb|Exposition Hall of Cincinnati during the announcement of [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] as the Republican nominee]]

Though he was damaged by the Mulligan letters, Blaine entered the convention as the favorite.{{sfnm|Hoogenboom||1p=261|Muzzey||2pp=104–107}} Five other men were also considered serious candidates: [[Benjamin Bristow]], the Kentucky-born [[United States Secretary of the Treasury|Treasury Secretary]]; Roscoe Conkling, Blaine's old enemy and now a Senator from New York; Senator [[Oliver P. Morton]] of [[Indiana]]; Governor [[Rutherford B. Hayes]] of [[Ohio]]; and Governor [[John F. Hartranft]] of Pennsylvania.{{sfnm|Hoogenboom||1p=261|Muzzey||2pp=104–107}}

Blaine was nominated by [[Illinois]] orator [[Robert G. Ingersoll]] in what became a famous speech:

{{blockquote|This is a grand year—a year filled with recollections of the Revolution&nbsp;... a year in which the people call for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander, the man who has snatched the mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion&nbsp;... Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James G. Blaine from the state of Maine marched down the halls of the American Congress and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of every traitor to his country and every maligner of his fair reputation.<ref>Quoted in {{harvnb|Muzzey|p=110}}.</ref>}}

The speech was a success and Ingersoll's description of Blaine as a "plumed knight" remained a nickname for Blaine for years to come.{{sfn|Crapol|p=45}} On the first ballot, no candidate received the required majority of 378, but Blaine had the most votes, with 285, and no other candidate had more than 125.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=111–112|Hoogenboom||2p=263}} There were a few vote shifts in the next five ballots, and Blaine climbed to 308 votes, with his nearest competitor having just 111.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=111–112|Hoogenboom||2p=263}} On the seventh ballot, however, the situation shifted drastically because anti-Blaine delegates began to coalesce around Hayes. By the time the balloting ended, Blaine's votes had risen to 351, but Hayes surpassed him with 384, a majority.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=111–112|Hoogenboom||2p=263}}

Blaine received the news at his home in Washington and [[Telegraphy|telegraphed]] Hayes his congratulations.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=115}} In the subsequent [[1876 United States presidential election|contest of 1876]], Hayes was elected after a [[Compromise of 1877|contentious compromise over disputed electoral votes]].{{sfnm|Hoogenboom||1pp=274–294|Muzzey||2pp=116–127}} The results of the convention had further effects on Blaine's political career because Bristow, having lost the nomination, resigned as Treasury Secretary three days after the convention ended.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=115}} President Grant selected Senator [[Lot M. Morrill]] of Maine to fill the cabinet post, and Maine's governor, [[Seldon Connor]], appointed Blaine to the now-vacant Senate seat.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=115}} When the Maine Legislature reconvened that autumn, it confirmed Blaine's appointment and elected him to the full six-year term that would begin on March 4, 1877.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=115}}{{efn|Before the passage of the [[Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]] in 1913, Senators were chosen by their states' legislatures.}}