Editing James G. Blaine (section)

== 1884 presidential election ==
{{Main|1884 United States presidential election}}
[[File:James G. Blaine - John A. Logan.jpg|thumb|Blaine/Logan campaign poster]]
[[File:Bernard Gilliam - Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal.jpg|thumb|An 1884 cartoon ridicules Blaine as the tattooed-man with many indelible scandals.{{efn|The cartoon is based on ''[[Phryne before the Areopagus]]'', a painting by [[Jean-Léon Gérôme]].}}]]
[[File:Another voice for Cleveland - F.B. LCCN95522869 - restoration2.jpg|thumb|An anti-[[Grover Cleveland|Cleveland]] cartoon highlights the Halpin scandal.]]

=== Nomination ===
{{Main|1884 Republican National Convention}}
In the months leading up to the [[1884 Republican National Convention|1884 convention]], Blaine was once more considered the favorite for the nomination, but President Arthur was contemplating a run for election in his own right.{{sfnm|Crapol||1p=91|Reeves||2pp=368–371}} George Edmunds was again the favored candidate among reformers and John Sherman had a few delegates pledged to him, but neither was expected to command much support at the convention.{{sfn|Crapol|p=92}} [[John A. Logan]] of Illinois hoped to attract Stalwart votes if Arthur's campaign was unsuccessful. Blaine was unsure he wanted to try for the nomination for the third time and even encouraged General [[William Tecumseh Sherman|William T. Sherman]], John Sherman's older brother, to accept it if it came to him, but ultimately Blaine agreed to be a candidate again.{{sfn|Muzzey|pp=273–277}}

[[William H. West (judge)|William H. West]] of Ohio nominated Blaine with an enthusiastic speech and after the first ballot, Blaine led the count with 334½ votes.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=281–285|Reeves||2p=380}} While short of the necessary 417 for nomination, Blaine had far more than any other candidate with Arthur in second place at 278 votes.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=281–285|Reeves||2p=380}} Blaine was unacceptable to the Arthur delegates just as Blaine's own delegates would never vote for the President, so the contest was between the two for the delegates of the remaining candidates.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=281–285|Reeves||2p=380}} Blaine's total steadily increased as Logan and Sherman withdrew in his favor and some of the Edmunds delegates defected to him.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=281–285|Reeves||2p=380}} Unlike in previous conventions, the momentum for Blaine in 1884 would not be halted.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=285–286|Reeves||2p=381}} On the fourth ballot, Blaine received 541 votes and was, at last, nominated.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=285–286|Reeves||2p=381}} Logan was named vice presidential nominee on the first ballot, and the Republicans had their [[Ticket (election)|ticket]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=285–286|Reeves||2p=381}}

=== Campaign against Cleveland ===
The Democrats held [[1884 Democratic National Convention|their convention]] in Chicago the following month and nominated Governor [[Grover Cleveland]] of New York. Cleveland's time on the national scene was brief, but Democrats hoped that his reputation as a reformer and an opponent of corruption would attract Republicans dissatisfied with Blaine and his reputation for scandal.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=145–155|Muzzey||2pp=293–296}} They were correct, as reform-minded Republicans (called "[[Mugwumps]]") denounced Blaine as corrupt and flocked to Cleveland.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=287–293|Nevins||2pp=156–159}} The Mugwumps, including such men as [[Carl Schurz]] and [[Henry Ward Beecher]], were more concerned with morality than with party, and felt Cleveland was a kindred soul who would promote civil service reform and fight for efficiency in government.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=287–293|Nevins||2pp=156–159}} However, even as the Democrats gained support from the Mugwumps, they lost some [[blue-collar]] workers to the [[Greenback Party]], led by [[Benjamin Butler (politician)|Benjamin F. Butler]], Blaine's antagonist from their early days in the House.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=187–188|Muzzey||2p=294|2loc=n. 2}}

The campaign focused on the candidates' personalities, as each candidate's supporters cast aspersions on their opponents. Cleveland's supporters rehashed the old allegations from the Mulligan letters that Blaine had corruptly influenced legislation in favor of railroads, later profiting on the sale of bonds he owned in both companies.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=159–162|Muzzey||2pp=301–304}} Although the stories of Blaine's favors to the railroads had made the rounds eight years earlier, this time more of his correspondence was discovered, making his earlier denials less plausible.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=159–162|Muzzey||2pp=301–304}} Blaine acknowledged that the letters were genuine, but denied that anything in them impugned his integrity or contradicted his earlier explanations.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=159–162|Muzzey||2pp=301–304}} Nevertheless, what Blaine described as "stale slander" served to focus the public's attention negatively on his character.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=159–162|Muzzey||2pp=301–304}} On some of the most damaging correspondence, Blaine had written "Burn this letter," giving Democrats the last line to their rallying cry: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine, the continental liar from the state of Maine, 'Burn this letter!'"{{sfnm|Nevins||1p=177|Muzzey||2pp=303–304}}

To counter Cleveland's image of superior morality, Republicans discovered reports that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child while he was a lawyer in [[Buffalo, New York]], and chanted "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?"—to which the Democrats, after Cleveland had been elected, appended, "Gone to the White House, Ha! Ha! Ha!"{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=162–169|Muzzey||2pp=298–299}} Cleveland admitted to paying child support in 1874 to Maria Crofts Halpin, the woman who claimed he fathered her child named Oscar Folsom Cleveland.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=162–169|Muzzey||2pp=298–299}} Halpin was involved with several men at the time, including Cleveland's friend and law partner, Oscar Folsom, for whom the child was also named.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=162–169|Muzzey||2pp=298–299}} Cleveland did not know which man was the father, and is believed to have assumed responsibility because he was the only bachelor among them.{{sfnm|Nevins||1pp=162–169|Muzzey||2pp=298–299}} At the same time, Democratic operatives accused Blaine and his wife of not having been married when their eldest son, Stanwood, was born in 1851; this rumor was false, however, and caused little excitement in the campaign.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=299–300|Crapol||2p=98}}{{efn|The rumor arose because the Blaines had not filed a marriage license when they married in 1850. Licenses were not required in Kentucky until 1852.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=299–300|Crapol||2p=98}}}} Halpin disputed the claims of being involved with several men, accusing Cleveland of raping and impregnating her, then institutionalizing her against her will to gain control of their child.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Secret Life|last=Lachman|first=Charles|publisher=Skyhorse Publishing|year=2014|pages=285–288}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.whitehousehistory.org/the-life-and-presidency-of-grover-cleveland|title=The Life and Presidency of Grover Cleveland|last1=Bushong|first1=William|last2=Chervinsky|first2=Lindsay|date=2007|website=White House History}}</ref>

Both candidates believed that the states of New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election.{{sfnm|Nevins||1p=181|Muzzey||2p=322}} In New York, Blaine received less support than he anticipated when Arthur and Conkling, still powerful in the New York Republican party, failed to actively campaign for him.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=307–308|Reeves||2pp=387–389}} Blaine hoped that he would have more support from [[Irish American]]s than Republicans typically did; while the Irish were mainly a Democratic constituency in the 19th century, Blaine's mother was Irish Catholic, and he believed his career-long opposition to the British government would resonate with the Irish.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=308–309|Nevins||2p=170}} Blaine's hope for Irish defections to the Republican standard were dashed late in the campaign when one of his supporters, [[Samuel D. Burchard (clergyman)|Samuel D. Burchard]], gave a speech denouncing the Democrats as the party of "Rum, [[Romanism]], and Rebellion."{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=316–318|Nevins||2pp=181–184|Crapol||3p=99}} The Democrats spread the word of this insult in the days before the election, and Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by just over one thousand votes. While the popular vote total was close, with Cleveland winning by just one-quarter of a percent, the electoral votes gave Cleveland a majority of 219–182.{{sfnm|Summers||1pp=289–303|Muzzey||2pp=322–325}}