Editing Mark Hanna (section)

==Post war==
[[File:Hanna 1877.png|thumb|upright|left|Mark Hanna, around 1877|alt=A middle-aged American gentleman of the immediate post-civil-war era. In this black-and-white portrait shot the subject looks to the viewer's right. His hair is short and sharply combed, and a beard is prominent on his chin. He wears a dark suit and white shirt.]]

Even before his service during the Civil War, Hanna had fallen in love with Charlotte Augusta Rhodes, whom he met in 1862, shortly after her return from a [[finishing school]].  Her father Daniel Rhodes was an ardent Democrat and was distantly related to [[Illinois]] Senator [[Stephen A. Douglas]], the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for president [[1860 United States presidential election|in 1860]].  Rhodes disliked the fact that Hanna had supported the successful Republican candidate, former Illinois Congressman [[Abraham Lincoln]].  Daniel Rhodes eventually yielded, and Mark and Charlotte Augusta Hanna were married on September 27, 1864.{{sfn|Croly|pp=66–68}}

The 1850s and 1860s were a time of great expansion for Cleveland, which grew from a small lakeside town to a major player in [[Great Lakes]] commerce and a rival to the southern Ohio city of [[Cincinnati]].{{sfn|Croly|pp=54–55}}  With peace restored in 1865, Hanna struck out on his own ventures.  Foreseeing a demand for petroleum products, he built a refinery, and also invested his own money in the ''Lac La Belle'', a swift [[lake freighter|Great Lakes steamer]].  The ship sank and the refinery burned, uninsured.  The losses reduced Hanna to near-insolvency.{{sfn|Beer|pp=53–55}}   According to Hanna biographer [[Herbert Croly]], "he had gained little from the first nine years of his business life except experience."{{sfn|Croly|p=52}}  His father-in-law, appreciating Hanna's potential, took him into his own business in 1867 as a partner and soon retired.  The firm, Rhodes and Company (later [[M.A. Hanna Company|M.A. Hanna and Company]]), dealt principally in coal and steel, but under Hanna expanded into many fields.{{sfn|Beer|pp=53–55}}{{sfn|Croly|pp=57–60}}  The firm had close dealings with the railroads—especially the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]], which carried much of its freight. Hanna later became director of two railroads, including one of the Pennsylvania's [[leased line]]s.{{sfn|Croly|pp=57–60}}

In [[1868 United States presidential election|the 1868 presidential election]], Hanna supported the Republican, former Union General [[Ulysses S. Grant]].  The flood of inflationary [[United States Note|greenback]] currency issued during the war made Rhodes and Company's dealings in the new confederation of Canada difficult; merchants would accept a dollar in paper money as the equivalent of 35 cents in gold.  Hanna hoped that Grant, who was elected, would institute policies which would return full value to the currency.{{sfn|Beer|pp=55–56}}  The firm built many vessels and also gained interests in a wide variety of firms, which in turn used the Rhodes steamers.{{sfn|Croly|pp=58–59}}  Hanna also purchased Cleveland's opera house, allowing it to remain open at times when it could not pay its full rent.{{sfn|Croly|pp=74–75}}

During Grant's first four-year term, Hanna began to involve himself in politics.  At first, his interest was purely local, supporting Republican candidates for municipal and [[Cuyahoga County, Ohio|Cuyahoga County]] offices.{{sfn|Beer|p=69}}  In 1869, he was elected to the Cleveland Board of Education, but as he was traveling a good deal for business at the time, was able to attend less than half the meetings.{{sfn|Croly|pp=111–112}}  In 1873, disgusted by local scandals and the influence of party bosses, he and other Republicans briefly abandoned the party to elect a Democrat running for mayor of Cleveland on a reform agenda.{{sfn|Beer|p=69}}