Editing Garret Hobart (section)

== Election of 1896 ==
{{Further|1896 United States presidential election|William McKinley 1896 presidential campaign}}

=== Selection as candidate ===
[[File:JTHobart.gif|thumb|Hobart's wife [[Jennie Tuttle Hobart|Jennie]]]]
[[File:McKinley-Hobart 1896.jpg|thumb|A McKinley-Hobart campaign poster during the [[1896 United States presidential election|1896 campaign]]]]
[[Jennie Tuttle Hobart]], in her memoirs, traced her suspicions that her husband might be a vice presidential contender to a lunch she had with him at the [[Waldorf-Astoria Hotel|Waldorf Hotel]] in New York City, in March 1895. During the meal, industrialist and future U.S. Senator [[Mark Hanna]] interrupted them to ask what Garret Hobart thought of the possible presidential candidacy of [[Governor of Ohio|Ohio governor]] [[William McKinley]]. Hanna was one of McKinley's principal backers. Garret Hobart evaded the question, but Jennie Hobart believed the conversation to have been the first of a chain of events which elevated her husband to national office.{{sfn|Hobart|p=5}}

In November 1895, Republican [[John W. Griggs|John Griggs]] was elected [[governor of New Jersey]]; his campaign was managed by Hobart. The election of New Jersey's first Republican governor since the 1860s led to speculation in the newspapers that Hobart would be a candidate for vice president. New Jersey Republicans were anxious to nominate Hobart, both to see one of their own possibly elevated to national office, and in the hope that having Hobart on the national ticket would boost the Republican vote in New Jersey. Hobart was an attractive candidate as he was from a swing state, and the Griggs victory showed that Republicans could hope to win New Jersey's electoral votes, which they had not done since 1872. Another reason for a Hobart selection was his wealth; he could be expected to spend abundantly on his own campaign.{{sfn|Connolly|pp=25–26}}

According to Hanna biographer [[Herbert Croly]], Hobart, an early supporter of McKinley, helped ensure New Jersey's support for him at [[1896 Republican National Convention|the Republican convention]].{{sfn|Croly|p=180}} Historian Stanley Jones, in his study of the 1896 election, stated that Hobart stopped off in [[Canton, Ohio]], McKinley's hometown, en route to the convention in St. Louis. Jones wrote that the future vice president was selected several days in advance, after [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker of the House]] [[Thomas Brackett Reed|Thomas Reed]] of [[Maine]] turned down the nomination.{{sfn|Jones|pp=175–176}} Croly asserted that McKinley and Hanna desired an easterner on the ticket to balance it and boost support in the [[Mid-Atlantic states|Mid-Atlantic region]]. The conventional means of assuring this was to nominate a politician from [[New York (state)|New York]], then the largest state in population. As many New York delegates supported their [[favorite son]] candidate, Governor (and former vice president) [[Levi P. Morton]], instead of McKinley, giving the state the vice-presidential nomination would be an unmerited reward. According to Croly,

{{Blockquote|On the other hand, the adjoining state of New Jersey submitted an eligible candidate in Mr. Garret A. Hobart, who had done much to strengthen the Republican party in his own neighborhood. Mr. Hobart was well known to Mr. Hanna, and in all probability, his nomination had been scheduled for some time. It was practically announced early in June. He was a lawyer and a businessman with an exclusively local reputation; and if he did little to strengthen the ticket he did nothing to weaken it.{{sfn|Croly|p=191}}}}

{{quote box | align = right | width = 24em | salign = right
| quote =  Not for himself, but for our state; not for his ambition, but to give to the Nation the highest type of public official do we come to this convention, by the command of our state and in the name of the Republican Party of New Jersey—unconquered and unconquerable, undivided and indivisible—with our united voices speaking for all that counts for good citizenship in our state, and nominate to you for the office of Vice-President of the Republic, Garret A. Hobart of New Jersey.
| source = —[[John Franklin Fort]] of New Jersey, June 18, 1896{{sfn|Law|p=400}}}}

McKinley was nominated for president on the first ballot. Hobart described his subsequent first-ballot nomination for vice president as a tribute from his friends, but Hatfield noted, "it came equally as a tribute from [Hanna, who] wanted a ticket to satisfy the business interests of America, and Hobart, a corporate lawyer, fit that requirement perfectly".{{sfn|Hatfield|p=290}} Although a Hobart nomination had been talked about at least since Griggs' victory the previous November, Hobart expressed reluctance in a letter to his wife from the convention: "It looks to me I will be nominated for Vice-President whether I want it or not, and as I get nearer to the point where I may, I am dismayed at the thought&nbsp; ... If I want a nomination, everything is going my way. But when I realize all that it means in work, worry, and loss of home and bliss, I am overcome, so overcome I am simply miserable."{{sfn|Hatfield|p=290}} Despite Hobart's expressed hesitation, he was welcomed home by a crowd of 15,000 at the Paterson Armory. City officials, feeling they had insufficient fireworks to properly honor Hobart, obtained more from New York City.{{sfn|Connolly|p=27}}

According to historian R. Hal Williams, the Republicans left [[St. Louis]] in June with "a popular, experienced [presidential] candidate, a respected vice-presidential nominee, and an attractive platform".{{sfn|Williams|p=65}} Many Republicans were convinced the election would be fought over the issue of [[tariff]]s, and they anticipated an easy victory.{{sfn|Williams|pp=65–66}}

On June 30, 1896, Hobart journeyed by train to Canton, where he was met at the station by his [[running mate]]. McKinley drove Hobart to the Ohioan's home, where Hobart followed McKinley in speaking to a delegation which had arrived to greet the presidential candidate. Hobart only remained in Canton a few hours before returning east.{{sfn|Smith|pp=31–35}} According to Hobart's [[Presbyterianism|Presbyterian]] [[Minister (Christianity)|minister]] and biographer David Magie, Hobart made the trip "to pay his respects to the head of the ticket and to consult with him upon important matters".{{sfn|Magie|p=113}} McKinley biographer Margaret Leech recorded that the two men were friends almost as soon as they met.{{sfn|Leech|p=68}}

=== Campaign ===
{{For|a fuller explanation of the currency question in 1896|Cross of Gold speech#Background}}
[[File:Pioneer Cleveland.jpg|thumb|"Pioneer Cleveland", a ''[[Puck (magazine)|Puck]]'' magazine cartoon showing Republicans following the path of the gold standard, which President [[Grover Cleveland]] (right) has blazed. Hobart (in a black coat just left of center) is wearing a campaign ribbon with his name on it, and walks between McKinley and former president [[Benjamin Harrison]] (with gray hat).]]
The [[Panic of 1893]] had led to hard times in the United States, and the effects were still felt in 1896. One proposal to cure the economic malaise was "[[Free Silver]]"; that the government would accept silver bullion and return it to the depositor, struck into [[Morgan dollar|silver dollars]]. At the time, the silver in a dollar coin was worth $.53. Implementation of the proposals would increase the money supply and cause difficulties in international trade with nations that remained on the [[gold standard]]. Proponents argued that the increased money supply would stimulate the economy. President [[Grover Cleveland]] was firmly for the gold standard, a stance which bitterly divided the Democratic Party. Most Republicans were for the gold standard, though some, mostly from the West, were "Silver Republicans".{{sfn|Williams|pp=35–39}} The Democrats in early July nominated for president an eloquent silver supporter, former [[Nebraska]] congressman [[William Jennings Bryan]], whose [[Cross of Gold speech]] at the convention catapulted him to the nomination.{{sfn|Rhodes|pp=13–16}} The selection of Bryan prompted a wave of popular support for the Democrats.{{sfn|Horner|pp=179–181}}

Hobart was a strong supporter of the gold standard; and insisted on it remaining a major part of the Republican campaign even in the face of Bryan's surge. In his speech responding to the formal notification of his convention victory, Hobart stated, "An honest dollar, worth 100 cents everywhere, cannot be coined out of 53 cents worth of silver plus a legislative fiat. Such a debasement of our currency would inevitably produce incalculable loss, appalling disaster, and National dishonor."{{sfn|Connolly|p=27}} McKinley was not as strong a supporter of the gold standard as Hobart and considered modifying some of Hobart's expressed views on the gold standard before the acceptance was printed for public distribution. Hobart insisted on it being printed without change, writing, "I think I know the sentiment of Eastern men better than you can, and with this knowledge and my convictions I must retain the statements as I have written them."{{sfn|Magie|p=104}} According to Connolly, "Though a protectionist, Hobart believed the money issue, not tariffs, led to a November Republican victory, and, in denouncing silver, his rhetoric far outstripped [that of] William McKinley."{{sfn|Connolly|p=27}}

Together with Pennsylvania Senator [[Matthew Quay]], Hobart ran the McKinley campaign's New York City office, often making the short journey from [[Paterson, New Jersey|Paterson]] for strategy meetings. The vice-presidential candidate emulated McKinley in giving speeches [[front porch campaign|from his front porch]]; unlike McKinley he also addressed rallies. In October, he made a short tour of New Jersey to campaign, expressing relief to his wife when it came to a close. On November 3, 1896, the voters cast their ballots in most states; a nervous Hobart spent the day at his office. Special telegraph wires had been attached to his home; at 8:30 in the evening, they conveyed the news to him that McKinley and Hobart had won. The Republican ticket won New Jersey, together with the entire Northeast. The following week, Vice President-elect Hobart attended Rutgers' 130th-anniversary celebrations as guest of honor. The member of the Class of 1863 was now Rutgers' most prominent graduate.{{sfn|Connolly|p=27}}