Editing James G. Blaine (section)

=== Elected to the House ===
{{Main|Electoral history of James G. Blaine}}
Blaine had considered running for the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Maine's 4th congressional district|Maine's 4th district]] in 1860, but agreed to step aside when [[Anson P. Morrill]], a former governor, announced his interest in the seat.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=37}} Morrill was successful, but after redistricting placed Blaine in the [[Maine's 3rd congressional district|3rd district]] for the [[1862–63 United States House of Representatives elections|1862 election]], he allowed his name to be put forward.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=37}} Running on a campaign of staunch support for the war effort, Blaine was elected by a wide margin; though nationwide, the Republican Party lost a significant number of seats in Congress as the [[Union (American Civil War)|Union]] war effort to date had been only weakly successful.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=39|Crapol||2pp=20–21|Russell||3p=99}} By the time Blaine took his seat in December 1863, at the start of the [[38th United States Congress|38th Congress]], the Union Army had turned the tide of the war with victories at [[Battle of Gettysburg|Gettysburg]] and [[Siege of Vicksburg|Vicksburg]].{{sfnm|Crapol||1p=20|Muzzey||2pp=42–43}}

As a first-term congressman, he initially said little, mostly following the administration's lead in supporting the continuing war effort.{{sfnm|Crapol||1p=20|Muzzey||2pp=42–43}} He did clash several times with the leader of the Republicans' [[Radical Republicans|radical faction]], [[Thaddeus Stevens]] of Pennsylvania, firstly over payment of states' debts incurred in supporting the war, and again over monetary policy concerning the new [[Greenback (money)|greenback currency]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=42–47|Russell||2pp=101–106}} Blaine also spoke in support of the commutation provision of the [[Enrollment Act|military draft law]] passed in 1863 and proposed a constitutional amendment allowing the federal government to impose taxes on exports, but it never passed.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=42–47|Russell||2pp=101–106}}