Editing James G. Blaine (section)

=== Speaker of the House ===
During his first three terms in Congress, Blaine had earned for himself a reputation as an expert of parliamentary procedure, and, aside from a growing feud with [[Roscoe Conkling]] of [[New York (state)|New York]], had become popular among his fellow Republicans.{{sfnm|Russell||1p=186|Muzzey||2p=62|Summers||3p=5}} In March 1869, when [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Schuyler Colfax]] resigned from office at the end of the [[40th United States Congress|40th Congress]] to become [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]],<ref>{{cite web| title=Representative Schuyler Colfax of Indiana| url=https://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35091| work=Historical Highlights| publisher=Office of the Historian, U.S. House of Representatives| location=Washington, D.C.| access-date=August 23, 2019}}</ref> the highly regarded Blaine was the unanimous choice of the Republican Congressional Caucus to become Speaker of the House for the [[41st United States Congress|41st Congress]].{{sfn|Muzzey|pp=62–63}} In the subsequent [[List of Speaker of the United States House of Representatives elections#March 1869 (41st Congress)|March 4, 1869, election for Speaker]], Blaine easily defeated [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] [[Michael C. Kerr]] of [[Indiana]] by a vote of 135 to 57.<ref name=Follett340>{{cite book| url=https://archive.org/details/speakerofhouseof00folluoft/page/340| title=The speaker of the House of Representatives| last=Follett| first=Mary Parker| author-link=Mary Parker Follett| year=1909| orig-year=1st ed., 1896| publisher=Longmans, Greene, and Company| location=New York| access-date=August 23, 2019| via=Internet Archive, digitized in 2007| page=340}}</ref> Republicans remained in control of the House in the [[42nd United States Congress|42nd]] and [[43rd United States Congress|43rd]] congresses, and Blaine was re-elected as speaker at the start of both of them.<ref name=Follett340/> His time as speaker came to an end following the [[1874–75 United States House of Representatives elections|1874-75 elections]] which produced a Democratic majority in the House for the [[44th United States Congress|44th Congress]].{{sfn|Crapol|p=41}}

[[File:BlaineHouse1.JPG|thumb|left|[[The Blaine House|Blaine's residence]] in the capital city of [[Augusta, Maine|Augusta]] is the home of [[Maine]] governors.]]
Blaine was an effective Speaker with a magnetic personality. In the words of Washington journalist [[Benjamin Perley Poore]], Blaine's "graceful as well as powerful figure, his strong features, glowing with health, and his hearty, honest manner, made him an attractive speaker and an esteemed friend."<ref name=Poore>[https://archive.org/details/perleysreminisce02poor/page/211/mode/1up?view=theater Poore, Ben. Perley, ''Perley's Reminiscences of Sixty Years in the National Metropolis'', Vol. 2, p. 211 (1886)].</ref> Moreover, President [[Ulysses S. Grant]] valued his skill and loyalty in leading the House.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1p=62|Crapol||2p=33|Summers||3pp=5–6}} He enjoyed the job and made his presence in Washington more permanent by buying a large residence on Fifteenth Street in the city.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=64}} At the same time, the Blaine family moved to [[the Blaine House|a mansion]] in Augusta.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=64}}{{efn|The house was donated to the State of Maine by Blaine's daughter, Harriet Blaine Beale, in 1919 and is now used as the Governor's residence.}}

During Blaine's six-year tenure as Speaker his popularity continued to grow, and Republicans dissatisfied with Grant mentioned Blaine as a potential presidential candidate prior to the [[1872 Republican National Convention]].{{sfn|Muzzey|p=66}} Instead, Blaine worked steadfastly for [[1872 United States presidential election|Grant's re-election]].{{sfn|Muzzey|p=66}} Blaine's growing fame brought growing opposition from the Democrats, as well, and during the 1872 campaign he was accused of receiving bribes in the [[Crédit Mobilier scandal]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=67–70|Russell||2pp=211–217}} Blaine denied any part in the scandal, which involved railroad companies bribing federal officials to turn a blind eye to fraudulent railroad contracts that overcharged the government by millions of dollars.{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=67–70|Russell||2pp=211–217}} No one was able to satisfactorily prove Blaine's involvement. Though not an absolute defense, it is true that the law that made the fraud possible had been written before he was elected to Congress. But other Republicans were exposed by the accusations, including Vice President Colfax, who was dropped from the 1872 presidential ticket in favor of [[Henry Wilson]].{{sfnm|Muzzey||1pp=67–70|Russell||2pp=211–217}}

Although he supported a general [[amnesty]] for former Confederates, Blaine opposed extending it to include [[Jefferson Davis]], and he cooperated with Grant in helping to pass the [[Civil Rights Act of 1875]] in response to increased violence and disenfranchisement of blacks in the South.{{sfnm|Smith||1p=545|Muzzey||2pp=74, 77–82|Russell||3pp=266–272}} He refrained from voting on the anti-third term resolution that overwhelmingly passed the House that same year, believing that to vote for it would look self-interested.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=75}} Blaine was loyal to Grant, and the [[Ulysses S. Grant presidential administration scandals|scandals of the Grant administration]] did not seem to affect how the public perceived him; according to his biographer, Blaine was never more popular than when he was Speaker.{{sfn|Muzzey|p=71}} [[Moderate Republicans (Reconstruction era)|Liberal Republicans]] saw him as an alternative to the evident corruption of other Republican leaders, and some even urged him to form a [[Liberal Republican Party (United States)|new, reformist party]].{{sfn|Muzzey|p=71}} Although he remained a Republican, this base of moderate reformers remained loyal to Blaine and became known as the [[Half-Breed (politics)|Half Breed faction]] of the party.{{sfn|Summers|pp=59–61}}