Editing Levi P. Morton (section)

==Vice presidency (1889–1893)==
[[File:Levi P. Morton House.JPG|thumb|right|From 1889 until 1895, Morton lived at this residence in Washington, D.C.]]
At the [[1888 Republican National Convention]], Republicans nominated [[Benjamin Harrison]] for president.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> For vice president, the delegates considered Morton, [[William Walter Phelps]], [[William O'Connell Bradley]] and several other candidates.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> [[James G. Blaine]]'s support had helped Harrison attain the presidential nomination.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> In an echo of the Stalwart-Half Breed rivalry, Blaine backed Phelps for vice president, but the New York delegation, led by [[Thomas C. Platt]] refused to consider him.<ref name="Contest">{{cite book |date=1888 |title=Contest of 1888 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=myK0B_C1rpsC&pg=PA50 |location=Detroit |publisher=F. B. Dickerson & Co. |pages=49–50 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Though he had been an opponent of the Stalwarts, Former senator [[Warner Miller]], a member of the New York delegation, nominated Morton.<ref name="Contest"/> It quickly became apparent that Morton had enough delegate support to win, and he attained the nomination on the first ballot with 591 votes to 119 for Phelps, 103 for Bradley, and 11 for [[Blanche K. Bruce]].<ref name="Contest"/>

In the [[1888 United States presidential election|general election]], Harrison and Morton lost the popular vote to the Democratic candidates, incumbent president [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[Allen G. Thurman]], but won the electoral college vote.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sabato |first1=Larry |last2=Ernst |first2=Howard R. |date=2007 |title=Encyclopedia of American Political Parties and Elections |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=d-379E2mFmYC&pg=PA330 |location=New York |publisher=Facts on File |page=330 |isbn=978-0-8160-5875-4 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref> Harrison and Morton took office on March 4, 1889, and served until March 4, 1893.<ref name="Red_Book"/>

Harrison's wife [[Caroline Harrison|Caroline]] was frequently ill during his administration, and she died in 1892.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> As [[Second Lady of the United States]], Morton's wife [[Anna Morton|Anna]] frequently served as Harrison's hostess and performed the duties of the [[First Lady of the United States|First Lady]].<ref name="SenateHistorian"/>

As vice president, Morton presided over the U.S. Senate.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> He was not close to Harrison personally, and Harrison did not often consult with him on political matters.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> A major Harrison initiative was the [[Lodge Bill]], which would permit the use of federal force to ensure the voting rights of male [[African Americans]] in the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederacy]].<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> Southern Democrats conducted a [[filibuster]], believing the bill would restore [[Reconstruction era]]-like Republican rule.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> Republicans from the western states who supported [[free silver]] believed the most pressing issue was the need for an inflated currency to stimulate the economy.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> As a result, the free silver Republicans joined Democrats in opposing consideration of the Lodge Bill.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/>

The Lodge Bill reached the Senate floor when a tie enabled Morton to cast the deciding vote in favor of consideration.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> Southern Democrats filibustered again, and Morton refused to aid Republican senators in ending it.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> Republicans in the Senate then attempted to persuade Morton to allow a Republican senator to preside, but Morton insisted on remaining in the chair.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> On January 26, 1891, a resolution to replace consideration of the Lodge Bill with a bill on a different subject passed by a vote of 35 to 34, and the Lodge Bill died.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/>
[[File:Harrison and Morton political ribbon - DPLA - cdb72301f13527ceab9322ea9a17db27 (page 1).jpg|alt=political ribbon|thumb|Harrison and Morton political ribbon 1888]]
Harrison blamed Morton for the Lodge Bill's failure.<ref name="SenateHistorian"/> At the [[1892 Republican National Convention]], Harrison was nominated for reelection but delegates replaced Morton with [[Whitelaw Reid]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/levi_morton.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/https://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/resources/pdf/levi_morton.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Vice Presidents of the United States, 1789-1993 |access-date=October 25, 2008 |publisher=United States Senate Historical Office|year=1997 }}</ref> Harrison and Reid went on to lose the [[1892 United States presidential election|1892 election]] to Democratic nominees [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[Adlai E. Stevenson I|Adlai E. Stevenson]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Warren |first=Kenneth F. |date=2008 |title=Encyclopedia of U.S. Campaigns, Elections, and Electoral Behavior |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zP4wDcT3PeQC&pg=PA602 |location=Los Angeles |publisher=SAGE |page=602 |isbn=978-1-4129-5489-1 |via=[[Google Books]]}}</ref>