James G. Blaine

Cleveland Election Marks Shift Toward Corporate Campaign Financing

1884-11-04 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 7/10

Grover Cleveland’s narrow victory over James G. Blaine in the 1884 presidential election occurs during a pivotal transition in American campaign finance, as the Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1883 reduces party organizations’ reliance on government employee contributions and shifts the …

Grover Cleveland James G. Blaine U.S. Congress campaign-finance corporate-influence systematic-corruption institutional-capture

Mugwump Republicans Bolt Party Over Blaine Nomination, Citing Corruption

1884-06-03 00:00:00 +0000 UTC | Importance: 8/10

Reform-minded Republicans—derisively called “Mugwumps” from the Algonquian word for “important person” or “kingpin”—bolt from their party following James G. Blaine’s nomination for president at the Republican National Convention in June 1884. The Mugwumps, a …

James G. Blaine Grover Cleveland Carl Schurz Mark Twain Henry Ward Beecher systematic-corruption political-realignment reform-movements railroad-corruption