Figure 1.--This boy was from Haggerstown, Maryland. Cleveland carried the state, but this boy's father seems to hve been a staunch Republican. Women of course could not yet vote. Nore his cap with a "Harrison & Morton" front sign. Put your cursor on the image for a closeup.

The Democrats renominated President Cleveland unanimously at their convention in St. Louis. The Republicans had more difficulty deciding on a candidate at their convention, but finally settled on Benjamin Harrison of Indiana as a compromise candidate on the eighth ballot. Mrs. Lockwood repeated her run for the presidency. The campaign was a muted one compared to some American elections. The principal issue became the tariffs which at the time was the principal mechanism for financing the Federal Government and important to America's developing industries. Harrison supported a high tariff to protect American industry and jobs. President Cleveland advocated reducing tariffs. This probably hurt him. High tariffs were popular in the North. Lowering tariffs was popular in the South, but the Demoratic candidate was assured of taking the South. The election was a close one. President Cleveland narrowly carried the popular vote in part because of lopsidded vote tallies in the staunchly Democratic South. Harrison managed to prevail in the Electoral College. The crucial state proved to be New York. The Tammany machine helped carry the state and its 34 votes for Harrison.

Tariffs

The United States had very high tariffs. They were the principal tax income financing the Federal Government. They also protected developing American industry from European competition. The resukt was higher profits for American industry and more jobs for Amerucan workers. But it meant higher prices for American consumers. Thus high tariffs were popular in the North where industry was centered and unpopular in the South where there as yet little industrial development. Economists today question the importance of the Tariff. America at the time was developing into the world's largest industrial power. Many American compaies were the most modern, effucent producers and thus already the low-cost priducer. Cleveland's asked for a reduction of the tariff in his State of the Union address for 1887. He concluded that the high tariffs were damnaging the economy. It not only raised prices, but was taking in more money than the Federal Government needed--another drag on the economy. This was anenormously controiversial issue at the time and the tariff became the central issue of the 1888 campaign.

Democratic Convention

The Democrats renominated President Cleveland unanimously at their convention in St. Louis. There was some concern, however, about the President's staunch position on tariff reduction. The delegates chose Ohio's Allen G. Thurman for their Vice Presidential nominee

Republican Convention

The Republicans had more difficulty deciding on a candidate at their convention. Senator James G. Blaine of Maine had been narrowly defeated by Cleveland in the 1884 campaigns refused to enter the race this time. He told reporters, "A man who has once been the candidate of his party -- and defeated -- owes it to his party not to be a candidate again." This surprised many delegates who had expected him to run again. The Republican thus opened with no candidate in a commanding position. There were14 men who vied for the nomination. One leading candidate was Senator John Sherman of Ohio. The delegates finally settled on Benjamin Harrison of Indiana as a compromise candidate on the eighth ballot. Harrison had a good war record. He had been a Union general in the Civil War and was the grandson of President William Henry Harrison. Financier Levi Morton was nominated as the party's Vice Presidential candidate.

Third Parties

Mrs. Lockwood repeated her run for the presidency.

Campaign

The campaign was a muted one compared to some American elections. Harrison supported a high tariff to protect American industry and jobs. After his nomination, he declared, "We fully support the American system of protection. President Cleveland and his party serve the interests of Europe. We would support the interests of America. We would see all other taxes ended before we surrender any part of the protective tariff system." President Ceveland took the attitude that he did nit have time to campaign. And he did not vigirously answer the Republican charges about the tariff. High tariffs were popular in the North. Lowering tariffs was popular in the South, but the Demoratic candidate was assured of taking the South anyway. There was a foreign policy dimension to the Tariff debate. British trade policy promoted free trade. And Britain was still seen for lrgely historical reasons as America's great rival. Thus supporting free tradec could be tarred as unpatriotic. Cleveland deflected this critism by taling a yough stand on a fisheries dispute with Canada, still a Britisj colony. President Cleveland was generally respected as an honest politican. Neither he nor Harrison managed to breathe much enthusiasm into the campsaign. Commentators note the increasing use of money in American political campigns, but the problem apparanely had become increasingly prevalent. It primrily amounted to industrial figures making major contributions to big-city machine politicans. Industrialists did not want the tariffs lowered. Businessmen donated millions of dollars to the Harrison campaign. Businessmen also warned their workers that their jobs deoended on high tariffs. It was not unknown for politicans to buy votes on election day. Businessmen had provided thecRepublicans unusually large amounts of money in 1888. The Democrats were not above buying votes, but did not have the moby that the Republicans had. The outcome in Indiana my have been decided by vote buying. The Murchinson affair may have decoded the vote in NewYork. A Republican Congressman writing under the name of Charles F. Murchinson got the British Ambassador to write that Cleveland was probably the best candidate from the British point of view. Irish Americans as a result voted heavily gor Harrison.

Result

The election was a close one. President Cleveland narrowly carried the popular vote with a plurality of nearly 100,000 votes. This was largely because of the lopsidded vote tallies in the staunchly Democratic South. Harrison managed to prevail in the all-important Electoral College. The election was one of the most sharply sectional votes in American history. Harrison carried the West and almost all the Mid-West and North. President Cleveland only carried New Jersey and Connecticut in the North. The crucial state proved to be New York, President Cleveland's own state. The Tammany machine helped carry the state and its 34 votes for Harrison. Harrison also managed to carry his home state of Induiana, Both of the states had gone for Cleveland in 1884. The Electoral College vote was 233 to 168.

Created: 2:23 AM 4/1/2007
Last updated: 2:23 AM 4/1/2007