Page:Cambridge Modern History Volume 7.djvu/684

652 Party struggles. [1879-83 The political straggles of these years were accordingly of a peculiarly barren and mechanical character; and yet their outcome was of con- siderable significance. In 1879, as has already been said, an agricultural revival turned popular favour to the Republicans, who regained lost ground, and in 1880 came with confidence to the presidential election. At the National Convention a prolonged struggle between the adherents of Grant, who urged the election of the war hero for a third term, and Elaine, who had come near success in 1876, was ended by a dramatic " stampede "" to Garfield, one of the more liberal Reconstruction leaders, with Arthur (representing the "machine" element) for Vice-President. Against them the Democrats nominated a military candidate, General Hancock, but without much hope of success. The chief element in the platforms of the two parties was eulogy of themselves and abuse of their opponents; but there was an apparent issue on the tariff, the Republicans demanding a tariff for protection, the Democrats one for revenue only. The campaign proved listless, the Democrats seeming more anxious to avoid debating the tariff than to meet the Republicans; and the country, elated by the wave of prosperity, gave Garfield a safe majority of 214 electors against 155, while the "Greenbackers" cast about 300,000 votes and carried no States. The vote was almost purely sectional, Hancock carrying all the Southern States, but, outside these, only California, Nevada, and New Jersey ; nevertheless the Southern question was not a serious issue in the campaign. The Republicans had no intention of renewing the "carpet-bag" regime, nor did they carry Congress by a sufficiently large majority to permit them to override the Opposition. The victorious party was mainly interested in attempting to reduce the surplus by extravagant appropriations, passing a River and Harbour Bill of unheard-of dimensions over the veto of President Arthur in 1882 This action, the quarrels of the Republicans over spoils, and their failure promptly to reduce the tariff or pass a Civil Service Act, combined with a decline hi agricultural prices to cause another Democratic " land-slide " in 1882 ; after which, in its second session, the chastened Congress passed both the Tariff and the Civil Service Commission Acts. The House elected in 1882 was Democratic by a majority of 198 to 124 ; but the Senate was Republican; and no decisive results followed this victory. In 1883 a number of States, which the Democrats had carried in 1882, swung back to Republican control; and in the election of 1884 each party felt that it had an even chance. The partisan struggles of these years had brought no apparent change. But the election of 1884 showed by its result that the time for change was at hand. The real issues before the country were good government and the tariff ; and it was these that mainly decided the contest. The Republicans failed to appreciate the situation, and, instead of selecting a candidate identified with new issues, nominated the twice-defeated