148-539: Blaine County is the name of four counties in the United States; each one is named for American statesman and politician James G. Blaine (1830–1893): It is also the name of a fictional county in Grand Theft Auto V : James G. Blaine James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was an American statesman and Republican politician who represented Maine in
296-415: A Boston clerk who had been employed by Blaine's brother-in-law, testified that the allegations were true, that he had arranged the transaction, and that he had letters to prove it. The letters ended with the damning phrase: "Kindly burn this letter." When the investigating committee recessed, Blaine met with Mulligan that night in his hotel room. What happened between the men is unclear, but Blaine acquired
444-555: A $ 5.5 million award to Britain. Blaine's Anglophobia combined with his support of high tariffs. He had initially opposed a reciprocity treaty with Canada that would have reduced tariffs between the two nations, but by the end of his time in the Senate, he had changed his mind, believing that Americans had more to gain by increasing exports than they would lose by the risk of cheap imports. Hayes had announced early in his presidency that he would not seek another term which meant that
592-678: A Commissary-General under George Washington in the American Revolutionary War . Blaine's mother and her forebears were Irish Catholics who immigrated to Pennsylvania in the 1780s. Blaine's parents were married in 1820 in a Catholic ceremony, although Blaine's father remained a Presbyterian . Following a common compromise of the era, the Blaines agreed that their daughters would be raised in their mother's Catholic faith while their sons would be brought up in their father's religion. James Blaine's cousin, Angela Gillespie,
740-837: A Pan-American conference in 1882 to mediate disputes among the Latin American nations and to serve as a forum for talks on increasing trade. At the same time, Blaine hoped to negotiate a peace in the War of the Pacific then being fought by Bolivia , Chile , and Peru . Blaine favored a resolution that would not result in Peru yielding any territory, but Chile, which had by 1881 occupied the Peruvian capital, rejected any negotiations that would gain them nothing. Blaine sought to expand American influence in other areas, calling for renegotiation of
888-517: A Republican from Iowa offered an amendment to limit the silver coinage to two to four million dollars per month. This was still too much for Blaine, and he denounced the bill and the proposed amendment, but the amended Bland–Allison Act passed the Senate by a 48 to 21 vote. Hayes vetoed the bill, but Congress mustered the two-thirds vote to pass it over his veto. Even after the Bland–Allison Act's passage, Blaine continued his opposition, making
1036-508: A blow to unite the two factions of the Republican Party, allowing him to ingratiate himself with Vice President Arthur and receive his coveted position. Guiteau was overpowered and arrested immediately, while Garfield lingered for two and a half months before he died on September 19, 1881. Guiteau was convicted of killing Garfield and hanged on June 30, 1882. Garfield's death was not just a personal tragedy for Blaine; it also meant
1184-457: A close election, and offered Blaine his former position as Secretary of State. Scotch-Irish American 977,075 (0.3%) "Scotch-Irish" alone 2021 estimates, self-reported Scotch-Irish Americans are American descendants of primarily Ulster Scots people who emigrated from Ulster ( Ireland 's northernmost province) to the United States during the 18th and 19th centuries. Their ancestors had originally migrated to Ulster, mainly from
1332-528: A dogg, or any Scotch Irish dogg". Leyburn cites the following as early American uses of the term before 1744. The Oxford English Dictionary says the first use of the term Scotch-Irish came in Pennsylvania in 1744: In Albion's Seed: Four British Folkways in America , historian David Hackett Fischer asserts: Some historians describe these immigrants as "Ulster Irish" or "Northern Irish". It
1480-473: A famous speech: This is a grand year—a year filled with recollections of the Revolution ;... a year in which the people call for the man who has torn from the throat of treason the tongue of slander, the man who has snatched the mask of Democracy from the hideous face of rebellion ... Like an armed warrior, like a plumed knight, James G. Blaine from the state of Maine marched down the halls of
1628-524: A few vote shifts in the next five ballots, and Blaine climbed to 308 votes, with his nearest competitor having just 111. On the seventh ballot, however, the situation shifted drastically because anti-Blaine delegates began to coalesce around Hayes. By the time the balloting ended, Blaine's votes had risen to 351, but Hayes surpassed him with 384, a majority. Blaine received the news at his home in Washington and telegraphed Hayes his congratulations. In
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#17327725668601776-532: A group they produced goods for themselves and for others. They generally were Patriots . Just prior to the Revolution, a second stream of immigrants came directly from Ireland via Charleston. This group was forced to move into an underdeveloped area because they could not afford expensive land. Most of this group remained loyal to the Crown or neutral when the war began. Prior to Charles Cornwallis 's march into
1924-624: A name by which they are not known here. ... Here their name is Scotch-Irish; let us call them by it." From 1710 to 1775, over 200,000 people settled from Ulster to the original thirteen American colonies. The largest numbers went to Pennsylvania. From that base some went south into Virginia, the Carolinas and across the South, with a large concentration in the Appalachian region . Others headed west to western Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, and
2072-598: A newspaperman, unexpected as it was, started Blaine on the road to a lifelong career in politics. Blaine's purchase of the Journal coincided with the demise of the Whig party and the birth of the Republican party, and Blaine and Stevens actively promoted the new party in their newspaper. The newspaper was financially successful, and Blaine was soon able to invest his profits in coal mines in Pennsylvania and Virginia, forming
2220-523: A nobleman named Sorley Boy MacDonnell and others, who be of the Scotch-Irish race ... This term continued in usage for over a century before the earliest known American reference appeared in a Maryland affidavit in 1689–90. Scotch-Irish, according to James Leyburn, "is an Americanism, generally unknown in Scotland and Ireland, and rarely used by British historians". It became common in
2368-434: A potential nominee, and despite some reservations, he soon found himself back in the hunt for the presidency. In the months leading up to the 1884 convention , Blaine was once more considered the favorite for the nomination, but President Arthur was contemplating a run for election in his own right. George Edmunds was again the favored candidate among reformers and John Sherman had a few delegates pledged to him, but neither
2516-602: A series of speeches against it during the 1878 congressional campaign season. His time in the Senate allowed Blaine to develop his foreign policy ideas. He advocated expansion of the American navy and merchant marine , which had been in decline since the Civil War. Blaine also bitterly opposed the results of the arbitration with Great Britain over American fishermen's right to fish in Canadian waters, which resulted in
2664-834: A single monarch with the Union of the Crowns in 1603, when James VI , King of Scots, succeeded Elizabeth I as ruler of England and Ireland. In addition to the unstable border region, James also inherited Elizabeth's conflicts in Ireland. Following the end of the Irish Nine Years' War in 1603, and the Flight of the Earls in 1607, James embarked in 1609 on a systematic plantation of English and Scottish Protestant settlers to Ireland's northern province of Ulster. The Plantation of Ulster
2812-553: A type of whiskey , etc., and in the term Scotch-Irish. Although referenced by Merriam-Webster dictionaries as having first appeared in 1744, the American term Scotch-Irish is undoubtedly older. An affidavit of William Patent, dated March 15, 1689, in a case against a Mr. Matthew Scarbrough in Somerset County, Maryland , quotes Mr. Patent as saying he was told by Scarbrough that "it was no more sin to kill me then to kill
2960-711: Is roughly 4,000 deaths. In one notorious incident, the Protestant inhabitants of Portadown were taken captive and then massacred on the bridge in the town. The settlers responded in kind, as did the Dublin Castle administration , with attacks on the Irish civilian population. Massacres of native civilians occurred at Rathlin Island and elsewhere. In early 1642, the Covenanters sent an army to Ulster to defend
3108-633: Is that over 200,000 Scotch-Irish migrated to the Americas between 1717 and 1775. As a late-arriving group, they found that land in the coastal areas of the British colonies was either already owned or too expensive, so they quickly left for the more mountainous interior where land could be obtained less expensively. Here they lived on the first frontier of America. Early frontier life was challenging, but poverty and hardship were familiar to them. The term hillbilly has often been applied to their descendants in
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#17327725668603256-592: Is true that many sailed from the province of Ulster ... part of much larger flow which drew from the lowlands of Scotland, the north of England, and every side of the Irish Sea. Many scholars call these people Scotch-Irish . That expression is an Americanism, rarely used in Britain and much resented by the people to whom it was attached. "We're no Eerish bot Scoatch," one of them was heard to say in Pennsylvania. Fischer prefers to speak of "borderers" (referring to
3404-443: 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 . 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
3552-577: Is used primarily in the United States, with people in Great Britain or Ireland who are of a similar ancestry identifying as Ulster Scots people . Many left for North America, but over 100,000 Scottish Presbyterians still lived in Ulster in 1700. Many English-born settlers of this period were also Presbyterians. When King Charles I attempted to force these Presbyterians into the Church of England in
3700-634: The Advertiser in 1860, and he soon ceased editorial work altogether. Meanwhile, his political power was growing as he became chairman of the Republican state committee in 1859, replacing Stevens. Blaine was not a delegate to the Republican convention in 1860 , but attended anyway as an enthusiastic supporter of Abraham Lincoln . Returning to Maine, he was elected Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives in 1861 and reelected in 1862. With
3848-539: The Alleghenies , as well as into Virginia , North Carolina , South Carolina , Georgia , Kentucky , and Tennessee . The typical migration involved small networks of related families who settled together, worshipped together, and intermarried, avoiding outsiders. Most Scotch-Irish landed in Philadelphia. Without much cash, they moved to free lands on the frontier, becoming the typical western "squatters",
3996-531: The Anglo-Scottish border , a region that had seen centuries of conflict. In the near constant state of war between England and Scotland during the Middle Ages, the livelihood of the people on the borders was devastated by the contending armies. Even when the countries were not at war, tension remained high, and royal authority in one or the other kingdom was often weak. The uncertainty of existence led
4144-497: The Blaine Amendment . The proposed amendment codified the church-state separation Blaine and Grant were promoting, stating that: No State shall make any law respecting an establishment of religion , or prohibiting the free exercise thereof ; and no money raised by taxation in any State for the support of public schools, or derived from any public fund therefor, nor any public lands devoted thereto, shall ever be under
4292-616: The Civil Rights Act of 1875 in response to increased violence and disenfranchisement of blacks in the South. 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. Blaine was loyal to Grant, and the scandals of the Grant administration did not seem to affect how the public perceived him; according to his biographer, Blaine
4440-585: The Clayton–Bulwer Treaty to allow the United States to construct a canal through Panama without British involvement, as well as attempting to reduce British involvement in the strategically located Kingdom of Hawaii . His plans for the United States' involvement in the world stretched even beyond the Western Hemisphere, as he sought commercial treaties with Korea and Madagascar . On July 2, 1881, Blaine and Garfield were walking through
4588-774: The German Palatinate , and France (such as the French Huguenot ancestors of Davy Crockett ). What united these different national groups was a base of Calvinist religious beliefs, and their separation from the established church (the Church of England and Church of Ireland in this case). That said, the large ethnic Scottish element in the Plantation of Ulster gave the settlements a Scottish character. Upon arrival in North America, these migrants at first usually identified simply as Irish, without
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4736-660: The Half-Breeds —but neither could he join the Republicans led by Conkling—later known as the Stalwarts —who opposed Hayes, because of the deep personal enmity between Blaine and Conkling. He opposed Hayes's withdrawal of federal troops from Southern capitals, which effectively ended the Reconstruction of the South , but to no avail. Blaine continued to antagonize Southern Democrats, voting against bills passed in
4884-458: The Journal ' s editors. When the newspaper's founder, Luther Severance , retired, Blaine was invited to purchase the publication along with co-editor Joseph Baker. He quickly accepted, borrowing the purchase price from his wife's brothers. In 1854, Baker sold his share to John L. Stevens , a local minister. The Journal had been a staunchly Whig newspaper, which coincided with Blaine's and Stevens' political opinions. The decision to become
5032-967: The Lenape (Delaware), Shawnee , Seneca , and others tribes of western Pennsylvania and the Ohio Country . Indigenous attacks occurred within 60 miles of Philadelphia, and in July 1763 the Pennsylvania Assembly authorized the raising of a 700-strong militia to be used only for defense. Formed into two units of rangers, the Cumberland Boys and the Paxton Boys , the militia soon exceeded their mandate and began offensive forays against Lenape villages. The Paxton Boys' leaders received information, which they believed credible, that "hostile" tribes were receiving information and support from
5180-467: The Scottish Lowlands and Northern England in the 17th century. In the 2017 American Community Survey , 5.39 million (1.7% of the population) reported Scottish ancestry, an additional 3 million (0.9% of the population) identified more specifically with Scotch-Irish ancestry, and many people who claim " American ancestry " may actually be of Scotch-Irish ancestry. The term Scotch-Irish
5328-562: The Specie Payment Resumption Act of 1875. 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 , had become popular among his fellow Republicans. In March 1869, when Speaker Schuyler Colfax resigned from office at the end of the 40th Congress to become vice president ,
5476-810: The Ulster Protestants as British (a description many Ulster Protestants have preferred themselves to Irish , at least since the Irish Free State broke free from the United Kingdom, although Ulstermen has been adopted in order to maintain a distinction from the native Irish Gaels while retaining a claim to the North of Ireland). However, as one scholar observed in 1944, "in this country [the US], where they have been called Scotch-Irish for over two hundred years, it would be absurd to give them
5624-637: The United States House of Representatives from 1863 to 1876, serving as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1869 to 1875, and then in the United States Senate from 1876 to 1881. Blaine twice served as Secretary of State , first in 1881 under President James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur , and then from 1889 to 1892 under President Benjamin Harrison . He is one of only two U.S. Secretaries of State to hold
5772-493: The United States Military Academy . Blaine voted to impeach Johnson in 1868, although he had initially opposed the effort. Later, Blaine was more ambiguous about the validity of the charges against Johnson, writing that "there was a very grave difference of opinion among those equally competent to decide," but he followed his party's leaders. Continuing his earlier battle with Stevens, Blaine led
5920-562: The Western Military Institute in Georgetown, Kentucky . Although he was only 18 years old and younger than many of his students, Blaine adapted well to his new profession. Blaine grew to enjoy life in his adopted state and became an admirer of Kentucky Senator Henry Clay . He also made the acquaintance of Harriet Stanwood, a teacher at the nearby Millersburg Female College and native of Maine. On June 30, 1850,
6068-795: The elite of 17th and 18th century Ireland. For this reason, up until the 19th century, and despite their common fear of Irish Catholics, there was considerable disharmony between the Presbyterians and the Protestant Ascendancy in Ulster. As a result of this, many Ulster-Scots, along with Catholic native Irish, ignored religious differences to join the United Irishmen and participate in the Irish Rebellion of 1798 , in support of Age of Enlightenment -inspired egalitarian and republican goals. Scholarly estimate
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6216-528: The western hemisphere . His reasons were twofold: firstly, Blaine's old fear of British interference in the Americas was undiminished, and he saw increased trade with Latin America as the best way to keep Britain from dominating the region. Secondly, he believed that by encouraging exports, he could increase American prosperity, and by doing so position the Republican party as the author of that prosperity, ensuring continued electoral success. Garfield agreed with his Secretary of State's vision and Blaine called for
6364-616: The " Half-Breeds ". Blaine was born in the western Pennsylvania town of West Brownsville and moved to Maine after completing college where he became a newspaper editor. Nicknamed "the Magnetic Man", he was a charismatic speaker in an era that prized oratory . He began his political career as an early supporter of Republican Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort in the American Civil War . During Reconstruction , Blaine
6512-683: The "friendly" tribe of Susquehannock (Conestoga) settled in Lancaster County, who were under the protection of the Pennsylvania government. On December 14, 1763, about fifty Paxton Boys rode to Conestoga Town, near Millersville, Pennsylvania, and murdered six Conestogas. Pennsylvanian authorities placed the remaining fourteen Conestogas in protective custody in the Lancaster workhouse, but the Paxton Boys broke in, killing and mutilating all fourteen on December 27, 1763. In February 1764,
6660-528: The 1630s, many chose to immigrate to North America, where religious liberty was greater. Later attempts to force the Church of England's control over dissident Protestants in Ireland led to further waves of immigration to the transatlantic colonies. The term is first known to have been used for Scottish Catholics in Ireland. In a letter of April 14, 1573, in reference to descendants of " gallowglass " mercenaries from Scotland who had settled in Ireland, Elizabeth I of England wrote: We are given to understand that
6808-496: The 1770s. In Pennsylvania, Virginia, and most of the Carolinas, support for the revolution was "practically unanimous". One Hessian officer said, "Call this war by whatever name you may, only call it not an American rebellion; it is nothing more or less than a Scotch Irish Presbyterian rebellion." A British major general testified to the House of Commons that "half the rebel Continental Army were from Ireland". Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, with its large Scotch-Irish population,
6956-411: The 18th century (between 1717 and 1770 alone, about 250,000 settled in what would become the United States ). According to Kerby Miller, Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America (1988), Protestants were one-third the population of Ireland, but three-quarters of all emigrants leaving from 1700 to 1776; 70% of these Protestants were Presbyterians. Other factors contributing to
7104-472: The American Congress and threw his shining lance full and fair against the brazen foreheads of every traitor to his country and every maligner of his fair reputation. The speech was a success and Ingersoll's description of Blaine as a "plumed knight" remained a nickname for Blaine for years to come. On the first ballot, no candidate received the required majority of 378, but Blaine had the most votes, with 285, and no other candidate had more than 125. There were
7252-466: The Cleveland administration's policies. By the time of the 1886 Congressional elections , Blaine was giving speeches and promoting Republican candidates, especially in his home state of Maine. Republicans were successful in Maine, and after the Maine elections in September, Blaine went on a speaking tour from Pennsylvania to Tennessee, hoping to boost the prospects of Republican candidates there. Republicans were less successful nationwide, gaining seats in
7400-478: The Covenanter movement in Scotland, the Parliament of Scotland had threatened to invade Ireland in order to achieve "the extirpation of Popery out of Ireland" (according to the interpretation of Richard Bellings , a leading Irish politician of the time). The fear this caused in Ireland unleashed a wave of massacres against Protestant English and Scottish settlers, mostly in Ulster, once the rebellion had broken out. All sides displayed extreme cruelty in this phase of
7548-448: The Democrat-controlled House that would reduce the Army's appropriation and repeal the post-war Enforcement Acts he had helped pass. Such bills passed Congress several times and Hayes vetoed them several times; ultimately, the Enforcement Acts remained in place, but the funds to enforce them dwindled. By 1879, there were only 1,155 soldiers stationed in the former Confederacy, and Blaine believed that this small force could never guarantee
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#17327725668607696-428: The Democrats, as well, and during the 1872 campaign he was accused of receiving bribes in the Crédit Mobilier scandal . 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. No one was able to satisfactorily prove Blaine's involvement. Though not an absolute defense, it
7844-453: The Edmunds delegates defected to him. Unlike in previous conventions, the momentum for Blaine in 1884 would not be halted. On the fourth ballot, Blaine received 541 votes and was, at last, nominated. Logan was named vice presidential nominee on the first ballot, and the Republicans had their ticket . The Democrats held their convention in Chicago the following month and nominated Governor Grover Cleveland of New York. Cleveland's time on
7992-432: The House while losing seats in the Senate, but Blaine's speeches kept him and his opinions in the spotlight. Blaine and his wife and daughters sailed for Europe in June 1887, visiting England, Ireland, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary , and finally Scotland , where they stayed at the summer home of Andrew Carnegie . While in France, Blaine wrote a letter to the New-York Tribune criticizing Cleveland's plans to reduce
8140-558: The House. He enjoyed the job and made his presence in Washington more permanent by buying a large residence on Fifteenth Street in the city. At the same time, the Blaine family moved to a mansion in Augusta. 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 . Instead, Blaine worked steadfastly for Grant's re-election . Blaine's growing fame brought growing opposition from
8288-408: The Instruction of the Blind (now Overbrook School for the Blind ) in 1852, teaching science and literature. Philadelphia's law libraries gave Blaine the chance to, at last, begin to study the law, but in 1853 he received a more tempting offer: to become editor and co-owner of the Kennebec Journal . Blaine had spent several vacations in his wife's native state of Maine and had become friendly with
8436-406: The Kingdom of Dál Riata , eventually mixing with the native Pictish culture throughout Scotland. The Irish Gaels had previously been named Scoti by the Romans , and eventually their name was applied to the entire Kingdom of Scotland . The origins of the Scotch-Irish lie primarily in the Lowlands of Scotland and in northern England , particularly in the Border Country on either side of
8584-429: The Midwest. Transatlantic flows were halted by the American Revolution , but resumed after 1783, with total of 100,000 arriving in America between 1783 and 1812. By that point few were young servants and more were mature craftsmen, and they settled in industrial centers, including Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New York, where many became skilled workers, foremen and entrepreneurs as the Industrial Revolution took off in
8732-418: The New York Republican party, failed to actively campaign for him. Blaine hoped that he would have more support from Irish Americans than Republicans typically did; while the Irish were mainly a Democratic constituency in the 19th century, Blaine's mother was Irish Catholic, and he believed his career-long opposition to the British government would resonate with the Irish. Blaine's hope for Irish defections to
8880-424: The Pacific diplomacy, defending himself against allegations that he owned an interest in the Peruvian guano deposits being occupied by Chile, but otherwise stayed away from the Capitol . The publication of the first volume of Twenty Years in early 1884 added to Blaine's financial security and thrust him back into the political spotlight. As the 1884 campaign loomed, Blaine's name was being circulated once more as
9028-464: The Paxton Boys with a few hundred backcountry settlers, primarily Scotch-Irish, marched on Philadelphia with the intent of killing the Moravian Indians who had been given shelter there. Benjamin Franklin led a delegation that met the marchers at Germantown, Philadelphia . Following negotiations the Paxton Boys agreed to disperse and submit their grievances in writing. The United States Declaration of Independence contained 56 delegate signatures. Of
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#17327725668609176-456: The Protestant settlers in the province of Ulster. However, the Presbyterians and other dissenters, along with Catholics, were not members of the established church and were consequently legally disadvantaged by the Penal Laws , which gave full rights only to members of the Church of England or Church of Ireland . Members of the Church of Ireland mostly consisted of the Protestant Ascendancy , Protestant settlers of English descent who formed
9324-412: The Republican standard were dashed late in the campaign when one of his supporters, Samuel D. Burchard , gave a speech denouncing the Democrats as the party of "Rum, Romanism , and Rebellion." The Democrats spread the word of this insult in the days before the election, and Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by just over one thousand votes. While the popular vote total
9472-448: The Scottish settlers there from the Irish rebels who had attacked them after the outbreak of the rebellion. The original intention of the Scottish army was to re-conquer Ireland, but due to logistical and supply problems, it was never in a position to advance far beyond its base in eastern Ulster. The Covenanter force remained in Ireland until the end of the civil wars but was confined to its garrison around Carrickfergus after its defeat by
9620-475: The Senate on March 4, 1881. Blaine saw presiding over the cabinet as a chance to preside over the Washington social scene, as well, and soon ordered construction of a new, larger home near Dupont Circle . Although his foreign policy experience was minimal, Blaine quickly threw himself into his new duties. By 1881, Blaine had completely abandoned his protectionist leanings and now used his position as Secretary of State to promote freer trade, especially within
9768-402: The Sixth Street Station of the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad in Washington when Garfield was shot by Charles J. Guiteau , a crazed office seeker who had made repeated demands for Blaine and other State Department officials to appoint him to a consulship for which he was grossly unqualified. Guiteau, a self-professed Stalwart, believed that after assassinating the President, he would strike
9916-407: The Stalwarts by endorsing Chester A. Arthur of New York, a Conkling loyalist, as nominee for vice president, but it was to Blaine and his delegates that Garfield owed his nomination. When Garfield was elected over Democrat Winfield Scott Hancock , he turned to Blaine to guide him in selection of his cabinet and offered him the preeminent position: Secretary of State. Blaine accepted, resigning from
10064-414: The U.S. Another half million came to America 1815 to 1845; another 900,000 came in 1851–99. While settling in the new world evolved Scotch-Irish culture, what the settlers brought is the basis of what has been and is referred to as American culture. According to the Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups , there were 400,000 U.S. residents of Irish birth or ancestry in 1790 and half of this group
10212-473: The United States after 1850. The term is somewhat ambiguous because some of the Scotch-Irish have little or no Scottish or Irish ancestry at all: numerous dissenter families had also been transplanted to Ulster from northern England, in particular the border counties of Northumberland and Cumberland . Smaller numbers of migrants also came from Wales , the Isle of Man , and the southeast of England, and others were Protestant religious refugees from Flanders ,
10360-507: The alleged transaction was presented as a sham designed to bribe Blaine. Blaine denied the charges, as did the Union Pacific's directors. Blaine claimed that he never had any dealings with the Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad except to purchase bonds at market price and that he had lost money on the transaction. Democrats in the House of Representatives, however, demanded a congressional investigation. The testimony appeared to favor Blaine's version of events until May 31, when James Mulligan,
10508-421: The backcountry in 1780, two-thirds of the men among the Waxhaw settlement had declined to serve in the army. The British massacre of American prisoners at the Battle of Waxhaws resulted in anti-British sentiment in a bitterly divided region. While many individuals chose to take up arms against the British, the British themselves forced the people to choose sides. In the 1790s, the new American government assumed
10656-475: The backcountry of the Appalachian region. The new wave of Catholic Irish settled primarily in port cities such as Boston, New York, Charleston, Chicago, Memphis and New Orleans, where large immigrant communities formed and there were an increasing number of jobs. Many of the new Irish migrants also went to the interior in the 19th century, attracted to jobs on large-scale infrastructure projects such as canals and railroads . The usage Scots-Irish developed in
10804-409: The basis of his future wealth. Blaine's career as a Republican newspaperman led naturally to involvement in party politics. In 1856, he was selected as a delegate to the first Republican National Convention . From the party's early days, Blaine identified with the conservative wing, supporting Supreme Court Justice John McLean for the presidential nomination over the more radical John C. Frémont ,
10952-521: The chairmanship of the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment , but he never achieved the role of leadership that he had held as a member of the House. The Senate in the 45th Congress was controlled by a narrow Republican majority, but it was a majority often divided against itself and against the Hayes administration. Blaine did not number himself among the administration's defenders—later known as
11100-562: The character of Northern New Englanders reflect this fact. The Scotch-Irish brought the potato with them from Ireland (although the potato originated in South America, it was not known in North America until brought over from Europe). In Maine it became a staple crop as well as an economic base. From 1717 for the next thirty or so years, the primary points of entry for the Ulster immigrants were Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and New Castle, Delaware. The Scotch-Irish radiated westward across
11248-485: The civil and political rights of black Southerners—which would mean an end to the Republican party in the South. On monetary issues, Blaine continued the advocacy for a strong dollar that he had begun as a Representative. This stance was in opposition to Senate Republican leadership, including Senate President Pro Tempore Thomas W. Ferry , who generally supported the greenback movement. The issue had shifted from debate over greenbacks to debate over which metal should back
11396-528: The collapse a political stunt, with one Democratic newspaper reporting the event as "Blaine Feigns a Faint." Rumors of Blaine's ill health, combined with the lack of hard evidence against him, garnered him sympathy among Republicans and, when the Republican convention began in Cincinnati later that month, he was again seen as the frontrunner. Though he was damaged by the Mulligan letters, Blaine entered
11544-617: The completion of the first volume of his memoir , Twenty Years of Congress. Friends in Maine petitioned Blaine to run for Congress in the 1882 elections , but he declined, preferring to spend his time writing and supervising the move to the new home. His income from mining and railroad investments was sufficient to sustain the family's lifestyle and to allow for the construction of a vacation cottage, "Stanwood" on Mount Desert Island , Maine, designed by Frank Furness . Blaine appeared before Congress in 1882 during an investigation into his War of
11692-621: The contest for the Republican nomination in 1880 was open to all challengers—including Blaine. Blaine was among the early favorites for the nomination, as were former President Grant, Treasury Secretary John Sherman of Ohio, and Senator George F. Edmunds of Vermont. Although Grant did not actively promote his candidacy, his entry into the race re-energized the Stalwarts and when the convention met in Chicago in June 1880, they instantly polarized
11840-638: The continental liar from the state of Maine, 'Burn this letter!'" To counter Cleveland's image of superior morality, Republicans discovered reports that Cleveland had fathered an illegitimate child while he was a lawyer in Buffalo, New York , and chanted "Ma, Ma, where's my Pa?"—to which the Democrats, after Cleveland had been elected, appended, "Gone to the White House, Ha! Ha! Ha!" Cleveland admitted to paying child support in 1874 to Maria Crofts Halpin,
11988-470: The control of any religious sect; nor shall any money so raised or lands so devoted be divided between religious sects or denominations. The effect was to prohibit the use of public funds by any religious school, although it did not advance Grant's other aim of requiring states to provide public education to all children. The bill passed the House but failed in the Senate. Although it never passed Congress, and left Blaine open to charges of anti-Catholicism ,
12136-575: The convention as the favorite. Five other men were also considered serious candidates: Benjamin Bristow , the Kentucky-born Treasury Secretary ; Roscoe Conkling, Blaine's old enemy and now a Senator from New York; Senator Oliver P. Morton of Indiana ; Governor Rutherford B. Hayes of Ohio ; and Governor John F. Hartranft of Pennsylvania. Blaine was nominated by Illinois orator Robert G. Ingersoll in what became
12284-693: The convention nominated him, but the delegates finally accepted Blaine's refusal. John Sherman was the most prominent candidate and sought to attract the Blaine supporters to his candidacy, but instead found them flocking to former senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana after a telegram from Carnegie suggested that Blaine favored him. Blaine returned to the United States in August 1888 and visited Harrison at his home in October, where twenty-five thousand residents paraded in Blaine's honor. Harrison defeated Cleveland in
12432-477: The delegates into Grant and anti-Grant factions, with Blaine the most popular choice of the latter group. Blaine was nominated by James Frederick Joy of Michigan , but in contrast to Ingersoll's exciting speech of 1876, Joy's lengthy oration was remembered only for its maladroitness. After the other candidates were nominated, the first ballot showed Grant leading with 304 votes and Blaine in second with 284; no other candidate had more than Sherman's 93, and none had
12580-490: The dollar: gold and silver , or gold alone . The Coinage Act of 1873 stopped the coinage of silver for all coins worth a dollar or more, effectively tying the dollar to the value of gold. As a result, the money supply contracted and the effects of the Panic of 1873 grew worse, making it more expensive for debtors to pay debts they had entered into when currency was less valuable. Farmers and laborers, especially, clamored for
12728-510: The early 19th century, when it was replaced by the word "Scottish". People in Scotland refer to themselves as Scots, as a noun, or adjectivally/collectively as Scots or Scottish . The use of "Scotch" as an adjective has been dropped in the UK and Ireland where it is now more commonly regarded as offensive, but remains in use in the U.S. in place names, names of plants, breeds of dog, a type of tape,
12876-629: The emergence of the Mulligan letters . Though no evidence of corruption ever surfaced from these allegations, they nevertheless plagued his 1884 presidential candidacy . As Secretary of State, Blaine was a transitional figure, marking the end of an isolationist era in foreign policy and foreshadowing the rise of the American Century that would begin with the Spanish–American War . His efforts to expand U.S. trade and influence began
13024-641: The end of his dominance of the cabinet, and the end of his foreign policy initiatives. With Arthur's ascent to the presidency, the Stalwart faction now held sway, and Blaine's days at the State Department were numbered. While Arthur asked all of the cabinet members to postpone their resignations until Congress recessed that December, Blaine nonetheless tendered his resignation on October 19, 1881, but he agreed to remain in office until December 19, when his successor would be in place. Blaine's replacement
13172-636: The eventual nominee. The following year, Blaine was offered the editorship of the Portland Daily Advertiser , which he accepted, selling his interest in the Journal soon thereafter. He still maintained his home in Augusta, however, with his growing family. Although Blaine's first son, Stanwood, died in infancy, he and Harriet had two more sons soon afterward: Walker , in 1855, and Emmons, in 1857. They would have four more children in years to come: Alice, James, Margaret, and Harriet. It
13320-457: The fight in Congress for a strong dollar. After the issuance of 150 million dollars in greenbacks— non-gold-backed currency —the value of the dollar stood at a low ebb. A bipartisan group of inflationists, led by Republican Benjamin F. Butler and Democrat George H. Pendleton , wished to preserve the status quo and allow the Treasury to continue to issue greenbacks and even to use them to pay
13468-420: The fighting on the frontier from New Hampshire to the Carolinas. The Scots-Irish also became the middlemen who handled trade and negotiations between indigenous tribes and the colonial governments. Especially in Pennsylvania, whose pacifist Quaker leaders had made no provision for a militia, Scotch-Irish settlements were frequently destroyed and the settlers killed, captured or forced to flee after attacks by
13616-590: The first ballot, Blaine led the count with 334½ votes. While short of the necessary 417 for nomination, Blaine had far more than any other candidate with Arthur in second place at 278 votes. Blaine was unacceptable to the Arthur delegates just as Blaine's own delegates would never vote for the President, so the contest was between the two for the delegates of the remaining candidates. Blaine's total steadily increased as Logan and Sherman withdrew in his favor and some of
13764-653: The frontier guard of the colony, and what the historian Frederick Jackson Turner described as "the cutting-edge of the frontier". The Scotch-Irish moved up the Delaware River to Bucks County , and then up the Susquehanna and Cumberland valleys, finding flat lands along the rivers and creeks to set up their log cabins , their grist mills , and their Presbyterian churches. Chester, Lancaster, and Dauphin counties became their strongholds, and they built towns such as Chambersburg, Gettysburg, Carlisle, and York;
13912-543: The high level of patriotism was the Waxhaw settlement on the lower Catawba River along the North Carolina-South Carolina boundary, where Loyalism was strong. The area experienced two main settlement periods of Scotch-Irish. During the 1750s–1760s, second- and third-generation Scotch-Irish Americans moved from Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina. This particular group had large families, and as
14060-503: The highly regarded Blaine was the unanimous choice of the Republican Congressional Caucus to become Speaker of the House for the 41st Congress . In the subsequent March 4, 1869, election for Speaker , Blaine easily defeated Democrat Michael C. Kerr of Indiana by a vote of 135 to 57. Republicans remained in control of the House in the 42nd and 43rd congresses, and Blaine was re-elected as speaker at
14208-576: The historically war-torn England-Scotland border) as the population ancestral to the "backcountry" "cultural stream" (one of the four major and persistent cultural streams from Ireland and Britain which he identifies in American history). He notes the borderers had substantial English and Scandinavian roots. He describes them as being quite different from Gaelic-speaking groups such as the Scottish Highlanders or Irish (that is, Gaelic-speaking and predominantly Roman Catholic). An example of
14356-461: The interest due on pre-war bonds. Blaine called this idea a repudiation of the nation's promise to investors, which was made when the only currency was gold . Speaking several times on the matter, Blaine said that the greenbacks had only ever been an emergency measure to avoid bankruptcy during the war. Blaine and his hard money allies were successful, but the issue remained alive until 1879, when all remaining greenbacks were made redeemable in gold by
14504-522: The investigation a partisan attack by Southern Democrats in revenge for his exclusion of Jefferson Davis from the amnesty bill of the previous year. He read selected passages from the letters aloud and said, "Thank God Almighty, I am not afraid to show them!" Blaine even succeeded in extracting an apology from the committee chairman. The political tide turned anew in Blaine's favor, but the pressure had begun to affect Blaine's health, and he collapsed while leaving church services on June 14. His opponents called
14652-543: The late 19th century as a relatively recent version of the term. Two early citations include: 1) "a grave, elderly man of the race known in America as 'Scots-Irish ' " (1870); and 2) "Dr. Cochran was of stately presence, of fair and florid complexion, features which testified his Scots-Irish descent" (1884). In Ulster-Scots (or "Ullans"), Scotch-Irish Americans are referred to as the Scotch Airish o' Amerikey . Twentieth-century English author Kingsley Amis endorsed
14800-495: The letters or, as Mulligan told the committee, snatched them from Mulligan's hands, and fled the room. In any event, Blaine had the letters and refused the committee's demand to turn them over. Opinion swiftly turned against Blaine. The June 3 The New York Times carried the headline "Blaine's Nomination Now Out of the Question." Blaine took his case to the House floor on June 5, theatrically proclaiming his innocence and calling
14948-420: The letters were genuine, but denied that anything in them impugned his integrity or contradicted his earlier explanations. Nevertheless, what Blaine described as "stale slander" served to focus the public's attention negatively on his character. On some of the most damaging correspondence, Blaine had written "Burn this letter," giving Democrats the last line to their rallying cry: "Blaine, Blaine, James G. Blaine,
15096-405: The mass exodus of Ulster Scots to America during the 18th century were a series of droughts and rising rents imposed by their landlords. During the course of the 17th century, the number of settlers belonging to Calvinist dissenting sects, including Scottish and Northumbrian Presbyterians , English Baptists , French and Flemish Huguenots , and German Palatines , became the majority among
15244-599: The mountains, carrying connotations of poverty, backwardness and violence. The first trickle of Scotch-Irish settlers arrived in New England. Valued for their fighting prowess as well as for their Protestant dogma, they were invited by Cotton Mather and other leaders to come over to help settle and secure the frontier. In this capacity, many of the first permanent settlements in Maine and New Hampshire , especially after 1718, were Scotch-Irish and many place names as well as
15392-554: The nation's shift to a more active American foreign policy . Blaine was a pioneer of tariff reciprocity and urged greater involvement in Latin American affairs. Blaine was also an expansionist, and his policies would lead in less than a decade to the U.S. acquisition of Pacific colonies and the establishment of dominance in the Caribbean. James Gillespie Blaine was born January 31, 1830, in West Brownsville, Pennsylvania ,
15540-468: The national scene was brief, but Democrats hoped that his reputation as a reformer and an opponent of corruption would attract Republicans dissatisfied with Blaine and his reputation for scandal. They were correct, as reform-minded Republicans (called " Mugwumps ") denounced Blaine as corrupt and flocked to Cleveland. The Mugwumps, including such men as Carl Schurz and Henry Ward Beecher , were more concerned with morality than with party, and felt Cleveland
15688-548: The native Ulster Army at the Battle of Benburb in 1646. After the war was over, many of the soldiers settled permanently in Ulster. Another major influx of Scots into Ulster occurred in the 1690s, when tens of thousands of people fled a famine in Scotland to come to Ireland. A few generations after arriving in Ireland, considerable numbers of Ulster-Scots emigrated to the North American colonies of Great Britain throughout
15836-667: The next generation moved into western Pennsylvania. With large numbers of children who needed their own inexpensive farms, the Scotch-Irish avoided areas already settled by Germans and Quakers and moved south, through the Shenandoah Valley , and through the Blue Ridge Mountains into Virginia. These migrants followed the Great Wagon Road from Lancaster, through Gettysburg, and down through Staunton, Virginia, to Big Lick (now Roanoke), Virginia. Here
15984-609: The now-vacant Senate seat. When the Maine Legislature reconvened that autumn, it confirmed Blaine's appointment and elected him to the full six-year term that would begin on March 4, 1877. Blaine was appointed to the Senate on July 10, 1876, but did not begin his duties there until the Senate convened in December of that year. While in the Senate, he served on the Appropriations Committee and held
16132-403: The old allegations from the Mulligan letters that Blaine had corruptly influenced legislation in favor of railroads, later profiting on the sale of bonds he owned in both companies. Although the stories of Blaine's favors to the railroads had made the rounds eight years earlier, this time more of his correspondence was discovered, making his earlier denials less plausible. Blaine acknowledged that
16280-460: The outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, he supported Lincoln's war effort and saw that the Maine Legislature voted to organize and equip units to join the Union Army . Blaine had considered running for the United States House of Representatives from Maine's 4th district in 1860, but agreed to step aside when Anson P. Morrill , a former governor, announced his interest in the seat. Morrill
16428-520: The pathway split, with the Wilderness Road taking settlers west into Tennessee and Kentucky, while the main road continued south into the Carolinas. Because the Scotch-Irish settled the frontier of Pennsylvania and western Virginia, they were greatly affected by the French and Indian War and Pontiac's War . The Scotch-Irish were frequently in conflict with indigenous tribes, and did most of
16576-571: The people of the borders to seek security through a system of family ties, similar to the clan system in the Scottish Highlands . Known as the Border Reivers , these families relied on their own strength and cunning to survive, and a culture of cattle raiding and thievery developed. Though remaining politically distinct, Scotland, England (considered at the time to include Wales, annexed in 1535), and Ireland came to be ruled by
16724-441: The position under three separate presidents, the other being Daniel Webster . Blaine unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for President in 1876 and 1880 before being nominated in 1884 . In the 1884 general election , he was narrowly defeated by Democratic nominee Grover Cleveland . Blaine was one of the late 19th century's leading Republicans and a champion of the party's moderate reformist faction , later known as
16872-698: The proposed amendment served Blaine's purpose of rallying Protestants to the Republican party and promoting himself as one of the party's foremost leaders. Blaine entered the 1876 presidential campaign as the favorite, but his chances were almost immediately harmed by the emergence of a scandal. Rumors had begun to spread in February that Blaine had been involved in a transaction with the Union Pacific Railroad which had paid Blaine $ 64,000 for some Little Rock and Fort Smith Railroad bonds he owned even though they were nearly worthless. In essence,
17020-583: The qualifier Scotch . It was not until a century later, following the surge in Irish immigration after the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, that the descendants of the earlier arrivals began to commonly call themselves "Scotch-Irish" to distinguish themselves from the newer, poor, predominantly Catholic immigrants. At first, the two groups had little interaction in America, as the Scots-Irish had become settled many decades earlier, primarily in
17168-426: The radical camp. The Republican Congress also played a role in the governance of the conquered South, dissolving the state governments President Andrew Johnson had installed and substituting military governments under Congress' control. Blaine voted in favor of these new, harsher measures, but also supported some leniency toward the former rebels when he opposed a bill that would have barred Southerners from attending
17316-457: The required majority of 379. Sherman's delegates could swing the nomination to either Grant or Blaine, but he refused to release them through twenty-eight ballots in the hope that the anti-Grant forces would desert Blaine and flock to him. Eventually, they did desert Blaine, but instead of Sherman they shifted their votes to Ohio Congressman James A. Garfield , and by the thirty-sixth ballot he had 399 votes, enough for victory. Garfield placated
17464-399: The return of coinage in both metals, believing the increased money supply would restore wages and property values. Democratic Representative Richard P. Bland of Missouri proposed a bill, which passed the House, that required the United States to coin as much silver as miners could sell the government, thus increasing the money supply and aiding debtors. In the Senate, William B. Allison ,
17612-467: The signers, eight were of Irish descent. Two signers, George Taylor and James Smith , were born in Ulster. The remaining five Irish-Americans, George Read , Thomas McKean , Thomas Lynch, Jr. , Edward Rutledge and Charles Carroll , were the sons or grandsons of Irish immigrants, and at least McKean had Ulster heritage. In contrast to the Scottish Highlanders, the Scotch-Irish were generally ardent supporters of American independence from Britain in
17760-615: The start of both of them. His time as speaker came to an end following the 1874-75 elections which produced a Democratic majority in the House for the 44th Congress . 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." Moreover, President Ulysses S. Grant valued his skill and loyalty in leading
17908-508: The start of the 38th Congress , the Union Army had turned the tide of the war with victories at Gettysburg and Vicksburg . As a first-term congressman, he initially said little, mostly following the administration's lead in supporting the continuing war effort. He did clash several times with the leader of the Republicans' radical faction , Thaddeus Stevens of Pennsylvania, firstly over payment of states' debts incurred in supporting
18056-454: The state conventions drew nearer, Blaine announced that he would not be a candidate. His supporters doubted his sincerity and continued to encourage him to run, but Blaine still demurred. Hoping to make his intentions clear, Blaine left the country and was staying with Carnegie in Scotland when the 1888 Republican National Convention began in Chicago. Carnegie encouraged Blaine to accept if
18204-455: The subsequent contest of 1876 , Hayes was elected after a contentious compromise over disputed electoral votes . The results of the convention had further effects on Blaine's political career because Bristow, having lost the nomination, resigned as Treasury Secretary three days after the convention ended. President Grant selected Senator Lot M. Morrill of Maine to fill the cabinet post, and Maine's governor, Seldon Connor , appointed Blaine to
18352-490: The tariff, saying that free trade with Europe would impoverish American workers and farmers. The family returned to the United States in August 1887. His letter in the Tribune had raised his political profile even higher, and by 1888 Theodore Roosevelt and Henry Cabot Lodge , both former opponents, urged Blaine to run against Cleveland again. Opinion within the party was overwhelmingly in favor of renominating Blaine. As
18500-409: The third child of Ephraim Lyon Blaine and his wife Maria (Gillespie) Blaine. He had two older sisters, Harriet and Margaret. Blaine's father was a western Pennsylvania businessman and landowner, and the family lived in relative comfort. On his father's side, Blaine was descended from Scotch-Irish settlers who first emigrated to Pennsylvania in 1745. His great-grandfather Ephraim Blaine served as
18648-444: The traditional Scotch-Irish usage implicitly in noting that "nobody talks about butterscottish or hopscots , ... or Scottish pine ", and that while Scots or Scottish is how people of Scots origin refer to themselves in Scotland, the traditional English usage Scotch continues to be appropriate in "compounds and set phrases". The word " Scotch " was the favored adjective for things " of Scotland ", including people, until
18796-538: The two wed. Blaine once again considered taking up the study of law, but instead took his new bride to visit his family in Pennsylvania. They next lived with Harriet Blaine's family in Augusta, Maine , for several months, where their first child, Stanwood Blaine, was born in 1851. The young family soon moved again, this time to Philadelphia where Blaine took a job at the Pennsylvania Institution for
18944-461: The use of the term is found in A History of Ulster : "Ulster Presbyterians – known as the 'Scotch Irish' – were already accustomed to being on the move, and clearing and defending their land." Many have claimed that such a distinction should not be used, and that those called Scotch-Irish are simply Irish, despite having previously come from Scotland or England. Other Irish limit the term Irish to those of native Gaelic stock, and prefer to describe
19092-408: The war, and again over monetary policy concerning the new greenback currency . Blaine also spoke in support of the commutation provision of the military draft law passed in 1863 and proposed a constitutional amendment allowing the federal government to impose taxes on exports, but it never passed. Blaine was reelected in 1864 and, when the 39th Congress assembled in December 1865, the main issue
19240-402: The war. Around 4000 settlers were massacred and a further 12,000 may have died of privation after being driven from their homes. This, along with Irish Catholic refugees fleeing, caused Ireland's population to drop by 25%. William Petty 's figure of 37,000 Protestants massacred is far too high, perhaps by a factor of ten; certainly more recent research suggests that a much more realistic figure
19388-490: The woman who claimed he fathered her child named Oscar Folsom Cleveland. Halpin was involved with several men at the time, including Cleveland's friend and law partner, Oscar Folsom, for whom the child was also named. Cleveland did not know which man was the father, and is believed to have assumed responsibility because he was the only bachelor among them. At the same time, Democratic operatives accused Blaine and his wife of not having been married when their eldest son, Stanwood,
19536-526: Was Frederick T. Frelinghuysen , a New Jersey Stalwart; while Arthur and Frelinghuysen undid much of Blaine's work, cancelling the call for a Pan-American conference and stopping the effort to end the War of the Pacific, they did continue the drive for tariff reductions, signing a reciprocity treaty with Mexico in 1882. Blaine began the year 1882 without a political office for the first time since 1859. Troubled by poor health, he sought no employment other than
19684-425: Was a foray into education policy. In late 1875, President Grant made several speeches on the importance of the separation of church and state and the duty of the states to provide free public education . Blaine saw in this an issue that would distract from the Grant administration scandals and let the Republican party regain the high moral ground. In December 1875, he proposed a joint resolution that became known as
19832-588: Was a kindred soul who would promote civil service reform and fight for efficiency in government. However, even as the Democrats gained support from the Mugwumps, they lost some blue-collar workers to the Greenback Party , led by Benjamin F. Butler , Blaine's antagonist from their early days in the House. The campaign focused on the candidates' personalities, as each candidate's supporters cast aspersions on their opponents. Cleveland's supporters rehashed
19980-514: Was a member of the Washington Literary Society , one of the college's debating societies. Blaine succeeded academically, graduating near the top of his class and delivering the salutatory address in June 1847. After graduation, Blaine considered attending Yale Law School , but ultimately decided against it, instead moving west to find a job. In 1848, Blaine was hired as a professor of mathematics and ancient languages at
20128-624: Was a nun and founded the American branch of the Sisters of the Holy Cross. In politics, Blaine's father supported the Whig Party . Blaine's biographers describe his childhood as "harmonious," and note that the boy took an early interest in history and literature. At the age of thirteen, Blaine enrolled in his father's alma mater, Washington College (now Washington & Jefferson College ), in nearby Washington, Pennsylvania . There, he
20276-493: Was a supporter of black suffrage , but opposed some of the more coercive measures of the Radical Republicans . Initially in favor of high tariffs , he later worked to lower tariffs and expand international trade. Railroad promotion and construction were important issues in his time and, as a result of his interest and support, Blaine was widely suspected of corruption in awarding railroad charters, especially with
20424-593: Was accelerated with James's official plantation in 1609, and further augmented during the subsequent Irish Confederate Wars . The first of the Stuart Kingdoms to collapse into civil war was Ireland where, prompted in part by the anti-Catholic rhetoric of the Covenanters in Scotland, Irish Catholics launched a rebellion in October , 1641. In reaction to the proposal by Charles I and Thomas Wentworth to raise an army manned by Irish Catholics to put down
20572-656: Was around this time that Blaine left the Presbyterian church of his childhood and joined his wife's new denomination, becoming a member of the South Parish Congregational Church in Augusta. In 1858, Blaine ran for a seat in the Maine House of Representatives , and was elected. He ran for reelection in 1859, 1860, and 1861, and was successful each time by large majorities. The added responsibilities led Blaine to reduce his duties with
20720-519: Was born in 1851; this rumor was false, however, and caused little excitement in the campaign. Halpin disputed the claims of being involved with several men, accusing Cleveland of raping and impregnating her, then institutionalizing her against her will to gain control of their child. Both candidates believed that the states of New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election. In New York, Blaine received less support than he anticipated when Arthur and Conkling, still powerful in
20868-458: Was close, with Cleveland winning by just one-quarter of a percent, the electoral votes gave Cleveland a majority of 219–182. Blaine accepted his narrow defeat and spent most of the next year working on the second volume of Twenty Years of Congress. The book continued to earn him enough money to support his lavish household and pay off his debts. Although he spoke to friends of retiring from politics, Blaine still attended dinners and commented on
21016-454: Was descended from Ulster, and half from the other three provinces of Ireland. A separate migration brought many to Canada , where they are most numerous in rural Ontario and Nova Scotia . Because of the proximity of the islands of Britain and Ireland, migrations in both directions had been occurring since Ireland was first settled after the retreat of the ice sheets . Gaels from Ireland colonized current southwestern Scotland as part of
21164-478: Was expected to command much support at the convention. John A. Logan of Illinois hoped to attract Stalwart votes if Arthur's campaign was unsuccessful. Blaine was unsure he wanted to try for the nomination for the third time and even encouraged General William T. Sherman , John Sherman's older brother, to accept it if it came to him, but ultimately Blaine agreed to be a candidate again. William H. West of Ohio nominated Blaine with an enthusiastic speech and after
21312-568: Was never more popular than when he was Speaker. Liberal Republicans saw him as an alternative to the evident corruption of other Republican leaders, and some even urged him to form a new, reformist party . Although he remained a Republican, this base of moderate reformers remained loyal to Blaine and became known as the Half Breed faction of the party. Once out of the speaker's chair, Blaine had more time to concentrate on his presidential ambitions, and to develop new policy ideas. One result
21460-533: Was seen as a way to relocate the Border Reiver families to Ireland to bring peace to the Anglo-Scottish border country, and also to provide fighting men who could suppress the native Irish in Ireland. The first major influx of Scots and English into Ulster had come in 1606 during the settlement of east Down onto land cleared of native Irish by private landlords chartered by James. This process
21608-447: Was successful, but after redistricting placed Blaine in the 3rd district for the 1862 election , he allowed his name to be put forward. Running on a campaign of staunch support for the war effort, Blaine was elected by a wide margin; though nationwide, the Republican Party lost a significant number of seats in Congress as the Union war effort to date had been only weakly successful. By the time Blaine took his seat in December 1863, at
21756-481: Was the Reconstruction of the defeated Confederate States . Although he was not a member of the committee charged with drafting what became the Fourteenth Amendment , Blaine did make his views on the subject known and believed that three-fourths of the non-seceded states would be needed to ratify it, rather than three-fourths of all states, an opinion that did not prevail and placed him, atypically, in
21904-599: Was to make the first declaration for independence from Britain in the Mecklenburg Declaration of 1775. The Scots-Irish " Overmountain Men " of Virginia and North Carolina formed a militia which won the Battle of Kings Mountain in 1780, resulting in the British abandonment of a southern campaign, and for some historians "marked the turning point of the American Revolution". One exception to
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