From Congressman James A. Garfields diary, May 23, 1880: At four oclock I called on Blaine and we took a long walk in the grounds of the Naval Observatory. B. spoke very freely of the political situation. Said he did not much expect the nomination at Chicago, and would not have become a candidate but for the belief that he could more effectually prevent the nomination of Gen. Grant than anyone else. On the whole, he thought the nomination of Grant quite probable. James A. Garfield and James G. Blaine (left) were good friends and long-time congressional colleagues who obviously talked quite a bit in the days leading up to the 1880 Republican convention in Chicago. Circumstances forced Garfield to support John Sherman for the nomination instead of his friend Blaine (more on that in a post on Sunday, May 25), but most Republicans, including Blaine himself, clearly expected former president Ulysses S. Grant (right) to receive the nomination. Garfield was among the many who hoped to prevent Grant from running for a third term. Some remembered Grants previous two terms (1869-77) as scandal-ridden; others simply objected to anyone breaking the two-term tradition established by George Washington. As Garfield and Blaine talked before the convention, neither could know that one of them would, indeed, end up as the 20th President of the United States...but not the one either of them (or anyone else) expected.
Posted on: Fri, 23 May 2014 15:45:01 +0000
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