1880 United States Presidential Election

The 1880 United States presidential election was the 24th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 1880. Lyman Trumbull defeated Federal Republican nominee James W. Flanagan to become the first President from the Farmer-Labor Party. It was one of the most contentious presidential elections in American history, with 16 of Trumbull's electoral votes being invalidated due to a compromise.

Labor Convention
In 1876, divisions within the Labor Party exploded into the Populist revolt, capturing Labor support in the West and enough elsewhere to split the party out of power. With former Populist and Labor candidates Ignatius Donnelly and Hendrick B. Wright declining draft attempts by their loyal followers, the nomination was open and many candidates entered the contest for it.

Ballot 1
Lyman Trumbull began with a small lead, with his amateur managers such William P. Black William P. Black and William Jennings Bryan failing to secure the support that many viewed as possible, nonetheless, Trumbull led. The shock of the first ballot, and indeed the convention itself, was the strength of Benjamin F. Butler, who won many anti-unification Laborites as well as a small contingent of farmers.

Ballot 2
Trumbull gained strength as many delegates flipped to him, as Thompson H. Murch flipped Maine to him over the strength of Solon Chase in the state. Charles H. Van Wyck was able to secure the votes of the Minnesota delegation, yet his planned boom failed to burst, largely due to opposition from his home delegation and the apathetic nature of campaign manager Jerry Simpson. The south remained with Polk, yet cracks in the “Southern Wall” campaign manager John W. Atwater hoped to build became evident.

Ballot 3
The balloting began almost identical to the one before it, yet everything changed with the Minnesota delegation. Loosely under the influence of Ignatius Donnelly, it switched to Lyman Trumbull in a call for unity. The next delegation to speak, Mississippi, did the same. Despite Nevada holding out, New Mexico bolted to Trumbull. As the states shifted to the Trumbull column, allies shifted through his supporters and prepared them for a mass demonstration, which broke out in a frenzy of cheers and chants of “Grand Old Man,” “Trumbull,” and “Unity!” when Pennsylvania announced it was shifting all 29 votes from Butler to Trumbull, practically guaranteeing the nomination of the latter. With this, the convention entered an uproar, as Virginia and Vermont joined the cause.

Trumbull accepted the nomination by telegraph yet promised to arrive at the convention by train to accept the nomination in person, once the Populists had formally joined. Additionally, he declined to dabble in the Vice Presidential contest.

Populist Convention
Across the city of Chicago where the Laborites met, gathered the Populist convention. The mood was strong in support of fusion with the Laborites, with Oliver H. Dockery, a reluctant Ignatius Donnelly, and Jerry Simpson (having walked to the Populist Convention from the Labor Convention at which he had previously managed Van Wyck’s campaign) leading the tide of union. In opposition was 1876 Vice Presidential nominee Edmund R. Cocke. Despite the attempts of Cocke to convince his party to “hold for the sake of the people, not to surrender to the prohibitionists, civil rights advocates, and city men,” the convention approved a resolution of union with the Labor Party, and received the permission of the Laborites to attend the convention the following day to vote on a resolution for a change of name and to witness the acceptance speech of Lyman Trumbull.

A small contingent of delegates initially refused to join them, yet finally at the urgings of Edmund R. Cocke, who stated that with the parties now one, “we must make our voice heard in this coalition.” Nonetheless, Cocke was seated as a delegate from Oregon rather than his native state of Virginia, as he refused to sit in the same delegation as a black person, which drew a mocking laughter from the delegates at large when announced. In a more exciting bit of news, the outcome of Debs v. Indiana was announced, upholding the rights of the striker Eugene V. Debs, whom Trumbull represented in Court.

Farmer-Labor Convention
With the delegates united as one the next day and Lyman Trumbull himself on the way, the order of business was a change in the name of the party to best accommodate the Populists. The loyal Laborites were largely opposed, yet a small contingent led by Thompson H. Murch, John P. St. John, and William H. Felton stood by the plan; the Populists were almost united in their support, with only 4 opponents out of the 192 Populist delegates. The resolution, reading simply: ”Resolved: That the Labor and Populist Parties shall henceforth join hands as the Farmer-Labor Party” would draw 3 hours worth of debate prior to its final approval in a hurried vote as Lyman Trumbull’s train arrived in Chicago, formally creating the Farmer-Labor Party of America.

Trumbull began by thanking the delegates for his nomination and denouncing the “usurpation” of elected government by “use of a standing army in aiding the privileged monopolies in the oppression of the poor.” Declaring that big business rose from the toil of the worker and government favoritism rather than its own merit, he excoriated the “greedy one percent who enrich themselves while impoverishing the masses.” Turning to the issue of Cuba, he simply stated “when freemen unsheathe the sword, it should be for liberty, not despotism.”

Finally, Trumbull concluded with a statement that would drive the convention to wild cheers, “we inscribe on our banner, ‘down with monopolies and millionaire control! Up with the rights of man and the masses!’ And under this banner we march to the polls and to victory.” a 24 year old reporter Thomas E. Watson of The People’s Advocate wrote “the convention went wild with enthusiasm” at his speech, which was printed into pamphlet form and distributed across the nation since. Trumbull having left the stage, the young William Jennings Bryan informed the convention that, with this new party united, Trumbull himself would be willing to write its platform. The delegates accepted with another round of demonstrations, any doubt of their standard-bearer now gone.

Incorporating elements of his speech, Trumbull’s platform was a popular declaration of the party’s principles and his own. Declaring the party “united in common purpose to rescue the government from the control of monopolies and concentrated wealth,” the platform declared for “free speech, free labor, and a free press;” opposing the use of the military against workers; limits upon property inheritance; no government issue of peacetime bonds; free silver; government ownership of “monopolies affecting the public interest,” taken to include railroads and telegraphs; and the protection of civil service employees and expansion of civil service reform. Trumbull’s own belief in low tariffs and citizenship for all tax-payers were omitted, and the convention amended the platform to state support for preservation of the Income tax and an end to Child labor, supported but not mentioned by Trumbull in his draft.

Federal Republican Convention
The death of President James Longstreet catapulted Edward S. Bragg to the presidency, where he proceeded to alienate almost every faction in the party through his opposition to Chinese exclusion, federal civil rights legislation, and tariffs, exacerbating his unpopularity with his handling of the Cuban Crisis and the controversial use of scorched Earth tactics and Reconcentration Camps. Thus factions of the party have put forth a plethora of challengers, as Bragg’s campaign schemed to sink them all. Thus the Federal Republicans convened in Chicago, Illinois, from June 2nd to June 8th, 1880.

After 34 ballots, James W. Flanagan was chosen as a compromise candidate. Thus, a tired convention was then forced to choose a Vice President, but the balloting never came. With none declaring intentions, Stanley Matthews of Ohio would nominate 56 year old Indiana Governor Albert G. Porter, noted for his persuasive oratory and ability to win Laborite votes. Chairman Blaine would simply ask, “are there any objections?” With none raised, the nomination was declared unanimous. The delegates then retired for the night, at nearly 7 AM, to adjourn in the evening and await news of Flanagan.

That evening, the 75 year old Flanagan tendered his resignation as Chief Justice of the United States after 24 years in office. Flanagan would telegraph to the convention a letter declaring his acceptance, intention to serve only 1 term, and expressed his gratitude for the unsought nomination. Stating his position on the Cuba issue as being “supportive of the Union above all, I nonetheless would not pursue a policy detrimental to the rights of man;” calling for a moderate tariff policy in accord with the party platform; native rights; and for the passage of a civil rights act, the telegram was as straightforward as the frontier lawyer and former tanner who sent it.

With the resignation of Flanagan, President Bragg nominated former Attorney General John S. Mosby for the position of Chief Justice.

Liberal Anti-Prohibition
Indignant at the enshrinement of the prohibition of alcohol into the constitution and appalled at its continuous endorsement by the major parties of the nation, a group dedicated to opposing it convened, declaring themselves the Liberal Anti-Prohibition Party at their national convention in Bangor, Maine. They unanimously nominated 77 year old former Governor Anson P. Morrill of Maine for the Presidency. Three young Southerners contested to join the party’s aging founder on the ticket. James E. O'Hara would defeat both Edmund R. Cocke and Tyre York for the nomination.

Following the results of the balloting and after the nomination and acceptance speech of James O’Hara, Edmund R. Cocke telegraphed the convention a declination of the nomination accompanied by thanks to those delegates who supported him and stating that he was a loyal Populist. Cocke’s declination was considered signally peculiar, seeing as he had already lost the nomination. When the telegraph was read to the convention by a delegate from Connecticut, it would break out into laughter. Many of Cocke’s supporters took it as an insult, knowing that he had courted their support, only to deny it entirely.

Cocke’s private reaction was recorded as being much less gracious, though those who leaked this to the press were not as forthcoming as to quote his reaction to losing to a black man. Cocke then subsequently threw his hat into the ring for the presidential nomination of the Independence Party, the political arm of the former Cuban Independence League.

Independence
With the Cuban Crisis bringing the issue of secession to the fore once more after years following the Civil war and the controversial tactics of the Bragg Administration in quickly crushing the rebellion raising outcry across the nation, the Cuban Independence League of the late Marcellus Emery crystallized its political arm into the Independence Party, named as such in an attempt to broaden its appeal. Since then, 4 candidates built bases of support at the convention as radicals and moderates clashed over the party’s goals in an attempt to form a united front.

John Wilkes Booth, a famous actor known for his good looks, won the nomination on the third ballot. As the convention prepared for the acceptance speech of Booth, a telegraph was forwarded to Convention Chairman Zebulon Vance of North Carolina from Edmund R. Cocke, stating that he thought the party “might have a good effect on our politics,” but would be supporting Farmer-Labor out of party loyalty, causing a round of laughter from the convention as one former Cocke delegate shouted: “loyal enough to seek to run with us!” An amusing mood upon the convention, Booth took to the stage as he had taken to the stage countless times before.

His speech was erratic, stating openly that he “wished the President and the whole damned government would go to hell.” He accused Bragg of “making himself a king” and stated a desire to join the rebels himself, stating that until seeking the presidency “I had begun to deem myself a coward and to despise my own existence” for not joining the fight. The climactic address ending with what has become his campaign’s slogan and primary theme, an impassioned declaration of “Sic semper tyrannis!” The speech received a wild applause, yet had done nothing to dispel notions of Booth being a half-crazy, inexperienced celebrity candidate, with one Independence delegate telling Whitelaw Reid that: “I am only grateful to know Stephens graces our ticket.”

Campaign
Flanagan ran a front porch campaign from his home in West Texas, with campaigners and Porter taking to the campaign trail to tour the nation. Flanagan and campaigners' economic appeals were simple, calling for moderate tariff policies, the repeal of the income tax, and the preservation of the gold standard while pointing to Flanagan's role in upholding past Labor policies as evidence of his moderation; on the Cuban Question, Flanagan stated a commitment to preserving the Union though he stated his disapproval for inhumane measures to do so. The campaign focused on social issues, with Flanagan promising to make the passage of the Civil Rights Enforcement Act, prohibiting discrimination and protecting the voting rights of freed slaves, a primary goal while in office; supporting a vast expansion of the land rights of Natives, opposing land seizure proposals and proposing granting approximately 110 million acres of Western land to serve as Native land, including returning large portions of some states to the Natives; both he and Trumbull argued for citizenship for tax-paying Natives; his role in Supreme Court decisions expanding the rights of women and freed slaves were often focused on as well. Despite this focus on social issues, Flanagan tried to avoid discussing prohibitions on Chinese immigration.

Campaigners focused on Flanagan's life as a whole; from his hardscrabble childhood, which they argued better represents the average person than the relatively well-off beginnings of Trumbull; tell tales of his heroism as a Union soldier in Confederate Virginia; praise his early political beginnings in Reconstruction and days as a tanner and lawyer in the Republic of Texas; portraying his friendship with former President Sam Houston despite his Federalism as a sign of American unity, some even pointed to his statements in support of "the American principle of acquisition" to argue that the election of Flanagan would usher in a new era of Houstonian Expansion; focus on his decades of presiding over the court, where he voted with the majority to grant women's suffrage, limit the power of slave owners over their slaves, and uphold the progressive economic reforms of the Bidwell administration; and overall portray him as a statesman reluctant for the Presidency who accepted at the behest of the people, noting that he had pledged to serve only one term.

After 4 years spent at one another's throats, splitting the vote enough to guarantee sweeping Federal Republican victories, the Labor and Populist parties united into the Farmer-Labor Party and nominated the "Grand Old Man of America," 67 year old former Vice President Lyman Trumbull of Illinois for President and 35 year old North Carolina Governor Daniel Lindsay Russell for Vice President. Trumbull, an experienced politician who first sought national office as Ely Moore's running mate on the Workingman's ticket in 1856 prior to winning the Vice Presidency under Franklin Pierce in 1860 and serving as Secretary of State to John Bidwell, had not campaigned heavily, instead continuing to focus on his work as defense lawyer for the striking workers the Bragg administration used federal troops against. Trumbull's moving acceptance speech declaring that big business rose from the toil of the worker and government favoritism rather than its own merit and condemning the “greedy one percent who enrich themselves while impoverishing the masses'' had been reprinted and spread across the nation in pamphlet form, entitled with the speech's final lines: “we inscribe on our banner, ‘down with monopolies and millionaire control! Up with the rights of man and the masses!’ And under this banner we march to the polls and to victory.”

The Trumbull campaign focused greatly on economic issues, embodied in the party platform, written by Trumbull himself, which declared the party: “united in common purpose to rescue the government from the control of monopolies and concentrated wealth.” The platform had declared for limits upon property inheritance; the abolition of government issue of peacetime bonds; opposition to the use of violence against workers; the preservation of the income tax; the free coinage of silver at a rate of 16:1; government ownership of “monopolies affecting the public interest,” taken to include railroads and telegraphs; and the protection of civil service employees and expansion of civil service reform. Additionally, Trumbull himself was known to support low tariffs, a position Russell has not taken. On the Cuban Question, Trumbull has simply stated “When freemen unsheathe the sword, it should be for liberty, not despotism.” The campaign largely avoided social issues entirely, though Trumbull had stated his opposition to the Civil Rights Enforcement Act of 1877 on states' rights and personal liberty grounds, with the note that he supported the civil rights amendment itself; Trumbull opposed the Chinese Exclusion Act and even declared in favor of citizenship for tax paying Chinese immigrants and Natives, but both positions had been largely been downplayed due to their effect on his Western support.

Additionally, two third parties had thrown their hat in the ring, both with limited ballot access. Rising from a coalition of dedicated anti-prohibitionists, the Liberal Anti-Prohibition Party formed, nominating 77 year old former Maine Governor Anson P. Morrill for President and 36 year old former North Carolina Congressman James E. O'Hara, the first part black candidate for national office, for Vice President. Neither Morrill nor O'Hara actively campaigned, nonetheless, several campaigns had gone forth such as Tyre York in North Carolina, focusing on support of the repeal of the prohibition amendment. Although their platform was single issue, Morrill and O'Hara were both known as supporters of the Civil Rights Enforcement Act and the gold standard, with Morrill being a former railroad President and assumed to oppose most progressive economic measures. On the Cuban Question. Morrill and O'Hara were the only ticket to have endorsed President Bragg's policies without exception.

The Independence Party, a political wing of the Cuban Independence League, surprised many by nominating a man considered by some to have been the greatest actor in the world, 42 year old John Wilkes Booth of Maryland, for President, with 68 year old Georgia Congressman Alexander H. Stephens nominated for Vice President. Running under the slogan "sic semper tyrannis", the dashing actor toured the nation, calling for a constitutional amendment affirming Cuba’s right to secede and performing before political crowds as he had often performed for theatre crowds, avoiding comparisons to the Confederate rebellion and instead comparing the Cuban rebels to the Continental Army and the Cuban Crisis to the American Revolution. Booth angered many in the party, including his wife, the daughter of the late abolitionist politician John P. Hale, by deviating from the party's core issues to praise slavery, echoing his statements made at the execution of John Brown by the Brazilian government in the 1860s.

The party's two candidates contrasted each other in almost every way; with Booth labelled "muscular, perfect" and "the handsomest man in the world' while the wheelchair-bound, chronically ill Stephens continued to suffer from chronic depression exacerbated by a dependence on morphine; Stephens had decades of political experience whereas Booth had never run for office; Stephens stated support for civil rights laws on a local level whereas Booth has stated opposition to any, and while Booth called for full independence for Cuba, Stephens simply stated that a referendum on independence ought to be held. Both candidates strongly denounced the tactics in Cuba, labelling the burning of homes and farms and subsequent relocation of the displaced to reconcentration camps as “crimes of war.” been subject to vast criticism, with Booth being called a "celebrity candidate" and accused of insanity while Stephens' physical state had been noted heavily, as well as his role as personal secretary to Confederate Secretary of War John Forsyth during the Civil War; additionally, Booth was embarrassed after losing an impromptu fight with 71 year old former Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln during a campaign stop in Illinois after he insulted the retired yet popular old politician.

Result
Cuba’s electoral situation was highly contested. Widespread intimidation, fraud, etc. by the military at polling booths was reported, particularly to discourage Booth voters. Additionally, some alleged fraud for either major candidate, with both Flanagan and Trumbull having efforts on their behalf without their knowledge to rig the election in their favor. The election would be razor-thin, and famously one county declared that it had separated the Flanagan and Trumbull votes into two piles, each with thousands of votes, before several mules broke in and ate the Trumbull votes. This was enough to flip the state to Flanagan, until courts ruled that Trumbull should receive an approximation of the pile’s size worth of votes, thus flipping the state back. Trumbull would defuse the situation by pledging to end military rule in Cuba and requesting that the election simply be invalidated by congress due to irregularities, which was granted.

The closest state not to be invalidated was Michigan, won by Lyman Trumbull with 43.6% of the vote to 43.5% for James W. Flanagan, 7.7% for John Wilkes Booth, and 5.2% for Anson P. Morrill.

Flanagan’s best state was Delaware, in which he won 63.2% of the vote to 20.1% for John Wilkes Booth and 16.7% for Lyman Trumbull. Lyman Trumbull’s strongest state was Colorado, where he won 83.9% of the vote, largely due to his support of free silver, to 13.1% for James W. Flanagan, and 3.0% for Anson P. Morrill. Booth’s best showing was in Georgia, where he won 33.2% to 32.1% for Lyman Trumbull and 34.6% for James W. Flanagan. Anson P. Morril’s strongest state was Maine, where he won 10.2% of the vote to 43.4% for Lyman Trumbull, 6.1% for John Wilkes Booth, and 40.3% for James W. Flanagan.