James G. Blaine

U.S. Congressperson

1830 – 1893

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Who was James G. Blaine?

James Gillespie Blaine was an American Republican politician who served as United States Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S. Senator from Maine, and twice as Secretary of State. He was nominated for President in 1884, but was narrowly defeated by Democrat Grover Cleveland. Blaine was one of the late 19th century's leading Republicans and champion of the moderate reformist faction of the party known as the "Half-Breeds".

Blaine was born in the western Pennsylvania town of West Brownsville and after college moved to Maine 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 Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort in the American Civil War. In Reconstruction, Blaine was a supporter of black suffrage, but opposed some of the more coercive measures of the Radical Republicans. Initially a protectionist, he later worked for a reduction in the tariff and an expansion of American trade with foreign countries.

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Born
Jan 31, 1830
West Brownsville
Also known as
  • James Blaine
Parents
Spouses
Children
Religion
  • Congregational church
Nationality
  • United States of America
Profession
Education
  • Bates College
  • Washington & Jefferson College
    ( - 1847)
  • Washington College
  • Bowdoin College
Lived in
  • Maine
Died
Jan 27, 1893
Washington, D.C.

Submitted
on July 23, 2013

Citation

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