| Blaine, James Gillespie |
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Politician (1830-1893) |  |
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After graduating from Washington College in 1847, he studied law, taught school and edited a newspaper before entering the world of politics. A lifelong Republican, he served two terms in the Maine state legislature (1859-1863), then seven terms in the House of Representatives (1863-1876), the last four as speaker of the House. He was intelligent and well-informed, a dynamic speaker, a relentless campaigner and a skillful behind-the-scenes negotiator: in short, a consummate politician. |
 | | James G. Blaine, the "Plumed Knight", Ha | | © 1997 State Historical Society of Wisconsin |
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He was the early frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination in 1876, but revelations of influence-peddling damaged his reputation. Instead, he ran successfully for the Senate, where he served from 1877-1881. In 1884, he won the Republican presidential nomination but lost the general election by a slim margin. Nonetheless, he remained a powerful leader of the national Republican party. He served two tenures as secretary of state in the Garfield (1881-1883) and Harrison (1889-1893) administrations. In that role, he sought to extend U.S. political and economic influence in Latin America under the slogan "Pan-Americanism."
SOURCE: Encyclopedia of American Biography. |
