Description
Book SynopsisThe story of the presidential election of 1880, fully explored for the first time in
The Last Lincoln Republican, is a political drama of lasting consequence and dashed possibilities.
Trade ReviewAt last a stylish, succinct, and up-to-date biography of James Garfield and a coherent argument about what Garfield’s election might have meant for the Republican Party and the United States had he lived. As Arrington argues, Garfield was a bold and strategic defender of the principles that the Republican Party had been founded upon, particularly its vision of equality. Garfield’s death shortly after his inauguration was a lost opportunity and a turning point in the history of Reconstruction. With a careful eye to detail and a deep knowledge of the political system, Arrington tells this tragic story clearly and well." - Gregory P. Downs, author of
The Second American Revolution: The Civil War-Era Struggle over Cuba and the Rebirth of the American Republic"Making masterful use not only of a vast array of primary sources but also of his own voluminous knowledge, Benjamin Arrington has written a clear-eyed, fast-paced, important new book about one of the most fraught and fascinating presidential elections in our nation’s history." - Candice Millard, author of Destiny of the Republic: A Tale of Madness, Medicine and the Murder of a President
Table of Contents
- Editors’ Foreword
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1. “Half Way between God and the Devil”: The Election of 1876 and Its Aftermath
- 2. “Let Us Not Shrink Now”: The Rise of James A. Garfield
- 3. “Antagonisms and Controversies”: The 1880 Republican National Convention—Part 2
- 4. “If Any Outsider Is Taken, I Hope It Will Be Garfield”: The 1880 Republican National Convention—Part 2
- 5. “The Most Infamous Man in America”: Winfield Scott Hancock and the 1880 Democratic National Convention
- 6. “Indefatigable Agitators”: Third-Party Candidates in the 1880 Election
- 7. “Those Great Questions of National Well-Being”: The 1880 Presidential Campaign
- 8. “The Personal Aspects of the Presidency Are Far from Pleasant”: James A. Garfield as President
- Conclusion
- Notes
- Bibliographic Essay
- Index
