When President Cleveland did not support granting larger pensions to the Civil War veterans, the Republican Party organized the veteran vote and took control of the U.S. Senate in the midterm elections. There, they thwarted Cleveland’s plan to reduce the tariff. Federal surpluses at the time were in the $100 million range.

At the Democratic National Convention, Cleveland was re-nominated without a ballot. The convention nominated Allen G. Thurman of Chillicothe for vice president. The delegates waved red bandannas after his victory on the first ballot; Thurman always used a red bandanna to wipe his mouth after taking a pinch of snuff.

Benjamin Harrison was nominated for President by the Republicans, although John Sherman of Ohio led in the early balloting. Some delegates wanted James Blaine to run again, but he refused.

The major issue in the campaign was the tariff. The Republicans favored a high tariff, which raised the price of foreign products to make American products more competitive. The tariff also was the primary source of revenue for Congress, and the Republicans favored increasing the pensions to the aging Civil War veterans. Pres. Cleveland wanted to reduce the tariff so the money would circulate in the economy and help to increase the number of jobs. Some of the minor parties called for a lower tariff because they felt that the protection was not being extended to workers. Since the two major parties needed the campaign contributions of the wealthy, th

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When President Cleveland did not support granting larger pensions to the Civil War veterans, the Republican Party organized the veteran vote and took control of the U.S. Senate in the midterm elections. There, they thwarted Cleveland’s plan to reduce the tariff. Federal surpluses at the time were in the $100 million range.

At the Democratic National Convention, Cleveland was re-nominated without a ballot. The convention nominated Allen G. Thurman of Chillicothe for vice president. The delegates waved red bandannas after his victory on the first ballot; Thurman always used a red bandanna to wipe his mouth after taking a pinch of snuff.

Benjamin Harrison was nominated for President by the Republicans, although John Sherman of Ohio led in the early balloting. Some delegates wanted James Blaine to run again, but he refused.

The major issue in the campaign was the tariff. The Republicans favored a high tariff, which raised the price of foreign products to make American products more competitive. The tariff also was the primary source of revenue for Congress, and the Republicans favored increasing the pensions to the aging Civil War veterans. Pres. Cleveland wanted to reduce the tariff so the money would circulate in the economy and help to increase the number of jobs. Some of the minor parties called for a lower tariff because they felt that the protection was not being extended to workers. Since the two major parties needed the campaign contributions of the wealthy, they ignored these attacks.

On election day, Cleveland won the popular vote, but Harrison won the large states and thereby won the electoral vote. The Republicans took control of the U.S. House as well.

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