The "Half-Breeds" were a political faction of the United States Republican Party in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a comparably moderate group, and were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that divided the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds was political patronage. The Stalwarts were in favor of political machines and spoils system-style patronage, while the Half-Breeds, later led by Maine senator James G. Blaine, were in favor of civil service reform and a merit system. The epithet "Half-Breed" was invented in derision by the Stalwarts to denote those whom they perceived as being "only half Republican".
The Blaine faction in the context of the Hayes era is commonly attributed as the congressional Half-Breeds, although this is erroneous. Blaine's political organization during this time formed an informal coalition with the Stalwarts in opposition towards aspects of the Hayes administration.Banks, Ronald F. (June 1958). "The Senatorial Career of William P. Frye," pp. 5–6. The University of Maine. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
In spite of the faction's broad advocacy of civil service reform in their decries of corruption, several members were known to have engaged in illicit practices for personal or partisan benefits. Congressman and Senator Henry L. Dawes was revealed as a stockholder for Crédit Mobilier amidst the scandal;Martin, Edward Winslow (1873). "A Complete and Graphic Account of the Crédit Mobilier Investigation" from "Behind the Scenes in Washington". Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. Retrieved February 13, 2022.Kennedy, Robert C. "Every Public Question with an Eye Only to the Public Good". HarpWeek. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
Background
During the American Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln's policies pertaining to the Union Army were criticized by Radical Republicans as too lenient against the South. This powerful GOP bloc which included Henry Winter Davis, Benjamin Wade, Thaddeus Stevens, and Charles Sumner continuously criticized Lincoln for failing to advance as efficiently as possible, and the president's more staunch supporters were the Moderate Republicans."Moderate" in this specific context refers to the degree of eagerness in war policy without regard to overall political ideology; Lincoln in this sense was "moderate" in terms of leading the Union during the Civil War even though he was quite conservative on other issues such as economics.
The "moderate" Republicans Lincoln led were at odds with the Radicals and favored more conciliatory Reconstruction policies. Their ranks would later be joined during the Johnson presidency by some former Radical Republicans who were "reformers," including Sumner, Carl Schurz, Horace Greeley, and Lyman Trumbull.
Republican congressman Thomas A. Jenckes of Rhode Island during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant introduced legislation pushing for mild civil service reform,Thomas A. Jenckes Papers: A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress. Library of Congress. Retrieved February 12, 2022. which was enacted. Jenckes, who disregarded the plight of Southern blacks facing danger from Democratic white supremacist terrorists such as the Ku Klux Klan,Shugerman, Jed H. (March 21, 2013). The Creation of the Department of Justice: Professionalization Without Civil Rights or Civil Service. The University of Texas at Austin School of Law. Retrieved February 12, 2022. left office before the congressional "Half-Breeds" obtained its reputation as a functioning bloc, though can be viewed as a forerunner to the faction.
Ideology and leadership
Although the Half-Breeds had no rigid organization as a congressional bloc and were viewed as merely a group of disgruntled Blaine supporters promoting factionalism, their influence proved to be highly significant.Welch, Robert E. Jr. (1971). George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans, pp. 2–3. Harvard University Press. They viewed the term attributed negatively to them as either badges of honor or an identifying mark, a parallel to the Democratic Party's embracing of the donkey as their symbol after Jacksonian Democrats were dubbed "jackasses."
When accused of lacking sufficient political loyalty to the Republican Party, Half-Breeds would often accuse Stalwarts of holding excessive allegiance to their associated political machines and patronage. The group's ambitions, aside from moderate civil service reform,October 26, 2019. James G. Blaine: The Defeated Candidate . Mad Politics: The Bizarre, Fascinating, and Unknown of American Political History. Retrieved February 12, 2022. included advocating industrial strength, railroad interests, higher protective tariffs, expanding markets abroad, and a business-friendly currency system on the national level.
According to Professor Richard E. Welch Jr., the Half-Breeds were "party regulars" who "damned" bolters, were not uniformly independent in political nature nor advocates of the spoils system, and more intelligent than personal in comparison to the Stalwarts.George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans, p. 90.
James G. Blaine, who led the faction in 1880, was personally opposed to civil service reformWeisberger, Bernard A. James A. Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022. and opposed questionable policies pushed by President Hayes. He emerged as one of its main members largely due to sheer contempt for Stalwart Roscoe Conkling, pertaining to a rivalry dating back to the 1860s.Roscoe Conkling: Congressman and Political Boss (1829-1888). UCLA Social Sciences. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
Many sources published in the contemporary era tend to attribute leadership of the Half-Breeds to Blaine and sometimes even suggest that Blaine himself was a supporter of civil service reform, which is misleading and erroneous. Per the writings of Professor Welch:George Frisbie Hoar and the Half-Breed Republicans, p. 91.
Viewpoints on civil rights varied among members of the Half-Breed faction. Some such as Hayes, Evarts, McCrary and Wheeler were willing to entirely abandon Reconstruction efforts and surrender the South to the Redeemers, while the more pro-civil rights Hoar and Blair favored an alternative to military Reconstruction in the form of increased public education funding to elevate a large percentage of Southern blacks from illiteracy.
Timeline GOP campaign, 1876 During the 1876 presidential election, the Republican National Convention nominated Rutherford Hayes and William Wheeler to head the party ticket for the general election. Both Hayes and Wheeler sought to peel away Democrat support from the South by voicing conciliatory tones,About the Vice President | William A. Wheeler, 19th Vice President (1877-1881). United States Senate. Retrieved February 12, 2022. attempting to draw support from upper-class old Southern Whigs who eventually joined the Democratic Party when the Whig Party collapsed.
Frederick Douglass asked at the party convention whether delegates would continue to uphold the constitutional rights of blacks, or if they intended to "get along without the vote of the black man in the South." Hayes and Wheeler chose the latter.
Hayes presidency The Compromise of 1877 that resolved the controversies and disputes of the 1876 presidential election gave the White House to Hayes over Bourbon Democrat opponent Samuel J. Tilden. Soon after taking office, Hayes abandoned his past Radical Republicanism and along with Secretary of War George W. McCrary pulled federal troops from the Southern states of South Carolina and Louisiana,MCCRARY, GEORGE W. Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums. Retrieved February 12, 2022. all but ensuring a Jim Crow Democrat takeover of the region.
President Hayes also pushed for civil service reform,Conkling, Roscoe. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022. aligning himself with the Half-Breeds. Seeking to curb the powers of Conkling and the latter's powerful New York political machine, Hayes removed a number of the senator's allies from the state's patronage system.
Setback and rebuke The Collector of the Port of New York was a highly prized position, as the port functioned as a center of international trade between the United States and other countries.Stalwarts, Half Breeds, and Political Assassination. National Park Service. Retrieved February 12, 2022. Hayes vainly attempted to wrest control of appointments to the position from the Conkling machine to no avail, twice failing to appoint a like-minded political figure due to the successful congressional blockade initiated by the Stalwarts.
Soon afterwards, Conkling appointed close ally and future president Chester A. Arthur to the post of Collector. Arthur proved to be corrupt, giving away jobs only on the basis of party affiliation with no regard for competence and qualifications.Arthur, Chester A. Encyclopedia.com. Retrieved February 12, 2022. Hayes then investigated the Customs House, and along with John Sherman (the Secretary of the Treasury) removed Arthur from the position.
Blaine supporters temporarily join Stalwarts against Hayes Hayes' decision to remove Arthur from the New York Customs House angered not only Stalwarts but even elicited the criticism of the Blaine faction, who questioned the wisdom of the action and had earlier stood side-by-side with the president.The Key Political Issues: Patronage, Tariffs, and Gold. University of Central Florida. Retrieved February 12, 2022. Any remaining hopes of a party renomination for Hayes in the 1880 presidential election depended on support from potential Blaine supporters. With this needed bolstering evaporating, he faced no chance of becoming the Republican nominee for the race. The Blaine organization instead turned to advocate a nomination of their leader, Senator Blaine.
During the Hayes years, Blaine frequently joined Stalwarts in voting against the president's nominees, including Theodore Roosevelt Sr.,TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF THEODORE ROOSEVELT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS AT NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 12, 2022. Edwin Atkins Merritt,TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF EDWIN A. MERRITT AS COLLECTOR OF CUSTOMS FOR THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 12, 2022. and Silas W. Burt.TO CONSENT TO THE NOMINATION OF SILAS W. BURT AS NAVAL OFFICER IN THE DISTRICT OF NEW YORK. GovTrack.us. Retrieved February 12, 2022. The nomination of Roosevelt Sr. was supported by Democrats and several Half-Breed leaders such as Hoar, but was defeated by the majority of Republicans under the leadership of Conkling.
1880 United States presidential election In the 1880 Republican National Convention, the Stalwart candidate, former president Ulysses S. Grant, was pitted against James G. Blaine for the party nomination. Grant's campaign was led by Stalwart leaders John A. Logan of Illinois, Simon Cameron and his son J. Donald Cameron of Pennsylvania, and Roscoe Conkling of New York, the state with the deepest split between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds. Despite Conkling's attempts at imposing a unit-rule in the Republican National Convention by which a state's votes would be grouped together for only one candidate, a number of Stalwarts went against him by vocalizing their support for Blaine. Half-Breeds and the Blaine faction united to defeat the unit-rule in a vote, and elected Half-Breed George Frisbie Hoar to the position as temporary chairman of the convention. Hoar was later appointed as permanent chairman of the convention.
Both sides knew there was no chance of victory for either candidate, and the Half-Breeds chose James Garfield as a compromise candidate. Garfield won the party's nomination on the thirty-sixth ballot,Ackerman (2003), p. 120-121. and subsequently emerged victorious in the general election narrowly.Ackerman (2003), p. 221.
Garfield Administrations, assassination, aftermath