rk in the 1884 election. In a campaign that became infamous as one of the dirtiest in history, Cleveland, aided by the Mugwups led by Carl Schurz, defeated Blaine by a narrow margin.Much of Cleveland's presidency was dominated by debate over the protective tariff. In 1888, after Blaine declined to run, the Republicans chose Benjamin HARRISON of Indiana as their nominee. Campaigning strongly in favor of the protective tariff, Harrison defeated Cleveland by an electoral vote of 233 to 168, although he received 100,000 fewer popular votes. For the first time in years the Republicans also captured both houses of Congress. The Republicans passed the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, admitted several new states to the Union, and passed the highly protective McKinley Tariff Act.In the congressional elections of 1890 the party suffered its worst defeat since 1874. President Harrison, although not popular within his party, was renominated in 1892 but lost the election to Grover Cleveland. This defeat was the worst the Republicans had suffered since the party's birth. A severe depression and the panic of 1893--and a generally lackluster Cleveland administration--provided hope for the Republicans. The advent of a surprisingly strong Populist party in 1892 siphoned off votes from the Republicans in the border states and from the Democrats in the South. Even so, the Populist thrust was relatively short-lived. By tying themselves too closely to Free Silver as a major issue the Democrats weakened themselves.In 1896, William MCKINLEY of Ohio became the Republican candidate after a campaign orchestrated by Mark Hanna, a Cleveland politician-businessman who feared the rise of populism and a decline in business prosperity. In what many political historians believe was the most significant election since 1860, McKinley beat William Jennings BRYAN by a substantial margin. McKinley received support from the industrial Northeast and the business community. Bryan receiv...
