- Half-Breed (politics)
The "Half-Breeds" were a
political faction of the United States Republican Party that existed in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a moderate-wing group, and they were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that separated the Stalwarts and the Half-Breeds was political patronage. The Stalwarts were in favor ofpolitical machine s andspoils system -style patronage, while the Half-Breeds, led byMaine senatorJames G. Blaine , were in favor ofcivil service reform and amerit system .In the
1880 Republican National Convention , the Stalwart candidate, former presidentUlysses S. Grant , was pitted against Half-BreedJames G. Blaine for the party nomination. Grant's campaign was being led by Stalwart leader,Roscoe Conkling ofNew York , a state that had the biggest split between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds. Despite Conkling's attempts at imposing a unit-rule in the Republican National Convention, in which a state's votes would be grouped together for only one candidate, [cite book | last=Ackerman | first=Kenneth D. | title=Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield | publisher= Carroll & Graf Publishers| location=New York | year = 2003|isbn=0-7867-1151-5 | pages=p24 ] a number of Stalwarts went against him by vocalizing their support for the Half-Breed, Blaine. The Half-Breeds united together to defeat the unit rule in a vote, and electedGeorge Frisbie Hoar , a Half-Breed, to the position as the temporary chairman of the convention. [cite book | last=Hernon | first=Joseph Martin| title=Profiles in Character: Hubris and Heroism in the U.S. Senate, 1789-1990 | publisher= M. E. Sharpe, Inc | location=New York | year = 1997|isbn=1-56324-937-5 | pages=p108 ] [Hoar was later appointed as the permanent chairman of the convention.]Both sides knew that there was no chance of victory for either candidate, and the Half-Breeds chose a compromise candidate,
James Garfield , who won the party's nomination on the thirty-sixth ballot, [Ackerman (2003), p120-121.] and later the presidential election. [Ackerman (2003), p221.] Blaine was chosen to be Secretary of State in the Garfield administration, and he carried heavy influence on the political appointments Garfield issued for congressional approval. After Garfield was assassinated byCharles J. Guiteau , a Stalwart, who proclaimed, "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts and Arthur will be President", [Ackerman (2003), p384.] the new Stalwart presidentChester A. Arthur surprised those in his own faction by promoting civil service reform and issuing government jobs based on a merit system. [cite book | last=Sauer | first=Patrick | title=The Complete Idiot's Guide to the American Presidents| publisher= Alpha Books| location=Indianapolis, Indiana | year = 2000|isbn=0-02-863821-2 | pages=p290 ]The Half-Breeds wrote the
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act , and Arthur signed the bill into law onJanuary 16 ,1883 . The act put an end to the spoils system, and placed all federal employees under the merit system, which exists to this day. The act also set up theUnited States Civil Service Commission , banished political tests, denied jobs to alcoholics and created competitive measures for some federal positions. [Sauer (2000), p291.] The Half-Breed and Stalwart factions both dissociated towards the end of the 1880s.References
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