James Gillespie Blaine (January 31, 1830 – January 27, 1893) was an American Republican politician who served as United States Representative, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, U.S.
Senator from Maine, and twice as Secretary of State.
He is nominated for President in 1884, but is narrowly defeated by Democrat Grover Cleveland.
Blaine is one of the late 19th century's leading Republicans and champion of the moderate reformist faction of the party known as the "Half-Breeds".
Blaine, born in western Pennsylvania, moved to Maine where he becomes a newspaper editor.
Nicknamed "the Magnetic Man," he is a charismatic speaker in an era that prizes oratory.
He begins his political career as an early supporter of Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort in the American Civil War.
In Reconstruction, Blaine is a supporter of black suffrage, but opposes some of the more coercive measures of the Radical Republicans.
Initially a protectionist, he later works for a reduction in the tariff and an expansion of American trade with foreign countries.
Railroad promotion and construction are important issues in his time, and as a result of his interest and support, Blaine is widely suspected of corruption in the awarding of railroad charters; these allegations plague his 1884 presidential candidacy.
As Secretary of State, Blaine is a transitional figure, marking the end of an isolationist era in foreign policy and foreshadowing the rise of the American century that will begin with the Spanish-American War.
His efforts at expanding the United States' trade and influence begin the shift to a more active American foreign policy.
Blaine is a pioneer of tariff reciprocity and urges greater involvement in Latin American affairs.
An expansionist, Blaine's policies will lead in less than a decade to the establishment of the United States' acquisition of Pacific colonies and dominance of the Caribbean.
