The+Election+of+1892

__Candidates __ __Grover Cleveland __ He was the Democratic Nomination and the former president running for re-election after a term away from the presidency, serving his first term in 1884-1888. He was the only Democrat to win an election during the Republican dominance from 1860 to 1912. As a leader of the Bourbon Democrats, he opposed imperialism, taxes, subsidies and inflationary policies. He would use his presidential veto 584 times and intervened in the Pullman Strike in 1894 angering many unions. He also supported the gold standard, which angered the free silver and agrarian ends of the party.



__Benjamin Harrison __ He was the republican candidate running for re-election as well. He was Civil War Veteran and a former Senator from Indiana. He served his first term from 1888-1892 and was re-nominated for the presidency. The first billion dollar budget was adapted during his presidencies. His administration was important for its economic legislation, including the McKinley Tariff and the Sherman Antitrust Act, and the first billion dollar budget. Democrats would attack the "Billion Dollar Congress", and used the issue, along with the growing unpopularity of the high tariff (McKinley Tariff), to defeat the Republicans in Harrison's midterm election. The issue of the tariff and the money question weakened his attempt at returning to office for a second term.__

James Weaver __ He was the first Populist nomination for the presidency. He was a former Democrat and a Senator from Iowa. He had a very small chance of winning, but would win more than a million popular votes. The important thing was he brought the Populist Party and their ideas to the national level. The Populist's supported a low tariff, direct popular elections of Senators, direct involvement in laws and bills, unlimited coinage of silver, a graduated income tax, public ownership of railroads and other interstate businesses, federal warehouse for crops to stabilize prices, and eight hour work days. Many of their ideas would be adapted by the other parties and our nation eventually.

__Issues __

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The main issues in the election involved the tariff and the money supply. The money supply issue came from the debate of whether or not to use silver, gold, or paper money without any backing for our source of currency. The money or silver issue during the period was a smaller factor for this election in 1892. James Weaver an advocate of silver backed currency was not a strong runner, but the gold backing Cleveland and Harrison were favored. The main issue in the election was the tariff. Americans always disagreed on high on imported goods should be, but for the most part Republicans supported a higher tariff, while the Democrats favored a lower tariff. Harrison had raised the tariff with the McKinley Tariff and Cleveland would lower the tariff if elected. Other issues involved reforming industry, trusts and monopolies, and urban life due to the industrialization and urbanization of the U.S occurring at that time. These other issues did not play a huge role because government was still laid back and supporting businesses.======

__Outcome __ Weaver would win more than a million votes and be one of the few third-party candidates to ever win electoral votes (22). Harrison would earn 145 electoral votes and Cleveland would win the election by winning 277 electoral votes. Grover Cleveland would be the first president to serve two nonconsecutive terms and be counted twice for the numbering of presidents. It would also be only the second term for the Democrats during the Gilded Age. The economic downturns and depressions of the 1890's would plague Cleveland's second term in office.

__**Sources**__ //AMSCO American History, Alan Brinkley www.u-s-history.com wikipedia www.historycentral.com//