Election of 1888 Electoral College Defeats the Sitting President Text Credit: 2003 Teacher Fellows Candidates: Benjamin Harrison, Republican (pictured), and Grover Cleveland, Democrat C-SPAN Video Clip | Fun Fact | Historically Significant Elections Campaign Overview | Electoral Overview

CAMPAIGN OVERVIEW Democrats threw their support behind incumbent president Grover Cleveland. After eight ballots at the Republican National Convention, Benjamin Harrison, a Civil War general, former senator from Indiana, and grandson of President William Henry Harrison finally received the nomination from his party. There was heavy campaigning from third party candidates, however many states had ballot laws that restricted their names from being on the ballots. In the News In 1888, the country was still dealing with the issues arising from Reconstruction in the South. War veterans dominated as a focus of policy debates and a voting bloc. Additionally, the Industrial Revolution was just beginning, and inventions like Edison's light bulb were impacting Americans' lives. Tactics/Strategy Incumbent President Grover Cleveland made just one appearance during the campaign: to accept his nomination. Meanwhile, Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison ran his campaign entirely from his home in Indianapolis, Indiana. Platforms A major issue in the campaign was the issue of tariffs (taxes on imports). Harrison supported a high protective tariff. Cleveland favored a reduced tariff, although he was not opposed to all protective trade practices. Other issues addressed on the Republican platform included antitrust laws, statehood for Western territories, and a reduction of internal taxes in times of a treasury surplus. The Democrats addressed some of these issues as well, and ran on Cleveland's record as president. Slogans Benjamin Harrison promoted his candidacy by distributing pins and broaches with a top hat symbol. Harrison invoked his grandfather's memory in an accompanying slogan saying, "Grandfather's hat fits Ben."

ELECTORAL OVERVIEW Although Cleveland won the popular vote with 5,540,050 votes to Harrison's 5,444,337, Harrison won in the Electoral College, and in doing so captured the presidency. Harrison carried twenty states (all but two of the Northern states) and Cleveland carried eighteen (the vote in six southern states went to Cleveland with margins of 2/3 or more). Cleveland failed to win the votes in his home political base of New York. Some attributed these losses in swing Northern states to angry Union veterans who switched their votes after Cleveland returned captured Confederate battle flags to the Southern states. Electoral College Results Benjamin Harrison (Republican) 233 votes Grover Cleveland (Democrat) 168 votes Aftermath After the election of 1888, the newly created People's Party, or Populists, built a strong base of support from those who felt their interests were not supported by either the Democrats or the Republicans. The Populists supported economic reforms in response to what they perceived as the growing influence of corporations. In 1888, new ballot laws were passed in nine states, allowing third party candidates easier access to presidential ballots.