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UNITED STATES  was in favor of Rutherford B. Hayes, the Republican candidate, who was declared to have been elected President, and inaugurated March 5, 1877. In 1879 specie payments were resumed throughout the United States, after a suspension of 17 years. In 1880 the Republican National Convention at Chicago nominated Gen. James A. Garfield, of Ohio, and Chester A. Arthur, of New York, for President and Vice-President. The Democratic National Convention was held in Cincinnati, O., and Gen. Winfield S. Hancock and William H. English, of Indiana, were selected as candidates. The result of the election was in favor of the Republicans. General Garfield was inaugurated, March 4, 1881. On July 2, 1881, he was shot by a disappointed office seeker, Charles J. Guiteau, and after more than two months of suffering died from the effects of the wound at Elberon, N. J., Sept. 19, 1881. His loss was lamented by the whole nation. He was succeeded by Vice-President Chester A. Arthur, who served the remainder of the term.

In 1884 the Democratic party nominated Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks for the presidency and vice-presidency, while the Republicans put up James G. Blaine and John A. Logan. The election resulted in the choice of Grover Cleveland and Thomas A. Hendricks, who were inaugurated March 4, 1885. The death of General Grant on July 23, 1885, was a notable event, and one that profoundly moved the whole nation. Mr. Hendricks died Nov. 25, 1885, and John Sherman, by virtue of his election as president pro tem. of the Senate, became his successor. Mr. Cleveland's administration was in the main uneventful, though the country was disturbed by widespread and obstinate conflicts between labor and capital. The silver coinage question, the reform of the civil service, the Mormon question, the labor problem, and the Pan-Electric controversy were the issues of the hour. The presidential campaign of 1888 had the tariff question for its main issue. Mr. Cleveland was renominated by the Democracy, with Allan G. Thurman for Vice-President, and Benjamin Harrison, of Indiana, grandson of the ninth President of the United States, and Levi P. Morton, for Vice-President, were nominated by the Republicans. The latter were elected, the electoral vote standing 233 to 168. In 1889 four new States were added to the Union, namely, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wash t ington, and the Territory of Oklahoma was carved out of the Indian Territory. In 1890 Wyoming and Idaho were admitted to statehood.

In 1892 Mr. Harrison was renominated by the Republicans for President, and Whitelaw Reid, of New York, for Vice-President. The Democrats nominated Mr. Cleveland for President, and Adlai E. Stevenson, of Illinois, for Vice-President. Cleveland and Stevenson were elected by an electoral vote of 277 for the ticket, against 145 for Harrison and Reid, and 22 for Weaver, the candidate of the People's party. The year 1893 was memorable for the monetary depression and hard times throughout the United States, and, to some extent, all over the world. Many thousands of men were out of employment; many financial institutions and business enterprises failed. Almost every form of security depreciated. A great railway strike, accompanied by great destruction of property and some loss of life, occurred on roads centering in Chicago; and others of less magnitude elsewhere. An army of unemployed men made a demonstration by marching across the country, subsisting on popular charity as they went, to the city of Washington, where they hoped to influence legislation by Congress, and action by the executive, to relieve the unemployed. This condition of things was popularly attributed to the administration, and to the Democratic tariff bill that had not yet been substituted for the McKinley bill, but was sure to be passed. As a consequence, in the State and Congressional elections of 1894 the Republicans obtained sweeping victories, and came into power in Congress. The administration was otherwise marked by its maintenance of friendly relations with Spain against the belligerent urgency of a large anti-Spanish party, friendly to Cuban independence; by the extension of the Civil Service; and by the Arbitration Treaty of 1897.

The presidential campaign of 1896 was an unusually exciting one, with seven tickets in the field: Republican, William McKinley and Garret A. Hobart; Democratic, William J. Bryan and Arthur Sewall; People's, William J. Bryan and Thomas E. Watson; Prohibition ;, Joshua Levering and Hale Johnson; National Democratic, John M. Palmer and Simon B. Buckner; Social Labor, Charles H. Matchett and Matthew Maguire; and National (Free-Silver Prohibition), Charles E. Bentley and James H. Southgate. In the election the Republican candidates received 7,104,779 popular and 271 electoral votes, and the fused Democratic and Peoples' candidates 6,502,925 popular and 176 electoral votes. This campaign was characterized by a remarkable revolt in the Democratic party and a fusion of that party with the Populist. See , 