DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield
Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a country struggling to emerge from the long shadow of the Civil War. James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age-and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.
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DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield
Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a country struggling to emerge from the long shadow of the Civil War. James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age-and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.
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DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield

DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield

by Kenneth D. Ackerman
DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield

DARK HORSE: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield

by Kenneth D. Ackerman

Paperback(New Edition)

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Overview

Capitol Hill veteran Kenneth Ackerman re-creates an American political landscape where fierce battles for power unfolded against a chivalrous code of honor in a country struggling to emerge from the long shadow of the Civil War. James Garfield's 1880 dark horse campaign after the longest-ever Republican nominating convention, his victory in the closest-ever popular vote for president, his struggle against bitterly feuding factions once elected, and the public's response to his assassination is the most dramatic presidential odyssey of the Gilded Age-and among the most momentous in our nation's history. This journey through political backrooms, dazzling convention floors, and intrigue-filled congressional and White House chambers, reveals the era's decency and humanity as well as the sharp partisanship that exploded in the pistol shots of assassin Charles Guiteau, the disgruntled patronage-seeker eager to replace the elected Commander-in-Chief with one of his own choosing.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781619450066
Publisher: Viral History Press
Publication date: 12/24/2011
Edition description: New Edition
Pages: 496
Sales rank: 269,349
Product dimensions: 6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.11(d)

About the Author

Kenneth D. Ackerman has served for more than twenty-five years in senior posts on Capitol Hill and in the Executive Branch, including as counsel to two U.S. Senate committees and as administrator of the Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency during the Clinton-Gore administration. He is the author of The Gold Ring: Jim Fisk, Jay Gould, and Black Friday 1869 and currently practices law in Washington, D.C. A chronicler of the Gilded Age, his forthcoming book for Carroll & Graf will be a new biography of Boss Tweed.

Table of Contents

The Feud, April 18661
1The Great Contest, 1880
1.Chicago23
2.The Hero39
3.Bosses53
4.First Volley78
5.The Break98
6.Compromise123
7.Chance of a Lifetime134
2Candidate
8.The Bargain141
9.The Narrowest Margin185
3President-Elect
10.Garfield "Doesn't Sleep Excellently Well"229
4President
11.The Appointment265
12.The Senate299
13.Stalwart of the Stalwarts348
5Calamity
14.Bulletins383
15.Arthur430
Sources455
Bibliography457
Endnotes469
Acknowledgments537
Index539
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