Stalwart
Encyclopedia
The "Stalwarts" were a faction of the United States Republican Party toward the end of the 19th century.

Notable Stalwarts include Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling
Roscoe Conkling was a politician from New York who served both as a member of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate. He was the leader of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and the last person to refuse a U.S. Supreme Court appointment after he had...

 and Thomas C. Platt
Thomas C. Platt
Thomas Collier Platt was a two-term member of the U.S. House of Representatives and a three-term U.S. Senator from New York in the years 1881 and 1897-1909 — is best known as the "political boss" of the Republican Party in New York State in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century...

, who were in favor of Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant
Ulysses S. Grant was the 18th President of the United States as well as military commander during the Civil War and post-war Reconstruction periods. Under Grant's command, the Union Army defeated the Confederate military and ended the Confederate States of America...

, the eighteenth President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 (1869–1877), running for a third term. They were the "traditional" Republicans who opposed Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...

' civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....

 reform. They were pitted against the "Half-Breeds
Half-Breed (politics)
The "Half-Breeds" were a political faction of the United States Republican Party that existed in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a moderate-wing group, and they were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that separated the...

" (moderates) for control of the Republican Party. The only real issue between Stalwarts and Half-Breeds was patronage
Spoils system
In the politics of the United States, a spoil system is a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a system of awarding offices on the...

. The Half-Breeds worked to get civil service reform, and finally created the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams, rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation...

. Stalwarts also favored traditional machine politics.

During the Republican national convention in 1880, the Half-Breeds
Half-Breed (politics)
The "Half-Breeds" were a political faction of the United States Republican Party that existed in the late 19th century. The Half-Breeds were a moderate-wing group, and they were the opponents of the Stalwarts, the other main faction of the Republican Party. The main issue that separated the...

 advocated the candidacy of James Blaine of Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...

 for President. A stalemate ensued between Half-breeds and Stalwarts, and a compromise was struck to nominate a decent, unabrasive man: James Garfield
James Garfield
James Abram Garfield served as the 20th President of the United States, after completing nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. Garfield's accomplishments as President included a controversial resurgence of Presidential authority above Senatorial courtesy in executive...

. Additionally, Chester Arthur, former collector for the port of New York, was chosen to be his running mate to satisfy the Stalwarts.

Chester A. Arthur
Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur was the 21st President of the United States . Becoming President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield, Arthur struggled to overcome suspicions of his beginnings as a politician from the New York City Republican machine, succeeding at that task by embracing...

, sympathetic to the Stalwart cause, was the vice president for James A. Garfield. He became president upon Garfield's death on September 19, 1881, due to being shot by the self-proclaimed "Stalwart of the Stalwarts," Charles J. Guiteau
Charles J. Guiteau
Charles Julius Guiteau was an American lawyer who assassinated U.S. President James A. Garfield. He was executed by hanging.- Background :...

on July 2, 1881. Arthur helped to create civil service reforms in his term in part because he felt that he had to follow up Garfield's work.
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