Doubt  and  distrust  prevailed,  and  early  in
the  summer  of  1882,  and  indeed  until  late
in  the  fall,  the  country  seemed  upon  the
verge  of  a  business  panic.  At  the  same
time  the  leading  journals  of  the  country
seemed  to  have  joined  in  a  crusade  against
all  existing  political  methods,  and  against
all  statutory  and  political  abuses.  The
cry  of  "  Down  with  Boss  Rule !  "  was  heard
in  many  States,  and  this  rallied  to  the
swelling  ranks  of  discontent  all  who  are
naturally  fond  of  pulling  down  leaders —
and  the  United  States  Senatorial  election*
of  1883  quickly  showed  that  the  blow  was
aimed  at  all  leaders,  whether  they  were
alleged  Bosses  or  not.  Then,  too,  the
forms  of  discontent  which  could  not  take
practical  shape  in  the  great  Presidential
contest  between  Garfield  and  Hancock,
came  to  the  front  with  cumulative  force
after  the  assassination.  There  is  little  use
in  philosophizing  and  searching  for  suffi
cient  reasons  leading  to  a  fact,  when  the
fact  itself  must  be  confessed  and  when  its
force  has  been  felt.  It  is  a  plain  fact  that
many  votes  in  the  fall  of  1882  were  deter
mined  by  the  nominating  struggle  for  the
Presidency  in  1880,  by  the  quarrels  which
followed  Garfield's  inauguration,  and  by
the  assassination.  Indeed,  the  nation  had
not  recovered  from  the  shock,  and  many
very  good  people  looked  with  very  grave
suspicion  upon  every  act  of  President
Arthur  after  he  had  succeeded  to  the
chair.  The  best  informed,  broadest  and
most  liberal  political  minds  saw  in  his
course  an  honest  effort  to  heal  existing
differences  in  the  Republican  party,  but
many  acts  of  recommendation  and  appoint
ment  directed  to  this  end  were  discounted
by  the  few  which  could  not  thus  be  traced,
and  suspicion  and  discontent  swelled  the
chorus  of  other  injuries.  The  result  was
the  great  political  changes  of  1882.  It  be
gan  in  Ohio,  the  only  important  and  de
batable  October  State  remaining  at  this
time.  The  causes  enumerated  above  (save
the  assassination  and  the  conflict  between
the  friends  of  Grant  and  Blaine)  operated


306


AMERICAN    POLITICS.
