---
title: '1888: Benjamin Harrison v. Grover Cleveland'
url: https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1888/
description: the Republican ticket of Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton faced the Democratic ticket of the incumbent Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman in a…
section: US presidential elections
---

![Illustration: a pre-1914 imperial intelligence-dossier collage of colonial telegraph logs, sepia field photography and empire maps.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/detail/hero-pre1914.jpg)

[US presidential elections](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/)

# 1888: Benjamin Harrison v. Grover Cleveland

At a glance

The Republican ticket of Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton faced the Democratic ticket of the incumbent Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman in a campaign fought mainly over the tariff…

- **When:** 1888

On this page

- [Context](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1888/#context)
- [Campaign literature](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1888/#campaign-literature)
- [Techniques visible](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1888/#techniques-visible)
- [Sources](https://propagandaarchive.org/elections/us-presidential/1888/#sources)

On this page

**In one line:** the Republican ticket of Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton faced the Democratic ticket of the incumbent Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman in a campaign fought mainly over the tariff; Cleveland won the larger share of the popular vote and Harrison won the Electoral College, 233 votes to 168.

## Context

The Democrats met at St. Louis on 5-7 June 1888 and renominated President Cleveland without a formal ballot; they chose Thurman, a former Ohio senator, as his running mate. The Republicans met at Chicago on 19-25 June and nominated Harrison, a former senator from Indiana, on the eighth ballot, with Morton of New York for vice president [3]. Smaller parties also nominated tickets: the Prohibition Party named Clinton B. Fisk and John A. Brooks at Indianapolis, and the Union Labor Party named Alson J. Streeter and Charles E. Cunningham [3].

The National Archives records 233 electoral votes for Harrison and 168 for Cleveland (401 in all, 201 needed) [1]. The popular vote went the other way: the American Presidency Project lists 5,449,825 votes (47.8%) for Harrison and 5,539,118 (48.6%) for Cleveland [2]. A standard reference account puts Fisk at about 2.2% and Streeter at about 1.3% of the popular vote [3].

The tariff was the principal issue. That account says Cleveland had proposed a large reduction in tariffs, arguing that high duties were unfair to consumers, while Harrison took the side of industrialists and workers who wanted them kept [3]. Two other episodes shaped the last weeks. A Republican circular to Indiana party chairmen, the "Blocks of Five" letter, was obtained by Democrats and distributed widely [3]. And a letter from Sir Lionel Sackville-West, the British minister, to a correspondent who signed himself "Charles F. Murchison", who was in fact a California Republican, George Osgoodby, suggested that Cleveland was the better choice from the British point of view; Republicans published it about two weeks before the vote and Cleveland's government later ended Sackville-West's posting [4].

![Illustration: a lithographic poster workshop with inked stones, colour-separation proofs and drying racks.](https://propagandaarchive.org/static/generated/graphics/lithography-workshop.jpg)

Illustration, not an archive object

## Campaign literature

Six objects are hosted for each major ticket, and one each for the Prohibition and Union Labor tickets. Objects are grouped by the position they argue, not by the formal affiliation of the publisher. That matters for the cartoons: the two Harper's Weekly cartoons argue for revising the tariff and sit with the Democratic ticket, and the two Judge cartoons argue for protection and sit with the Republican ticket, but the periodicals' own party ties are not part of the record hosted here. Each side has three ticket prints or photographs and three cartoons, so the sets are equal in number and in kind. No hostable object about the Murchison letter or the "Blocks of Five" circular was found in the Library of Congress holdings searched, so neither appears below.

### Benjamin Harrison and Levi P. Morton (Republican)

![Protection to home industry 1888, Joseph A. Burrows, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/protection-home-industry-1888.jpg)

*[Protection to home industry 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/protection-home-industry-1888/). Joseph A. Burrows (copyright claimant), 18 August 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

Portraits of Harrison and Morton under an eagle and a flag, with a third portrait of William Henry Harrison above a log cabin and two raccoons flanking the line "No free trade for us. The same old coon." The 1840 portrait and the cabin put the grandson in the earlier Harrison campaign, which is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the cabin staged as the candidate's origin is [Plain folks](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/plain-folks/) [5].

![Great Republican Harrison and Morton campaign ball, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/harrison-morton-campaign-ball-1888.jpg)

*[Great Republican Harrison and Morton campaign ball, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/harrison-morton-campaign-ball-1888/). D. E. Brockett, designer and builder, Wm. B. Holmes, publisher, 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A photograph of a painted ball 14 feet across, lettered with verses, held by men with poles: "Keep the ball in motion", "We roll it on for Gallant Ben". A rolling ball treats momentum as the argument, which is [Bandwagon](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bandwagon/), and the line "Old Allegany in 1840 started the ball for Harrison" is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) from the earlier campaign [6].

![Our nation's choice, Benjamin Harrison, Levi P. Morton, Charles Lubrecht, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/our-nations-choice-harrison-morton-1888.jpg)

*[Our nation's choice, Benjamin Harrison, Levi P. Morton](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/our-nations-choice-harrison-morton-1888/). Charles Lubrecht, New York, 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A broadside with the two portraits, biographies, the Chicago platform, and figures of Lincoln and Grant under the mottoes "Liberty and the Union" and "Protection for American Industries". Lincoln, Grant and the "Loyalty to the Union" badge lend prestige, which is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the quoted lines are [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/); and the heading "No competition with foreign pauper labor" attaches a loaded label to foreign workers, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) [7]. The phrase is printed as it appeared.

![The goose that lays the golden eggs, Judge, 8 September 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/goose-golden-eggs-protection-1888.jpg)

*[The goose that lays the golden eggs](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/goose-golden-eggs-protection-1888/). Bernhard Gillam, Judge, 8 September 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A "Democratic politician" marked "Mills" offers a knife labelled "Free trade, English make" to a workman with a basket of eggs (good wages, good home, clothing, prosperity), beside a goose labelled "Protection": "Kill the goose and get all your eggs at once." The loss of wages is staged as imminent and the offered remedy is the tariff, which is [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/) [8].

![Goods will be so much cheaper--Democratic argument, Judge, 22 September 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/goods-cheaper-democratic-argument-1888.jpg)

*["Goods will be so much cheaper"--Democratic argument. But what will become of all the American industries?](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/goods-cheaper-democratic-argument-1888/). Victor Gillam, Judge, 22 September 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A flood labelled "European pauper manufactures" pours from a door marked "Protection" over a valley of "American factory" buildings, under the caption quoting "the Democratic argument" and asking what becomes of American industries. The flood is [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/), and "pauper" is a loaded label for imported goods, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) [9].

![Saved! The Republican Party throws its protecting shield over American labor, Carl Browne, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/saved-protecting-shield-american-labor-1888.jpg)

*[Saved! The Republican Party throws its protecting shield over American labor](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/saved-protecting-shield-american-labor-1888/). Carl Browne, Los Angeles, 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A woman with a flag holds a "Protection to American labor" shield over a worker and children while a human-faced lion labelled "Free trade", with a Union Jack tail and a paw marked "Mills", claws at it; a wreath names Lincoln, Grant, Garfield and Logan. The lion's label is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/) and the named Republican presidents are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/). The print includes a mocking English-accent caption ("'Tis Hengish you know") [10].

### Grover Cleveland and Allen G. Thurman (Democratic)

![Tariff reform. Cleveland and Thurman, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/tariff-reform-cleveland-thurman-1888.jpg)

*[Tariff reform. Cleveland and Thurman](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/tariff-reform-cleveland-thurman-1888/). Samuel Nagle and John Hertgen (copyright claimants), 17 September 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

An eagle on a fasces under the headline "Tariff Reform", above portraits in a horseshoe lettered "A public office is a public trust", with flags, the Capitol, the Statue of Liberty and crowds of working men. The eagle, flags and statue are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); "Tariff Reform" and the trust motto are slogans in place of a stated schedule, which is [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) [11].

![Public office is a public trust, Democratic campaign banner no. 1, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/public-office-is-a-public-trust-banner-1888.jpg)

*[Public office is a public trust: Democratic campaign banner no. 1](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/public-office-is-a-public-trust-banner-1888/). Hitchcock's Steam Printing and Publishing House, New York, 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

Oval portraits under an eagle between two red banners: "Unnecessary taxation oppresses industry" and "Reduce the tariff on necessaries of life". The eagle and shield are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/); the banner lines are [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/), stating the tariff position in a phrase without figures [12].

![Our choice, Grover Cleveland, A.G. Thurman. Democratic nominees, Kurz & Allison, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/our-choice-cleveland-thurman-1888.jpg)

*[Our choice, Grover Cleveland, A.G. Thurman. Democratic nominees](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/our-choice-cleveland-thurman-1888/). Kurz & Allison, Chicago, 18 June 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

Uncle Sam stands between shield portraits of the two nominees; at left Thomas Jefferson tops a plank list, "What we stand by": "Tariff revision. War taxes must cease. No treasury surplus. Equal rights to all men. Labor protection." Uncle Sam and Jefferson are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/), and the chosen list of planks is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), on the same definition applied to the Republican broadside above [13].

![The consumer consumed, Harper's Weekly, 7 April 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/consumer-consumed-harpers-weekly-1888.jpg)

*[The consumer consumed](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/consumer-consumed-harpers-weekly-1888/). W. A. Rogers, Harper's Weekly, 7 April 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A buyer with a basket marked "Consumer" stands between a "Domestic Goods" counter ("If you buy here you must pay blood-money to a trust") and an "Imported Goods" counter ("If you buy here you must pay war duties"). "Blood-money" and "war duties" are loaded labels, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and only the two charges are shown, which is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/). It was published before either convention and argues the tariff-reform position [14].

![The difference between trimming a hedge and cutting it down, Harper's Weekly, 4 August 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/hedge-trimming-tariff-1888.jpg)

*[The difference between trimming a hedge and cutting it down](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/hedge-trimming-tariff-1888/). W. A. Rogers, Harper's Weekly, 4 August 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A gardener trims a hedge labelled "Protection" while Uncle Sam tells two crying boys not to come "tellin' me that old story about cuttin' down the hedge". A sign quotes the Republican Party's pledge to correct tariff inequalities and reduce the surplus. Quoting only the opponent's pledge is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), and Uncle Sam as arbiter is [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) [15].

![Not as heavy as Grover, perhaps, but then I have more lemons, Nelan, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/campaign-lemon-squeezer-harrison-1888.jpg)

*[Not as heavy as Grover, perhaps, but then I have more lemons](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/campaign-lemon-squeezer-harrison-1888/). Charles Nelan, 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

A caricature of Harrison works a "Campaign lemon squeezer" over a "Campaign fund" barrel, pressing a figure tagged "Postmaster", beside a "List of victims" (manufacturers, postmasters, revenue officers, congressmen, senators, candidates and others). The lettering charges the Republican campaign with extortion, which is [Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), and the list of chosen victims is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/). The Library of Congress record names no periodical, so the sponsor is not known [16].

### Third parties

Each of the two smaller tickets has one hostable object, against six for each major ticket. No Prohibition or Union Labor cartoon, ribbon or songster was found in the holdings searched.

![Principles of the Prohibition party, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/principles-of-the-prohibition-party-1888.jpg)

*[Principles of the Prohibition party](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/principles-of-the-prohibition-party-1888/). Raabe (associated name on LOC card), 11 September 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

Portraits of the Prohibition ticket sit above two views of a town: "Our desire", with a church, Sunday school and camp meeting, and "Present situation", with a prison, an insane asylum, saloons and a wine-and-brewing company. Setting two chosen scenes against each other is [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), and linking the saloon to prison and asylum is [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/) [17].

![Union Labor Party, Kurz & Allison, 1888](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/images/union-labor-party-streeter-cunningham-1888.jpg)

*[Union Labor Party](https://propagandaarchive.org/collection/union-labor-party-streeter-cunningham-1888/). Kurz & Allison, Chicago, 31 August 1888. Public domain by age; Library of Congress.*

Portraits of Streeter and Cunningham flank Liberty and Justice on a globe lettered "Union for ever", under "The product of labor belongs to the producer" and a quotation from Lincoln, with a farmer and a smith at the sides. The Lincoln quotation is [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/); the globe, flag and allegorical figures are [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) [18]. Kurz & Allison also issued the Democratic ticket print above.

## Techniques visible

The same few techniques appear across the sheets. Both major tickets are represented by portrait-and-slogan prints that rely on [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) (eagles, flags, Uncle Sam, Lincoln and Grant on the Republican side, Jefferson, the Capitol and the Statue of Liberty on the Democratic) and on [Glittering generalities](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/glittering-generalities/) or [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/) ("Protection to home industry", "Tariff reform", "What we stand by"). On the tariff, each side's cartoons use a staged harm: the Republican cartoons show a flood or a knife aimed at wages ([Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/)); the Democratic cartoons show the buyer squeezed between a trust and war duties ([Name-calling](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/name-calling/), [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/)). Each side carries loaded labels for the other's position: "foreign pauper labor" and "European pauper manufactures" on the Republican sheets, "blood-money" and "campaign lemon squeezer" on the Democratic. The campaign ball is the one clear [Bandwagon](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/bandwagon/). The Prohibition and Union Labor prints use [Card stacking](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/card-stacking/), [Fear appeal](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/fear-appeal/), [Testimonial](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/testimonial/) and [Transfer](https://propagandaarchive.org/techniques/transfer/) on the same definitions. The sets differ in recorded sponsor rather than in method: the Republican-side cartoons come from one weekly (Judge) and a Los Angeles printer, the Democratic-side cartoons from another weekly (Harper's Weekly) and one cartoon with no recorded publisher, and none of the cartoons is recorded as issued by a party committee.

## Sources

1. National Archives, "1888 Electoral College Results", https://www.archives.gov/electoral-college/1888
2. The American Presidency Project, "Election of 1888" (popular and electoral vote by state), https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/elections/1888
3. "1888 United States presidential election", Wikipedia (conventions, nominees, tariff issue, "Blocks of Five", third-party tickets and vote shares), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1888_United_States_presidential_election
4. "Murchison letter", Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murchison_letter
5. Library of Congress, "Protection to home industry 1888 / CK 88", https://www.loc.gov/item/2012647229/
6. Library of Congress, "Great Republican Harrison and Morton campaign ball, 1888", https://www.loc.gov/item/2016651867/
7. Library of Congress, "Our nation's choice, Benjamin Harrison, Levi P. Morton", https://www.loc.gov/item/2018695422/
8. Library of Congress, "The Goose [Protection] that lays the golden eggs ..." (Judge, 8 September 1888; lithograph by Bernhard Gillam), https://www.loc.gov/item/2006675673/
9. Library of Congress, "Goods will be so much cheaper--Democratic argument. But what will become of all the American industries?" (Judge, 22 September 1888, p. 394), https://www.loc.gov/item/90707745/
10. Library of Congress, "Saved! The Republican Party throws its protecting shield over American labor", https://www.loc.gov/item/2018695401/
11. Library of Congress, "Tariff reform. Cleveland and Thurman", https://www.loc.gov/item/2003673025/
12. Library of Congress, "Public office is a public trust ... Democratic campaign banner no. 1", https://www.loc.gov/item/2002719959/
13. Library of Congress, "Our choice, Grover Cleveland, A.G. Thurman. Democratic nominees" (Kurz & Allison), https://www.loc.gov/item/2006677684/
14. Library of Congress, "The consumer consumed" (Harper's Weekly, 7 April 1888, p. 241), https://www.loc.gov/item/90707105/
15. Library of Congress, "The difference between trimming a hedge and cutting it down" (Harper's Weekly, 4 August 1888, p. 568), https://www.loc.gov/item/90707113/
16. Library of Congress, "Not as heavy as Grover, perhaps, but then I have more lemons" (Nelan), https://www.loc.gov/item/91482916/
17. Library of Congress, "Principles of the Prohibition party", https://www.loc.gov/item/2003677565/
18. Library of Congress, "Union labor party" (Kurz & Allison), https://www.loc.gov/item/2003656923/