Mr. Elaine was a candidate for the presidential nomination in 1876, and
came within twenty-seven votes of being successful. His vote increased
from two hundred and ninety-one on the first ballot to three hundred and
fifty-one on the seventh, but he was beaten by a combination against him
of the delegates supporting Morton, Conkling, Hartranft, Bristow, and
Hayes, who united upon Hayes, and made him the nominee. He was also one
of the leading candidates for the presidential nomination at the
Republican National Convention in Chicago, in June, 1880. Out of a total
of seven hundred and fifty-five he received, on the first ballot, two
hundred and eighty-four votes. On the thirteenth and fourteenth ballots
he received his highest vote, two hundred and eighty-five, which very
gradually declined to two hundred and fifty-seven on the thirty-fifth
ballot. On the thirty-sixth ballot General Garfield was nominated by a
combination of the elements opposed to General Grant and a third term.
As before, Mr. Blaine yielded to the inevitable, remaining true to his
party principles, and contributing his aid to the election of James A.
Garfield.

When President Garfield made up his Cabinet he offered Mr. Blaine the
control of the state department. This is how Mr. Blaine accepted the
offer:

WASHINGTON, December 20, 1880.

_My dear Garfield_,--Your generous invitation to enter your Cabinet
as secretary of state has been under consideration for more than three
weeks. The thought had really never occurred to my mind until, at our
late conference, you presented it with such cogent arguments in its
favor, and with such warmth of personal friendship in aid of your kind
offer. I know that an early answer is desirable, and I have waited only
long enough to consider the subject in all its bearings, and to make up
my mind, definitely and conclusively. I now say to you, in the same
cordial spirit in which you have invited me, that I accept the position.
It is no affectation for me to add that I make this decision, not for
the honor of the promotion it gives me in the public service, but
because I think I can be useful to the country and to the party; useful
to you as the responsible leader of the party and the great head of the
government. I am influenced somewhat, perhaps, by the shower of letters
I have received urging me to accept, written to me in consequence of the
mere unauthorized newspaper report that you