pecially
opponents of the reconstruction measures of the Administration, such
as Judge David Davis and Horace Greeley, saw an opportunity to promote
their favorite policies through this new party organization. To these
sincere reformers were soon added such disgruntled politicians as A. G.
Curtin of Pennsylvania and R. E. Fenton of New York, who sought revenge
for the support which the Administration had given to their personal
rivals. The principal bond of union was the common desire to prevent the
reelection of Grant. The platform adopted by the Cincinnati convention
reflected the composition of the party. Opening with a bitter
denunciation of the President, it declared in no uncertain terms for
civil service reform and the immediate and complete removal of political
disabilities. On the tariff, however, the party could come to no
agreement; the free traders were unable to overcome the opposition of
Horace Greeley and his protectionist followers; and the outcome was
the reference of the question "to the people in their congressional
districts and the decision of Congress."

The leading candidates for nomination for the presidency were Charles
Francis Adams, David Davis, Horace Greeley, Lyman Trumbull, and B.
Gratz Brown. From these men, as a result of manipulation, the convention
unhappily selected the one least suited to lead the party to victory
Horace Greeley. The only hope of success for the movement was in
cooperation with that very Democratic party whose principles, policies,
and leaders, Greeley in his editorials had unsparingly condemned for
years. His extreme protectionism repelled not only the Democrats but the
tariff reformers who had played an important part in the organization of
the Liberal Republican party. Conservatives of both parties distrusted
him as a man with a dangerous propensity to advocate "isms," a
theoretical politician more objectionable than the practical man of
machine politics, and far more likely to disturb the existing state of
affairs and to overturn the business of the country in his efforts at
reform. As the Nation expressed it, "Greeley appears to be 'boiled crow'
to more of his fellow citizens than any other candidate for office in
this or any other age of which we have record."

The regular Republican convention renominated Grant, and the Democrats,
as the only chance of victory, swallowed the candidate and the
platform of the Liberals. Doubtless Greeley's opposition to the radi