The election of 1888 was a national referendum on the country’s tariff policy.87 Although the issue was as much one of excessive taxation as excessive trade protection, the outcome would determine the fate of tariff reform and the protective system. Republicans tried to paint the president and his party as “free traders,” something Cleveland (1933, 189) dismissed as a “pure unadulterated fabrication.” Still, despite their recent political gains, the Democrats lacked the aggressiveness and resourcefulness of the well-organized Republicans. The election is also considered to be one of the most
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