Stalwarts and Half-Breeds

General Interest, The Post Reconstruction Era

During the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes (1877-1881), the Republican Party was split into three factions:

1. The Stalwarts, the conservative faction, saw themselves as "stalwart" in opposition to Hayes' efforts to reconcile with the South. They opposed all forms of civil service reform, preferring to keep in place the existing patronage system. Among their numbers were many Radical Republicans, Union war veterans and most of the Republican political bosses. The Stalwarts also backed the protective tariff and sought a third term for U.S. Grant in 1880. Roscoe Conkling of New York was the most prominent Stalwart leader.
2. The reform element of the party, the liberals, supported active civil service reform and a tariff for revenue purposes only.
3. The Half-Breeds, a term of disparagement ginned-up by the Stalwarts, was applied to the moderate faction of the Republican Party. They backed Hayes' lenient treatment of the South and supported moderate civil service reform. James G. Blaine of Maine was the leader of this group, but failed to win the party nomination in 1876 and 1880. James A. Garfield was also affiliated with the Half-Breeds.

The assassination of Garfield by a crazed Stalwart in 1881 promptly ended usage of the terms "Stalwart" and "Half-Breed."