Blaine was a teacher, editor, member of the state legislature of Maine and a congressman. He was the victim of the “Mulligan Letters” which accused him of using his position as Speaker of the House for personal gain by giving a land grant to the Little Rock-Fort Smith Railroad. This lost him the nomination for president. He failed again in 1880.

As Garfield’s Secretary of State, Blaine planned the First Pan-American Conference, and in 1884 he won the Republican nomination for the presidency, but an unfortunate slogan, “Rum, Romanism and Rebellion” lost him too many votes.

Blaine was Secretary of State under President Harrison and an important achievement was settling the dispute with Great Britain over the seal fishery.

Blaine had a reputation of being “money-mad” and was very ostentatious.