Ohio and Presidential Elections in 1876 and 2020
Barbecue Scene, Courtesy of the Florida Memory Project
Another story in our series Stumping and Eating, the role of food in politics. In the late 19th century, Ohio had been an important swing state for winning the White House as it is today. During the election of 1876, the former Union Civil War General and Ohio native James A. Garfield served as a surrogate at a political rally that featured a barbecue in Cleveland Ohio. Garfield spoke in support of Republican Party presidential candidate Rutherford B. Hayes, also from Ohio. Similarly, General Colin Powell gave and endorsement speech for presidential candidate Joe Biden at the 2020 Democratic Party convention. In his 1876 speech, Garfield said, “I stand today before you not to defend the shortcomings of the Republican Party, but because I see in that party the only means to guard the country against ruin.” He called the national debt and government corruption as the two greatest evils facing the country. Garfield went on to say, it takes a courageous politician to cut off family and friends seeking political patronage. Garfield briefly served as US president after Hayes.[1]
[1] Detroit Free Press, August 25, 1876
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