On August 8th, 1884, shocked Hoosiers learned that the Republican candidate for president, James G. Blaine, had married in March of 1851, but had a son born in June. The Democratic Sentinel ignored the fact that the Blaines had actually been married in June of 1850, and renewed their vows the next year. The Sentinel’s account pulled no punches:
There is hardly an intelligent man in the country who has not heard that James G. Blaine betrayed the girl whom he married, and then only married her at the muzzle of a shot-gun….If Mr. Blaine was the scoundrel to betray an innocent girl; if, after despoiling her, he was the craven to refuse her legal redress, giving legitimacy to her child, until a loaded shot-gun stimulated his conscience – then there is blot on his character more foul, if possible, than any of the countless stains on his political record.
Blaine chose to fight the libel head-on, and hired Harrison to sue the Sentinel for $50,000 in criminal damages. The Hoosier lawyer cautioned that both the judge who would try the case and the bailiff who would select the jury were Democrats. Better to go for a federal, civil suit. The only option for a criminal prosecution would be for Blaine to arrive in person and confront the accused himself. Instead, Harrison traveled to Maine to gather facts from the candidate. In September, Blaine changed his mind, fearing the suit’s negative publicity. He wrote Harrison: “Now–confidentially & earnestly–I want the case to stand just as it is until after election. You must not appear to waste time–but you must let it drift.” The suit died quietly, and Blaine’s reputation in Indiana plummeted.
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