无毛视频極ne of Washington County无毛视频檚 most distinguished sons无毛视频�
West Brownsville native James G. Blaine ran for president in 1884
James G. Blaine, who grew up in West Brownsville and is the only Washington County resident to ever run for president on a major party ticket, is getting a 无毛视频済low up,无毛视频� thanks to a new Netflix drama series featuring President James Garfield无毛视频檚 brief term in office.
The Washington County Historical Society recently listed Blaine as 无毛视频渙ne of our most famous statesmen of the 19th century and one of Washington County无毛视频檚 most distinguished sons,无毛视频� but few people around here seem to know much about him and his local ties despite his outsized role in national politics.
Blaine was born Jan. 31, 1830, and grew up in a house that once stood on Main Street in West Brownsville Borough not far from the banks of the Monongahela River.
Astonishingly, he enrolled at Washington College in 1843 at age 13 and studied at the school until graduating in 1847. While going to the school that would become Washington & Jefferson College a couple of decades later, Blaine lived at a house on South Main Street in the city that still stands today 无毛视频� with an exterior plaque that bears his name 无毛视频� and is now a home decor shop.
A few years after graduating from college, Blaine relocated to Maine and called that home for much of his adult life as he moved up the political ladder in the Republican Party. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1863 until 1875 无毛视频� being elevated to speaker for several years 无毛视频� before being elected to the U.S. Senate in 1876.
Known as the 无毛视频淢agnetic Man From Maine,无毛视频� he had dreams of running for president, even becoming 无毛视频渨arped无毛视频� by the idea, according to the book, 无毛视频淒estiny of the Republic,无毛视频� by Candice Millard. Blaine put his name into the mix during the Republican National Convention in Chicago in 1880, but was defeated by the unassuming candidacy of Congressman James Garfield of Ohio.
But the political opponents were also longtime friends from their time together in Congress, and when Garfield won election later that year, he tapped Blaine to serve as his Secretary of State.
It无毛视频檚 here where the story of Blaine takes some of the spotlight in the Netflix drama, 无毛视频淒eath by Lightning,无毛视频� that features the unexpected political rise of Garfield and his abbreviated presidency when an assassin无毛视频檚 bullet and subsequent infection took his life months later. Bradley Whitford, who is known for his acting roles in movies such as Billy Madison and the television series, 无毛视频淭he West Wing,无毛视频� portrayed a white-bearded Blaine who was a close ally and confidant to Garfield.
After Garfield无毛视频檚 death in September 1881 无毛视频� more than two months after he was shot with Blaine by his side and just six months into his term 无毛视频� Blaine briefly remained as Secretary of State under the deceased president无毛视频檚 successor, Chester Arthur, until leaving his post at the end of the year.
But Blaine无毛视频檚 political career wasn无毛视频檛 over. In 1884 at age 54, he secured the Republican Party无毛视频檚 nomination for president, but narrowly lost to Grover Cleveland in the general election.
Washington County Historical Society Director Clay Kilgore, who was researching Blaine for a possible 无毛视频淟aid Back History无毛视频� video, was surprised when there were no mentions of him as a 无毛视频渉ometown boy无毛视频� in campaign stories in the local papers when he ran for president.
无毛视频淗e becomes this pretty prominent person. Are people (here) still following him?无毛视频� Kilgore said of his research in local newspaper clippings discussing his political rise. 无毛视频淎nd there无毛视频檚 nothing in the papers.无毛视频�
He thought that was especially interesting, considering many people in this region 无毛视频渉old onto these things无毛视频� by fondly remembering successful local residents even after they leave the area.
无毛视频淧eople (here) almost forgot about him,无毛视频� Kilgore said.
Blaine returned to Washington County in October 1886 for the first time in many years, according to the historical society, visiting his childhood home in West Brownsville and later traveling to Brownsville and Washington during his trip. But politics soon came calling once again as Blaine served as Secretary of State for President Benjamin Harrison from 1889 until his health began failing in 1892.
After retiring from office, Blaine stayed in Washington, D.C., where he died Jan. 27, 1893, just four days shy of his 63rd birthday. He was originally buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in the nation无毛视频檚 capital, according to the historical society, but his body later was reinterred in his adopted hometown of Augusta, Maine.
The village of Blainsburg 无毛视频� located on top of the hill within West Brownsville Borough 无毛视频� was named in his honor in 1906, and a historical marker stands at the site of his childhood home on Main Street just below the Lane Bane Bridge. But there are few other local references of the man from Washington County who nearly became president and has newfound stardom thanks to Netflix.