The Murchison letter was a

political scandal In politics, a political scandal is an action or event regarded as morally or legally wrong and causing general public outrage. Politicians, government officials, Political party, party officials and Lobbying, lobbyists can be accused of various ...

during the

1888 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 6, 1888. Republican Party (United States), Republican nominee Benjamin Harrison, a former U.S. senator from Indiana, defeated incumbent Democr ...

between

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

, the Democratic incumbent, and the Republican nominee,

Benjamin Harrison Benjamin Harrison (August 20, 1833March 13, 1901) was the 23rd president of the United States, serving from 1889 to 1893. He was a member of the Harrison family of Virginia—a grandson of the ninth president, William Henry Harrison, and a ...

. The letter was sent by the British ambassador to the United States, Sir Lionel Sackville-West, to "Charles F. Murchison", who was actually an American political operative posing as a British

expatriate An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. The term often refers to a professional, skilled worker, or student from an affluent country. However, it may also refer to retirees, artists and ...

. In the letter, Sackville-West suggested that Cleveland was preferred as president from the British point of view. The Republicans published this letter just two weeks before the election, causing many Irish American voters to turn away from Cleveland; he consequently lost

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

and

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, and thus the presidency. Sackville-West was sacked as British ambassador.

History

A California Republican, George Osgoodby, wrote a letter to Sir Lionel Sackville-West, the British ambassador to the United States, under the assumed name of "Charles F. Murchison", who described himself as a former Englishman who was now a California citizen and asked how he should vote in the upcoming presidential election. Sackville-West wrote back and indiscreetly suggested that

, the Democratic incumbent, was probably the best man from the British point of view: The Republicans published the letter just two weeks before the election, and it had a galvanizing effect on

Irish-American Irish Americans () are Irish ethnics who live within in the United States, whether immigrants from Ireland or Americans with full or partial Irish ancestry. Irish immigration to the United States From the 17th century to the mid-19th c ...

voters exactly comparable to the " Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion" blunder of the previous presidential election: by trumpeting Great Britain's support for the Democrats. That drove Irish American voters into the Republican fold, and Cleveland lost the presidency.

Aftermath

Following the election, the lame-duck Cleveland administration brought about Sackville-West's removal as ambassador,Charles S. Campbell, Jr
"The Dismissal of Lord Sackville."
''The Mississippi Valley Historical Review'' 44:''4'' (March 1958), pp. 635–648. citing not only his letter—which could have been defended as a private correspondence unintended for publication—but also his subsequent interviews, such as one with a reporter for the ''

New York Herald The ''New York Herald'' was a large-distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between 1835 and 1924. At that point it was acquired by its smaller rival the '' New-York Tribune'' to form the '' New York Herald Tribune''. Hi ...

'': On October 1, Sackville-West had become Lord Sackville, due to the death of his brother Mortimer Sackville-West, 1st Baron Sackville. Cleveland returned to the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

by winning the 1892 election.

History

Aftermath

See also

Notes

References

Further reading