The Brutal Toll of 19th-Century Politics
Reflecting on the physical and mental collapse of high-stakes politicians, one editor warns that running for office in the American system is now a hazardous occupation.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
In a late number of the New York Tribune, Whitelaw Reid must truly say, 'No man may aspire to a high place in politics nowadays save at the risk of his life.' The preliminary skirmishes of the national campaign fought by Mr. Blaine in the House of Representatives are clearly the cause of his sudden illness. The extraordinary mental and physical strain to which he has been subjected in the committee rooms and on the floor of the House might well have brought down the most vigorous man—then while down with sickness, to have the news of defeat reach him from Cincinnati must have been a thunderbolt to his shattered health. We had a signal example of the horrors of American political warfare four years ago, when Horace Greeley was killed by it. High-strung and sensitive men cannot stand aspersions on their good name, nor brook defeat. Mr. Blaine is today in almost an identical position with Horace Greeley four years ago, but we hope that this great statesman has physical strength enough to live down his defeat. A man of such iron will as Blaine has so often proved himself, we feel will survive his ill fortune and again lead the Republican side of the House of Representatives.
“No man may aspire to a high place in politics nowadays save at the risk of his life.”
This commentary captures a perennial anxiety of American civic life: the grinding, soul-crushing toll that partisan warfare takes on public servants. Just as the 1876 political climate pushed Blaine and Greeley to the brink, modern political polarization continues to exact a heavy personal price on those in office.
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