The 1880 Election and The Morey Letter: a Tale of October Surprise, Immigration, Memes and Counter Memes and Nothing to Do with Today’s Politics

The 1880 election was close, with Democrats and Republicans seeking an advantage in its waning days when a letter hits a major city newspaper purporting to be in the hand of a candidate. It is a letter that could turn the election. With Todd Arrington, a historian at the James A. Garfield National Historic Site in Mentor, Ohio, we discuss James A. Garfield's surprise nomination and the Morey letter. We also discuss what could have been had Garfield lived.