remained a loyal Tilden man up to the national convention that June. After the first ballot, the New York delegation released a letter from Tilden in which he withdrew from consideration. Randall hoped for the ex-Tilden delegates to rally to him. Many did so, and Randall surged to second place on the second ballot, but the momentum had shifted to another candidate, Major General Winfield Scott Hancock. Nearly all the delegates shifted to Hancock, and he was nominated. Randall believed he had been betrayed by many he had thought would support him, but carried on regardless in support of his party's nominee. Hancock (who remained on active duty) and the Republican nominee, James A. Garfield, did not campaign directly, in keeping with the customs of that time, but campaigns were conducted by other party members, including Randall. Speaking in Pennsylvania and around the Midwest, Randall did his best to rally the people to Hancock against Garfield, but without success. Garfield was elected with 214 electoral votes—including those of Pennsylvania. Worse still for Randall, Garfield's victory had swept the Republicans back into a majority in the House, meaning Randall's time as Speaker was at an end. Later House service Tariffs When Randall returned to Washington in 1881 to begin his term in the 47th Congress, the legislature was controlled by Republicans. After Garfield's assassination later that year, Vice President Chester A. Arthur assumed the presidency. Arthur, like most Republicans, favored high tariffs, but he sought to simplify the tariff structure and to reduce excise taxes. Randall, who had returned to his seat on the Appropriations Committee, favored the president's plan, and was among the few Democrats in the House to support it. The bill that emerged from the Ways and Means Committee, dominated by protectionists, provided for only a 10 percent reduction. After conference with the Senate, the resulting bill had an even smaller effect, reducing tariffs by an average of 1.47 percent. It passed both houses narrowly on March 3, 1883, the last full day of the 47th Congress; Arthur signed the measure into law. Toward the end, Randall took less part in the debate, feeling the tension between his supporters in the House, who wanted more reductions, and his constituents at home, who wanted less. The Democrats recaptured the House after the 1882 elections, but the incoming majority in the 48th Congress was divided on tariffs, with Randall's protectionist