 Blaine was born in the western Pennsylvania town of West Brownsville and after college moved to Maine where he became a newspaper editor . Nicknamed " the Magnetic Man " , he was a charismatic speaker in an era that prized oratory . He began his political career as an early supporter of Abraham Lincoln and the Union war effort in the American Civil War . In Reconstruction , Blaine was a supporter of black suffrage , but opposed some of the more coercive measures of the Radical Republicans . Initially a protectionist , he later worked for a reduction in the tariff and an expansion of American trade with foreign countries . Railroad promotion and construction were important issues in his time , and as a result of his interest and support Blaine was widely suspected of corruption in the awarding of railroad charters ; these allegations plagued his 1884 presidential candidacy . 
