The Half-Breeds was the liberal faction of the Republican Party from the 1870s to 1890s, rivalling the conservative "Stalwarts". The "Half-Breeds" - supporters of President Rutherford B. Hayes - were so-called for their support for a lenient treatment of the American South and an end to Reconstruction, while the Stalwarts supported the continued occupation of the former Confederacy. The faction received its name from its Stalwart rivals due to their insufficient Republicanism; they were seen as traitors to the party and allies of the Democrats due to their opposition to Reconstruction, their ambivalence towards African-American civil rights, and their opposition to the powerful Republican machines. The Half-Breeds supported civil reform and a merit system, while the Stalwarts supported the status quo of machine politics and political patronage. In 1876 and 1880, the Half-Breed James G. Blaine failed to win the Republican nomination for President, but President James A. Garfield and his successor Chester A. Arthur (a nominal Stalwart) embraced civil service reform. By 1890, the two factions had dissolved, as the spoils system was (at least nominally) dismantled.
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