The Republican Party in its Platform of 1884 stresses its support and importance of U.S. armed forces, specifically the Navy, "We demand the restoration of our navy to its old-time strength and efficiency, that it may in any sea protect the rights of American citizens and the interest of American commerce-(Hirsch 1590). Of course, Republicans would not be Republicans if they somehow did not connect the protection of profit to the whole issue ("interest of American commerce-).
Nation's economy is an additional factor that helped determine the election results. The most important influence on the economy was the boom in the American industry and the rise of big businesses, especially in the northern states. Among the largest corporations were John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil and Andrew Carnegie's Carnegie Steel. John D. Rockefeller made his fortune at a young age and expanded his business quickly. By the age of 45, he moved his office from Cleveland to New York City and started to integrate Standard Oil vertically as he expanded horizontally. He succeeded in controlling nine-tenths of the oil refining business through his company, and before he died at age of 98, he had become country's first billionaire. Andrew Carnegie also became wealthy at an early age. He founded Carnegie Steel at 1872 and dominated steel industry for three decades, with his company as the largest steel producer in the world. (Roark and Johnson 696-701) The importance of the big businesses rising is the enormous support they gave to the Republican Party. As stated previously Republicans were closely allied with corporate leaders and the majority of the spending for the Republican campaign was financed, either by railroad company, steel industry or oil refinery executives. The Democratic Party saw this as financial help in return for political favors (which it generally was) and thus pushed for government control of big businesses and federal regulation of the trusts.