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Republican Presidential Primary Debate of 1920 (Wood-Poindexter)
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| Parent | Parent |
| Type | Debate |
| Title | Republican Presidential Primary Debate of 1920 (Wood-Poindexter) |
| Start Date/Time | March 20, 1920 06:00pm |
| End Date/Time | March 20, 1920 07:00pm |
| Contributor | Chronicler |
| Last Modified | Chronicler - October 05, 2013 09:11am |
| Description | The second presidential primary debate in US History, and the first held by Republican contenders, was held between Leonard Wood and Miles Poindexter on 3/20/1920. The debate was held just prior to the South Dakota primary, in which two other Republican contenders actively campaigned: Frank Lowden and Hiram Johnson. The debate fulfilled the provisions of the Richards Primary Law, which outlined a complicated series of events leading up to primaries. It was the first test of General Wood, whose campaign had taken two wild turns earlier but who appeared to continue on his path to the White House.
Background
At the beginning of 1920, it appeared certain that Leonard Wood would be elected the 29th President of the United States. With the White House in disarray, Wood organized the de-militarization of the soldiers returning from Europe and organized the successful mediation of two major strikes. He then won a beauty contest at the South Dakota state Republican convention. Republicans around the nation were making large donations to his campaign, which had raised a record amount of money.
The Republican presidential field was the largest in many years. Two first tier contenders challenging wood were Hiram Johnson and Frank Lowden, although at the time of the debate only Lowden was being taken seriously. Second tier, or favorite son candidates, included Herbert Hoover, Warren Harding, Calvin Coolidge, John Pershing, and Miles Poindexter. Most Republican contenders had been supporters of Theodore Roosevelt in 1912, and gradually the primary campaign was turning into a debate over what it meant to be a Progressive Republican. The many candidates differed on the ratification of the Treaty of Versailles and entry into the League of Nations, the Palmer Raids, universal military training, and the federal budget. Wood's campaign considered the second tier to be "artificial" candidates and planned to contest every state to knock them out [New York Times, 2/3/1920].
The earliest primaries of 1920 were NH, MN, ND, and SD. Wood was running ahead in NH, so he decided to focus on the upper Plains states. The regular Republicans in North Dakota (the minority faction in the state) supported Wood, while the Non Partisan League (the majority Republican faction in ND) endorsed Johnson. The regular Republicans warned Wood to stay out of the state as a means of not stirring up the NPL before the primary. Wood therefore decided to spend time just prior to the ND primary in South Dakota, with the newspapers carrying his story to the north [NYT 2/24]. Four candidates were actively campaigning in SD after Wood swept the delegates in NH: Wood and Johnson on the Republican side and Gerard and Monroe on the Democratic side [NYT 3/8/1920].
Wood won a runaway victory in the Minnesota primary on 3/15, and on the following day, Johnson won a runaway race during a major blizzard in ND. Wood continued to campaign in SD, ignoring the heavy blizzard, sharing his plan for universal military training and his support for the League of Nations [NYT 3/16-17]. On 3/17, Lowden won the At Large delegates in Virginia in an upset [NYT 3/18]. Wood gave a speech in Huron SD, a hotbed of opposition to his campaign, and thousands of Republicans entusiastically cheered him on. At the time, it was thought that Wood and Hoover were gaining in strength while Lowden was slipping [NYT 3/18].
The debate was announced on 3/1 [NYT 3/2]. At the time, Wood needed the debate because he remained an unknown quantity who had not been challenged on the stump. He originally offered to send a stand-in to debate Poindexter, but within a few days he bowed to pressure to appear himself. Poindexter needed the debate to boost his flagging campaign, which was centered on opposition to the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations.
Quick Facts
When: evening of 3/20/1920
Where: Exposition Hall, Pierre SD
Moderator: unknown
Audience Size: several hundred
Topics: League of Nations/Treaty of Versailles, domestic policy
Format: Poindexter spoke for 20 minutes, followed by Wood for 30 minutes. Poindexter had a 10 minute follow-up.
Setting: the candidates appeared before a crowd of hundreds of people. The room was decorated with large US flags and small flags of the Allied nations of the World War.
The Debate
Wood and Poindexter met for a meal prior to the debate and then went to the debate together. The New York Times reporter said "Both were in happy humor. They appeared to the audience ... as a pair of cronies ratherthan as rival candidates for the Presidency..." [NYT 3/21]. The state Republican convention in 1919 had stated that the key issue for the party would be "Americanism," so the candidates outlined what they thought that meant.
Poindexter spoke first. He opened by expressing his gratitude for the rejection of the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles, both being issues where he differed with Wood. Regarding labor issues, Poindexter favored the "open shop," by which he meant that labor should be free to work without being forced into unions.
Wood began by clarifying his position regarding the League and the Treaty. He believed that the Senate should have ratified an amended treaty. An "Americanized" League would have made it possible for the USA to join and still maintain the Constitution and traditions. On the issue of labor, Wood believed that the USA could not exist if an autocracy developed either on behalf of capital or labor.
In his conclusion, Poindexter expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to share the stage with Wood, a "gentleman and soldier" who was a better debater than expected.
[NYT 3/21/1920]
Aftermath
Wood was the clear winner of the debate. It was his first public debate ever, and his performance alleviated fears by party faithful that he was not prepared for the presidency. However, the voters did not support his stances. He won a very narrow victory in the primary with Lowden narrowly edging out Johnson for second place and Poindexter a very poor fourth. Wood's narrow victory was the first indication of a major fight for the nomination.
Republican Primaries of 1920: [Link]
Republican National Convention of 1920: [Link]
Popular Vote of 1920: [Link]
Electoral Vote of 1920: [Link] |
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