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US President National Vote

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> United States > U.S. Executive > Popular Vote

Office

President

Type

General Election

Filing Deadline

June 01, 1920 - 12:00pm

Polls Open

November 02, 1920 - 06:00am

Polls Close

November 02, 1920 - 08:00pm

Term Start

March 04, 1921 - 12:00pm

Term End

March 04, 1925 - 12:00pm

Contributor

Thomas Walker

Last Modified

Chronicler November 09, 2008 09:01am

Data Sources

Congressional Quarterly Guide to U S Elections, third edition

Description

During the 1916 campaign, Theodore Roosevelt had reminded the voters about William J. Bryan’s statement that Wilson kept the nation out of the war. TR wanted the public to believe that Bryan as Secretary of State would oppose America’s entry into the war under any condition, which was a position of weakness in TR’s eyes.

President Wilson was preparing a plan for a negotiated settlement to the European war when Germany declared that it would resume unrestricted warfare on shipping in the Atlantic. Soon news surfaced that Germany offered to grant the states of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona to Mexico if it would enter the war against the United States. The sinking of three more American ships by German U-boats led President Wilson to call Congress into session early, and the United States entered the War.

The arrival of American troops in Europe upset the balance of power in western Europe. While the war had been a standstill for three years, the influx of new soldiers was more than the German army could handle. Just over a year after American entry into the war, Germany asked for an armistice. President Wilson perfected his earlier ideas for restoring the peace in Europe and named them the Fourteen Points. Americans reacted favorably to the Fourteen Points, and the German request for an armistice was based upon them.

In the midterm election in the fall of 1918, the Republican Party took control of both houses of Congress in addition to winning many governorships and state legislatures. The new Congress moved quickly to approve a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote. Wilson’s relations with Congress were strained when he appointed a team of advisors without representation from the Senate to draft the European peace treaty, since the Senate would need to ratify the treaty. The other European nations were not very interested in the Fourteen Points, but they agreed to establish a League of Nations.

Wilson’s failure to include Republican representation on the team of advisors proved fatal to his efforts. The U.S. Senate was willing to ratify the treaty if some modifications were made, but Wilson was unwilling to back down from a treaty which had been written by the heads of state in Europe. In an attempt to garner public support, Wilson embarked upon a speaking campaign throughout the country. Pres. Wilson’s health was not satisfactory for such a tour, and he suffered a stroke.

In the election of 1920, both parties nominated newspaper men from Ohio. James M. Cox, the Democratic Governor, began the balloting in third place and took the lead on the 12th ballot. His main rivals were William G. McAdoo, Wilson’s former Secretary of the Treasury, and A. Mitchell Palmer, Wilson’s Attorney General and organizer of the Red Scare. Although Cox lost his lead later, the convention nominated him on the 44th ballot. The Republicans nominated Warren G. Harding on the tenth ballot over General Leonard Wood, Gov. Frank Lowden, and Gov. Hiram Johnson.

In the election, the Republicans extended their 1918 landslide. Harding received 404 electoral votes, carrying every northern state. The Republicans extended their one-vote margin in the U.S. Senate as well. The nation was ready for a return to normalcy.

LAST GENERAL ELECTION
	Party	Democratic	Won	11/07/1916
	Name	Woodrow Wilson	Votes	9,126,300 (49.24%)
	Term	03/04/1917 - 03/04/1921	Margin	579,511 (+3.13%)

PRIMARY/OTHER SCHEDULE
Apr 13, 1920	US President - S Primaries	Eugene V. Debs
Jun 01, 1920	US President - R Primaries	Hiram W. Johnson
Jul 01, 1920	US President - D Primaries	Unpledged