Presidential Election of 1920

THE PERIOD FOLLOWING the stirrings and disappointments of World War I was a time for transition, and the presidential election of 1920 symbolized a significant redirection in American politics. The launch of this new tide in politics began with the congressional elections of 1918, which produced a surprise defeat for President Wilson and the Democrats. This was supposedly a time of progress and prosperity, yet the country's mood was against those in power.

Although the armistice of 1918 brought peace to Europe, Woodrow Wilson had also linked America's foreign-policy destiny to the highly ambitious idea of a League of Nations. The League reflected the height of Wilsonian idealism. In theory, such an international body would guarantee that war would no longer plague human society. Wilson took his campaign to ratify the Treaty of Versailles and the League to the nation in 1919, but he encountered a climate of disillusionment that lacked major enthusiasm for this particular project. His vigorous and draining attempt to convert the nation to the cause seemingly contributed to his physical collapse in September 1919, and his remaining months in office were those of a defeated and humiliated invalid.

Theodore Roosevelt had died in 1919, and with Wilson's isolation in the White House, the pre-war Progressive era had lost both support and direction. The nation clearly wanted something different, but it simply was not yet clear what that would be. For a short time, Prohibition, ratified by the 18th Amendment in 1919, seemed to capture the country's mood, and its enforcement mechanism, in the form of the Volstead Act, became law in January 1920.

America faced an uncertain future, where revolutionary upheaval and war could threaten national security. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia, as well as other Communist revolts in Europe, made the threat real. Domestic radical agitation further undercut confidence and brought potential subversion to American shores. In the face of these problems, America was armed only with the moral and religious certainty that a ban on alcohol could in some way make the nation stand victorious and virtuous against all threats foreign and domestic.

By 1920, political troubles were brewing as the economy turned downward in a post-war slump and industrial unrest by the unions brought home the fears of social disruption and decline. The Republican nominating convention met in Chicago on June 8, 1920, to decide on a candidate who could best meet the uncertain needs of a new decade. With only modest contenders such as General Leonard Wood, a former Army chief of staff, and Governor Frank O. Lowden of Illinois, the convention was stalemated until the 10th ballot, when a little-known Ohio senator and newspaper publisher, Warren G. Harding, received enough votes to secure the nomination. His political manager, Harry M. Daugh-tery, engineered his selection from a poor field of candidates and he was supposedly the result of compromises and promises made in “smoke filled rooms.” The party selected former Governor of Massachusetts Calvin Coolidge as the vice presidential candidate. Coolidge's suppression of the 1919 Boston Police strike gave him a national reputation for leadership and toughness in the face of controversy.

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