The Election of 1916
1916 is another example of an election year in which an incumbent Democratic President was seeking re-election. The election took place while Europe was embroiled in the first world war. The United States had not yet entered the war, but public sentiment leaned towards supporting the British and French, especially among much of the immigrant population. There was outrage over the harsh treatment of civilians in occupied territory by the German Army, which had invaded and occupied large parts of Belgium and northern France. Despite this, most Americans wanted to avoid involvement in the war, and preferred to continue a policy of neutrality.
The 1916 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago from June 7 to June 10. The party was still hurt from the split that had occurred in the 1912 presidential campaign when Theodore Roosevelt left to form his own party, the Progressive Party. William Howard Taft, the incumbent president, won the nomination of the regular Republican Party and the split divided the Republican vote and led to the election of Woodrow Wilson. The party bosses wanted a moderate who would be acceptable to both factions of the party. They turned to Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who had served on the court since 1910 and thus had the advantage of not having publicly spoken about political issues in six years. Although he had not actively sought the nomination, Hughes let it be known that he would not turn it down. He won the nomination on the third ballot. Former Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks was nominated as his running mate. Hughes was the only Supreme Court Justice ever to be nominated for president by a major political party.
The 1916 Democratic National Convention was held in St. Louis from June 14 to June 16. Wilson and Vice-President Thomas Marshall were re-nominated without any opposition.
The Progressives re-nominated former President Theodore Roosevelt, but he withdrew from the race and supported Hughes. Without Roosevelt, the Progressive Party quickly fell apart and most of its members returned to the Republican Party, although many supported Wilson for his efforts in keeping the United States out of World War I.
The Democrats built their campaign around the slogan, "He Kept Us out of War". The said that a Republican victory would mean war with both Mexico and Germany. Hughes downplayed the war issue. At the time Wilson had managed to convince the Germans to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare, so it was difficult for Hughes to attack Wilson's peace platform. Hughes criticized Wilson for his support of various "pro-labor" laws (such as limiting the workday to eight hours), on the grounds that they were harmful to business interests. However, his criticisms gained little traction, especially among factory workers. Hughes was helped by the vigorous support of popular former President Theodore Roosevelt.
A key mistake by Hughes was made in California. Just before the election Hughes made a campaign swing through the state where he never met with the powerful GOP Governor Hiram Johnson to seek his support. Johnson took this as a snub and never gave Hughes his full support.
The result was close and the outcome was in doubt for several days. With 266 votes needed to win, Wilson took 30 states for 277 electoral votes, while Hughes won 18 states and 254 electoral votes. California proved to be a key state. Wilson won it by only 3,800 votes out of nearly a million cast. If Hughes had carried California and its 13 electoral votes, he would have won the election. Wilson's popular vote margin of 3.1% was the smallest attained by a victorious sitting president until 2004.
According to legend, Hughes went to bed on election night thinking that he was the newly-elected president. When a reporter tried to telephone him the next morning to get his reaction to Wilson's comeback, his son answered the phone and told the reporter that "the president is asleep." The reporter retorted, "When he wakes up, tell him he isn't the president."
Wilson became the first Democratic president to win a second consecutive term since Andrew Jackson. Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall also earned the distinction of becoming the first vice-president elected to a second term since John C. Calhoun in 1828.
The 1916 Republican National Convention was held in Chicago from June 7 to June 10. The party was still hurt from the split that had occurred in the 1912 presidential campaign when Theodore Roosevelt left to form his own party, the Progressive Party. William Howard Taft, the incumbent president, won the nomination of the regular Republican Party and the split divided the Republican vote and led to the election of Woodrow Wilson. The party bosses wanted a moderate who would be acceptable to both factions of the party. They turned to Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes, who had served on the court since 1910 and thus had the advantage of not having publicly spoken about political issues in six years. Although he had not actively sought the nomination, Hughes let it be known that he would not turn it down. He won the nomination on the third ballot. Former Vice-President Charles W. Fairbanks was nominated as his running mate. Hughes was the only Supreme Court Justice ever to be nominated for president by a major political party.
The 1916 Democratic National Convention was held in St. Louis from June 14 to June 16. Wilson and Vice-President Thomas Marshall were re-nominated without any opposition.
The Progressives re-nominated former President Theodore Roosevelt, but he withdrew from the race and supported Hughes. Without Roosevelt, the Progressive Party quickly fell apart and most of its members returned to the Republican Party, although many supported Wilson for his efforts in keeping the United States out of World War I.
The Democrats built their campaign around the slogan, "He Kept Us out of War". The said that a Republican victory would mean war with both Mexico and Germany. Hughes downplayed the war issue. At the time Wilson had managed to convince the Germans to suspend unrestricted submarine warfare, so it was difficult for Hughes to attack Wilson's peace platform. Hughes criticized Wilson for his support of various "pro-labor" laws (such as limiting the workday to eight hours), on the grounds that they were harmful to business interests. However, his criticisms gained little traction, especially among factory workers. Hughes was helped by the vigorous support of popular former President Theodore Roosevelt.
A key mistake by Hughes was made in California. Just before the election Hughes made a campaign swing through the state where he never met with the powerful GOP Governor Hiram Johnson to seek his support. Johnson took this as a snub and never gave Hughes his full support.
The result was close and the outcome was in doubt for several days. With 266 votes needed to win, Wilson took 30 states for 277 electoral votes, while Hughes won 18 states and 254 electoral votes. California proved to be a key state. Wilson won it by only 3,800 votes out of nearly a million cast. If Hughes had carried California and its 13 electoral votes, he would have won the election. Wilson's popular vote margin of 3.1% was the smallest attained by a victorious sitting president until 2004.
According to legend, Hughes went to bed on election night thinking that he was the newly-elected president. When a reporter tried to telephone him the next morning to get his reaction to Wilson's comeback, his son answered the phone and told the reporter that "the president is asleep." The reporter retorted, "When he wakes up, tell him he isn't the president."
Wilson became the first Democratic president to win a second consecutive term since Andrew Jackson. Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall also earned the distinction of becoming the first vice-president elected to a second term since John C. Calhoun in 1828.