Cox in 1920.

What would have been the consequences of the election of James M Cox to Presidency of United States in 1920?
 
Well, first you need to find a way to elect Cox in 1920. 1920 was at the tail end of Progressivism's era. People were tired of all the junk, and the war in Europe, and wanted a Return to Normalcy after Wilson. So the climate was pro-Republican, and in favor of more Conservative politics.
 
What would have been the consequences of the election of James M Cox to Presidency of United States in 1920?


Make Hughes win in 1916. If he takes America into war, as Wilson did, then by 1920 the annoyance over wartime sacrifices, and general desire to get back to normal, will hurt the Republicans much as OTL they hurt the Democrats. The obvious candidate would be ex-President Wilson, but if health problems eliminate him, then Cox is as likely as anyone.
 
Make Hughes win in 1916. If he takes America into war, as Wilson did, then by 1920 the annoyance over wartime sacrifices, and general desire to get back to normal, will hurt the Republicans much as OTL they hurt the Democrats. The obvious candidate would be ex-President Wilson, but if health problems eliminate him, then Cox is as likely as anyone.

Will Cox be forced to govern more Conservatively in this national mood, do you think?
 
Would a President Cox have made a renewed push for US membership (allowing for reservations, unlike Wilson) in the League of Nations?
 
Would a President Cox have made a renewed push for US membership (allowing for reservations, unlike Wilson) in the League of Nations?

A bit theoretical. If the fight over the LoN has gone anything like OTL, then his election is ASB. Indeed, given the general fed up-ness after four years of war and of wrangling over the peace, I don't see how the Administration party can possibly win. That's why, if you want Cox in 1920, you need Hughes in 1916.
 
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True that; I was looking for a way for Cox to build a respectable structure from the ruins left by the collapse of Wilson's palatial ambition.
 
True that; I was looking for a way for Cox to build a respectable structure from the ruins left by the collapse of Wilson's palatial ambition.


Maybe if Wilson dies on the way back from Paris, and President Marshall repairs some of the damage, but doesn't seek an elected term.

But even then it's a long shot. The Democrats had already taken a beating in 1918, well before the League became an issue. Even the impending victory in WW1 (the Armistice was only days away) had left the voters cold.

My gut feeling is that when Wilson took America into the war, he essentially dug his own grave. The resulting patriotic binge would bring thoroughly unprogressive forces to the fore, and many who might have supported Wilson over the LoN were in jail for opposing the draft. No way was anything positive going to emerge from that carry on.
 
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