President George Dewey

After the Spanish American war, Admiral George Dewey was a national hero. Because of that many entertained the idea that he run on the Democratic ticket for the Presidency. However, because of certain controversies and issues, he dropped out and endorsed Republican William McKinley.

My question, therefore is can George Dewey become the Democratic candidate and President and how can that happen? Likewise, what would be the effects of such a thing in the events and history to follow (such as World War I)?

GeoDewey.jpg
 
Last edited:
After Dewey's return from the Spanish-American War, many suggested he run for President of the United States on the Democratic ticket. However, his candidacy was plagued by public relations missteps. Newspapers started attacking him as naïve after he was quoted as saying the job of president would be easy since the chief executive was merely following orders in executing the laws enacted by Congress and that he would "execute the laws of Congress as faithfully as I have always executed the orders of my superiors." Shortly thereafter he admitted to never having voted in a presidential election. He drew yet more criticism when he offhandedly told a newspaper reporter that "Our next war will be with Germany."[13]

Dewey also angered some Protestants by marrying Catholic Mildred McLean Hazen (the widow of General William Babcock Hazen and daughter of Washington McLean, the owner of The Washington Post) in November 1899 and giving her the house that the nation had given him following the war.[14]

Dewey withdrew from the race in mid-May and endorsed William McKinley


Hmm...From what I can infer it just seems Dewey was pretty Gaffe prone as many Military officals turned politicans are, but that should be that hard of a POD. He would do much better amongst Veterans of the War, and could campaign on bringing a Decisive end to the Philipino War. Id say he wins but on an incredibly close margin. Ill add more on whathe might get done in his Presidency later
 
As mentioned earlier Dewey was a bit gaffe prone and had replied that it wasn't a very hard job being president and he would basically do whatever the people wished. Which would probably end up with him having only one fairly unsuccessful term. He could probably be a cross between U.S. Grant and Warren G. Harding.

He served admirably upon the General Board of the Navy, was considered IIRC a bit of a stick in the mud. As president he would find out pretty quickly that civilians didn't follow orders in the same fashion an military personal. Leonard Wood is another good example of one that would have had a difficult transition from military to civilian governance.

One bonus with Dewey would probably be a more naval oriented administration. He certainly would have been one of the few naval commanders ever to make it to the Oval Office.
 
This was the latter half of the 19th century, though. The Imperial Presidency was in hibernation and all the people asked of a President was competence. Barring major scandal, I think Dewey would get along at least good enough to warrant acceptance and perhaps even reelection, if elected in the first place that is.

On a side issue, how would Dewey influence the World war? One of his most controversial remarks during all this was that he thought the next war would be with Germany.
 
This was the latter half of the 19th century, though. The Imperial Presidency was in hibernation and all the people asked of a President was competence. Barring major scandal, I think Dewey would get along at least good enough to warrant acceptance and perhaps even reelection, if elected in the first place that is.

This was not the latter half of the 19th century. The earliest Dewey could possibly elected would be 1900/1901. The Imperial Presidency isn't that at the time. It would be more a Presidency with Imperialistic Tendencies, but not the Imperial Presidency that developed in the mid-20th century.
 
This was not the latter half of the 19th century. The earliest Dewey could possibly elected would be 1900/1901. The Imperial Presidency isn't that at the time. It would be more a Presidency with Imperialistic Tendencies, but not the Imperial Presidency that developed in the mid-20th century.
Sorry, I mixed up 1896 with the 1900 election. But still, a want for simply borderline competence in the Executive I believe ran even into Taft's term. Barring total incompetence or massive scandal, I think Dewey could pull off at least being accepted and perhaps reelection, even if he is likely not regarded as one of the greatest presidents.

Now, to direct the conversation, a few question:
Would Bryan be the Vice Presidential candidate under Dewey or would/should he opt for someone else?
How would Dewey's governing style affect national affairs?
How would Dewey affect the Progressive movement?
Who would succeed Dewey as President?
How would Dewey's presidency affect WW1?
 
Last edited:
EN1,

I don't see how becoming a national hero in 1898 will help Dewey win the 1896 presidential election. ;)

However, the idea of President Dewey is a fascinating one. Throwing out a few ideas here:

- Dewey is made Governor of the Philippines for some reason. Have Taft stroke out, get permanently stuck in a bathtub, or be fatally injured when a horse implodes underneath him, so Dewey gets the job, learns how to handle civilian administration, and leaves the Navy early.

- TR still becomes President on schedule and Dewey replaces the unavailable or deceased Taft in Teddy's mind and administration. During TR's second term, Dewey becomes the chosen heir just as Taft did.

- In 1908, Dewey is elected on TR's endorsement. That endorsement worked for the colorless Taft, so it should help a bluff speaking war hero too.

- After 1908, it's anyone's guess. Taft eventually couldn't handle the two opposing wings of the Republican party. I can't even guess how Dewey would handle the tariff issue, let alone trust busting. I don't think Dewey would be as accommodating towards TR as Taft was at first either.

- As for preparedness, Dewey would be for it, but how much money will he be able to get out of Joe Cannon? As posted earlier, Dewey would have an antipathy towards Germany. While he was blockading Manila and awaiting US troops to take the city, German naval vessels routinely ignored the blockade until an exasperated Dewey threatened to fire on them. (He was surreptitiously supported by the RN vessels off Manila in this.)

- One final note, Dewey wrote several times that the Filipinos were capable of self government. A Dewey administration might result in a much earlier independent Philippines, although not before that timeline's WW1 I'd think.


Bill
 
Sorry, I mixed up 1896 with the 1900 election. But still, a want for simply borderline competence in the Executive I believe ran even into Taft's term. Barring total incompetence or massive scandal, I think Dewey could pull off at least being accepted and perhaps reelection, even if he is likely not regarded as one of the greatest presidents.

Actually, Taft was a fairly successful one term president. He was certainly a greater trust buster than Roosevelt. He would have rather had served on the US Supreme Court than had been president. That was his wife's idea. The man was brilliant, but overweight and he is sandwiched between two of the most influencial or dynamic presidents of the early 20th century.
 
First, it seems doubtful to me that Dewey could win election as a first-timer in politics: it's tough to unseat an incumbent, and even more so in prosperous times. And he'd be running against (in effect) another war hero: Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley was essentially MIA in his own presidential runs, preferring a front-porch campaign in 1896 and not venturing much from the White House in 1900. The far more dynamic TR would have rather readily swamped Dewey.

And even if the unthinkable happened, it would postpone, not obviate, a TR presidency until 1904 or possibly 1908.
 
EN1,

I don't see how becoming a national hero in 1898 will help Dewey win the 1896 presidential election. ;)

Apparently you've never heard of Nicola Tesla's Time Machine.


However, the idea of President Dewey is a fascinating one. Throwing out a few ideas here:

- Dewey is made Governor of the Philippines for some reason. Have Taft stroke out, get permanently stuck in a bathtub, or be fatally injured when a horse implodes underneath him, so Dewey gets the job, learns how to handle civilian administration, and leaves the Navy early.

- TR still becomes President on schedule and Dewey replaces the unavailable or deceased Taft in Teddy's mind and administration. During TR's second term, Dewey becomes the chosen heir just as Taft did.

- In 1908, Dewey is elected on TR's endorsement. That endorsement worked for the colorless Taft, so it should help a bluff speaking war hero too.

- After 1908, it's anyone's guess. Taft eventually couldn't handle the two opposing wings of the Republican party. I can't even guess how Dewey would handle the tariff issue, let alone trust busting. I don't think Dewey would be as accommodating towards TR as Taft was at first either.

- As for preparedness, Dewey would be for it, but how much money will he be able to get out of Joe Cannon? As posted earlier, Dewey would have an antipathy towards Germany. While he was blockading Manila and awaiting US troops to take the city, German naval vessels routinely ignored the blockade until an exasperated Dewey threatened to fire on them. (He was surreptitiously supported by the RN vessels off Manila in this.)

- One final note, Dewey wrote several times that the Filipinos were capable of self government. A Dewey administration might result in a much earlier independent Philippines, although not before that timeline's WW1 I'd think.

Bill
Aw, but that's cheeeting.

Actually, Taft was a fairly successful one term president. He was certainly a greater trust buster than Roosevelt. He would have rather had served on the US Supreme Court than had been president. That was his wife's idea. The man was brilliant, but overweight and he is sandwiched between two of the most influencial or dynamic presidents of the early 20th century.
But I don't mean what he did, I mean that which was expected. And all that was expected was really just borderline competence.

First, it seems doubtful to me that Dewey could win election as a first-timer in politics: it's tough to unseat an incumbent, and even more so in prosperous times. And he'd be running against (in effect) another war hero: Theodore Roosevelt. McKinley was essentially MIA in his own presidential runs, preferring a front-porch campaign in 1896 and not venturing much from the White House in 1900. The far more dynamic TR would have rather readily swamped Dewey.

And even if the unthinkable happened, it would postpone, not obviate, a TR presidency until 1904 or possibly 1908.

TR was never assured to get elected to the White House. Many of the party bosses absolutely despised Roosevelt (the reason he was forced into the VP position. If he was in a powerless seat and wasn't in New York, he couldn't push his Progressive ideals against the tried and true corruption). So if he gets pushed out of power if McKinley loses and doesn't capture the nation as much as he did, he could very well get suppressed in the following election phases.

It may be hard to take out McKinley, but not impossible (war heroes without experience have beaten veteran politicians of far greater possible quality before; see Ike and Adlai Stevenson). Dewey was a war hero, as TR, save in the front stage whereas TR was of course VP, and his promise to obey the people and Congress could have appeal with many, and he could have great appeal with Veterans as previously stated. And his Vice Presidential candidate could throw in certain features and empowerment for his election not yet mentioned.
 
EN1,

Okay I cheated before by having Dewey essentially take Taft's place and having the presidency all but handed to him in 1908 as what happened with Taft.

What you want is Dewey running as a Democrat candidate and winning sometime after the Spanish-American War, right? IMHO, you need to "get rid of" both McKinley and Roosevelt then. You needn't necessarily kill them off, just get them out of the way politically. Let me explain.

In the OTL, McKinley in 1900 is just too powerful a candidate and almost despite himself. He's the president who just won a war, he's the president who just gained the United States an empire, and he's the president who is presiding over better economic times. That's just too much for even a war hero like Dewey to overcome. In the OTL despite not leaving his front porch again and despite contentions over the Philippines and labor strife, McKinley still beat the frenetically campaigning Bryan by nearly 2 to 1 in the Electoral College. You'll either need to whittle down McKinley's "accomplishments", neuter him politically, or remove him from the race somehow.

Tackling McKinley's accomplishments in 1900 is going to be tricky because they're much the same as Dewey's accomplishments; i.e. winning the "Splendid Little War", and the economy is in the middle of a boom period between the panics in 1893 and 1903. Neutering him politically might be easier, killing off Mark Hanna or having the Republican's divide over the issue of empire might do the trick. Having him decide not to run might be easiest of all.

IIRC, one reason why McKinley twice ran a front porch campaign was due to the frail health of his wife. You could kill her off and have McKinley withdraw from public life. Finally you could kill off McKinley himself. Not an assassination mind you, but just a regular old death. Conroy in his godawful 1901 knocks off McKinley with a heart attack and you could do the same. Perhaps a heart attack after his wife's death or stroke?

If you don't choose 1900, you'll be running Dewey against Roosevelt in 1904 and I think your job will be much harder. Despite there being a mild panic in 1903, Roosevelt's various domestic policies were viewed very favorably and the Democrats had trouble finding a candidate with any amount of national prominence. Even Bryan said no thanks. They eventually ran Parker, but he didn't even carry his home state of New York, which was Roosevelt's too. He only did as well as he did because he carried the 12 ex-Confederate states, plus Kentucky and Maryland, and that region would have voted for Satan before voting for a Republican.

You're familiar enough with TR's career to find times and places to either kill or cripple him. Politically, you could have TR be a little more headstrong, if possible, and the GOP Old Guard more fed up with him earlier to create a split similar to that in 1912 where Wilson won with ~41% of the vote.

Hope all this nonsense helps you somehow.


Bill
 
Last edited:
Top