Reversal, 1920

Picture a smoke-filled room in the Blackstone Hotel, in Chicago. The elders and kingmakers of the Republican party are closeted late at night, trying to resolve a deadlocked convention. Theodore Roosevelt would have been the clear front-runner, but he had died more than a year previously. Charles Evans Hughes had taken himself out of the picture, given the recent death of his daughter. That left a collection of less powerful candidates from which to choose.

The name of one such contender, the genial, bland neo-McKinley senator from Ohio, Warren Harding, was put forth. There were murmurs of discussion until one member spoke up, "Have you lost your mind? Harding's a skirt-chaser of the worst sort. He can't keep his fly closed for ten minutes. You elect him, and you'll have a scandal in the first six months. Besides, have you seen that bunch around him? A lot of small-time grifters; that's all they are. Oh, sure, Harding himself is honest, but he's too dumb to be anything else."

The counterthrust came quickly. "Then who would you suggest?"

Equally quickly came the reply. "What about Coolidge? He knows what he's doing as an executive. He'll keep taxes down. And there's never been a breath of any wrongdoing. And he won't preach like Wilson. That alone should make him appealing."

This gave the assemblage food for thought. Nobody offered any other suggestions, and with that unspoken mutual assent, the meeting adjourned. Early the following morning the rumors began flying, and in the next ballot, there was a shift of a few dozen votes scattered among several states to Coolidge. The sources were scattered, but most came from erstwhile Harding delegates. Another ballot produced a similar shift, and still no majority--but it appeared there was at least a swing toward Coolidge. The dam broke when Harding announced he was releasing his delegates; the stampede for Coolidge was on.


So....Calvin Coolidge tops the 1920 GOP ticket. Whom does he choose for a running mate: Lenroot? Wood? Harding? And how do the 1920s spin out with no Teapot Dome scandal, and Silent Cal in the Oval Office from the beginning.
 
So....Calvin Coolidge tops the 1920 GOP ticket. Whom does he choose for a running mate: Lenroot? Wood? Harding? And how do the 1920s spin out with no Teapot Dome scandal, and Silent Cal in the Oval Office from the beginning.


Big question is who he picks for Secreary of State. Hughes, as I understand it, looked after that for Harding with little interference from the White House. Does Coolidge still choose him? If not, who, and would his policies be much different?
 
You probably need a progressive to balance the ticket. Irvine Lenroot fits the bill nicely.
 
You probably need a progressive to balance the ticket. Irvine Lenroot fits the bill nicely.

Was Harding considered a Progressive?

I hadn't thought so, but they put Coolidge on the ticket with him, and neither the Republican Convention nor the electorate seem to have any problem with it.
 
By no means was Harding a progressive. Perhaps the most telling characterization (I forget by whom) was that Harding "…wanted to turn back the clock to McKinley's day…"

I like the idea of Lenroot, if he could be persuaded. (FWIW, in 1924, Coolidge wanted Borah as his running mate, but Borah-rightfully so-felt he could do more in the Senate.)

As to SecState, I see no reason why Coolidge wouldn't pick Hughes: Hughes was the logical choice for the post at the time.
 
I'm wondering if, with Harding out of the picture, the kingmakers would want someone even more conservative and a lot less charismatic. If the Wood supporters have any say, they may go with a compromise candidate -- and, as it happens, there's one candidate at the convention who fits the bill, a real dark horse...

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Was Harding considered a Progressive?

Harding was considered a yes man. Not once had he voted other than in accordance with the party line.

His own father summed him up pretty well: Warren, he said, if you were a girl, you would always be in the family way. You don't know how to say no.
 
Harding was considered a yes man. Not once had he voted other than in accordance with the party line.

His own father summed him up pretty well: Warren, he said, if you were a girl, you would always be in the family way. You don't know how to say no.

Cooldge likewise was an old guard conservative. So domestic policy does not change. I doubt foreign policy changes either. Secretary of State Hughes still organizes a Washington Naval Conference.
 
According to Bill Veek, the other big thing at the backwood that evening was dealign with Black Sox scandal.

If it hadn't been that baseball was more important, they would have gone with Judge Landis.
 
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