112. The 1920 Election
…Even as the remaining states and territories debated, the campaigning had already begun. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the Socialist Labor Party nominated Eugene Debs for the Premiership. Bill Haywood was offered the slot of Deputy Premier, but declined, having decided to remain in the military. The result was a somewhat contested convention in Chicago, with Mother Jones defeating William Trautmann on the third ballot. Trautmann was mollified by a promise that he would be nominated for one of the top commissariats…
…The Revolutionary Socialist Party held its convention in Philadelphia, chosen for its position on the front lines throughout the war. As with almost every American political party, it contained multiple factions, united as much by sentiment as anything else. The RSP’s platform called for an openly confrontational foreign policy, the complete restructuring of American government (although they disagreed about what that would actually look like), and a more extensive series of postwar trials. Leon Bronstein was the obvious pick for the Premiership, but while he wanted Vincent St. John as his running mate, the anarchists forced him to accept Emma Goldman…
…The Progressive Convention in Boston was probably the least contentious. Hiram Johnson and Sam Rayburn both won on the first ballot. Of greater concern was the degree to which they should accommodate socialism. Johnson wanted to be clear on his opposition to a socialist economy, but Rayburn had a more nuanced approach. Having become resigned to the reality that America would be a socialist nation for the foreseeable future, he had actively read a range of socialist theory. He hit upon the concept of market socialism, where the economy would remain under the control of a free market dominated by cooperatives instead of corporations. The Progressives would become the party of the small cooperatives against the big industrial unions…
…In the meantime, a fourth party had emerged. While the Progressives had mostly made their peace with the new order, the Federalists had not. They had merely accepted that they could not achieve their goals from outside the political arena. The Baltimore Platform condemned the “excesses of the Revolution and the desecration of American tradition”, demanded a complete halt to the postwar trials, and even sought to restore the old flag and capital. However, they had enough sense not to nominate anyone who had played a major role in government during the Revolution. Instead, they chose Clarence Edward McCartney, a prominent Presbyterian preacher. Their candidate for Deputy Premier was former Massachusetts lieutenant governor Calvin Coolidge[1]…
…Once again surprising no one, Eugene Debs won in a landslide, with 58% of first votes[2]. Bronstein came in second, followed by Johnson and finally McCartney. The Deputy Premiership was much closer, with Mother Jones only winning 44% of first votes. However, she was by far the favorite second choice for Goldman voters, which pushed her over the edge against Rayburn…
…The House of People’s Representatives was very competitive, with several commonwealths (mostly California and the South) sending majority Progressive delegations. Nevada, Ohio, and New Jersey elected majority RSP delegations. The SLP only managed a thin majority. A few commonwealths even sent a few Federalists, although they were no more than a fringe party. The Chamber of Labor Delegates, on the other hand, was comfortably dominated by the SLP, the Progressives having struggled to find suitable candidates where the SLP and RSP had large pools of union officers to call upon. The one exception was the Household and Personal Service Workers Industrial Union. Dominated by homemakers, it had unexpectedly become the single largest industrial union. Here, the Progressives – most of whom were supportive of women’s rights – recruited the wives of Progressive politicians, often their own, and proved fairly successful. An outright majority of Progressive Delegates were from HPSW, including the Progressive Chamber Minority Leader: Edith Roosevelt, widow of President Theodore Roosevelt…
- From A New Union: A Political History of the American Socialist Union by Hillary Rodham
[1] ITTL, Coolidge became governor of Massachusetts in 1919, then Vice-President in 1921, and assumed the Presidency after the death of President Warren G. Harding.
[2] With the ASU adopting ranked choice voting, voters rank their choices rather than picking just one. In this case, 58% of voters picked Debs as their first choice.
…The Revolutionary Socialist Party held its convention in Philadelphia, chosen for its position on the front lines throughout the war. As with almost every American political party, it contained multiple factions, united as much by sentiment as anything else. The RSP’s platform called for an openly confrontational foreign policy, the complete restructuring of American government (although they disagreed about what that would actually look like), and a more extensive series of postwar trials. Leon Bronstein was the obvious pick for the Premiership, but while he wanted Vincent St. John as his running mate, the anarchists forced him to accept Emma Goldman…
…The Progressive Convention in Boston was probably the least contentious. Hiram Johnson and Sam Rayburn both won on the first ballot. Of greater concern was the degree to which they should accommodate socialism. Johnson wanted to be clear on his opposition to a socialist economy, but Rayburn had a more nuanced approach. Having become resigned to the reality that America would be a socialist nation for the foreseeable future, he had actively read a range of socialist theory. He hit upon the concept of market socialism, where the economy would remain under the control of a free market dominated by cooperatives instead of corporations. The Progressives would become the party of the small cooperatives against the big industrial unions…
…In the meantime, a fourth party had emerged. While the Progressives had mostly made their peace with the new order, the Federalists had not. They had merely accepted that they could not achieve their goals from outside the political arena. The Baltimore Platform condemned the “excesses of the Revolution and the desecration of American tradition”, demanded a complete halt to the postwar trials, and even sought to restore the old flag and capital. However, they had enough sense not to nominate anyone who had played a major role in government during the Revolution. Instead, they chose Clarence Edward McCartney, a prominent Presbyterian preacher. Their candidate for Deputy Premier was former Massachusetts lieutenant governor Calvin Coolidge[1]…
…Once again surprising no one, Eugene Debs won in a landslide, with 58% of first votes[2]. Bronstein came in second, followed by Johnson and finally McCartney. The Deputy Premiership was much closer, with Mother Jones only winning 44% of first votes. However, she was by far the favorite second choice for Goldman voters, which pushed her over the edge against Rayburn…
…The House of People’s Representatives was very competitive, with several commonwealths (mostly California and the South) sending majority Progressive delegations. Nevada, Ohio, and New Jersey elected majority RSP delegations. The SLP only managed a thin majority. A few commonwealths even sent a few Federalists, although they were no more than a fringe party. The Chamber of Labor Delegates, on the other hand, was comfortably dominated by the SLP, the Progressives having struggled to find suitable candidates where the SLP and RSP had large pools of union officers to call upon. The one exception was the Household and Personal Service Workers Industrial Union. Dominated by homemakers, it had unexpectedly become the single largest industrial union. Here, the Progressives – most of whom were supportive of women’s rights – recruited the wives of Progressive politicians, often their own, and proved fairly successful. An outright majority of Progressive Delegates were from HPSW, including the Progressive Chamber Minority Leader: Edith Roosevelt, widow of President Theodore Roosevelt…
- From A New Union: A Political History of the American Socialist Union by Hillary Rodham
[1] ITTL, Coolidge became governor of Massachusetts in 1919, then Vice-President in 1921, and assumed the Presidency after the death of President Warren G. Harding.
[2] With the ASU adopting ranked choice voting, voters rank their choices rather than picking just one. In this case, 58% of voters picked Debs as their first choice.
