Election of 1916: Woodrow Wilson’s Promise to Stay Out of War
Democratic Party: Woodrow Wilson (New Jersey) and Thomas Marshall (Indiana)
Republican Party: Charles Evans Hughes (New York) and Charles Fairbanks (Indiana)
Socialist Party: Allan Benson (New York) and George Kirkpatrick (New Jersey)
Election Results:
Wilson and Marshall: 9.12 million popular votes, 277 electoral votes.
Hughes and Fairbanks: 8.54 million popular votes, 254 electoral votes.
Benson and Kirkpatrick: 589,000 popular votes, 0 electoral votes.
Summary:
Woodrow Wilson, coming off the heels of a difficult presidential campaign, was successful in his first two years of passing his New Freedom agenda through a friendly Congress. However, the 1914 midterm elections showed the resurgence of the Republican Party after serious divisions lost the White House for William Taft. Wilson’s influence in Congress decreased, but his popularity remained high among the public because of his ability to pass progressive reforms. The one major issue that remained into November 1916 was whether the United States could maintain its policy of neutrality toward Europe. Wilson’s pledge to stay neutral was extremely popular among Americans and his pledge to help create an aid organization in Europe following the war (the larvae for the League of Nations) was endearing to progressives. Despite these questions, the Democrats renominated the Wilson-Marshall ticket with much acclaim at their nominating convention and looked forward to facing a reconstituted Republican Party in 1916.
The Republicans, trying to recover following their disastrous 1912 campaign, shunned the candidacy of Theodore Roosevelt and went with Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes as their standard bearer, with Roosevelt’s former vice president Charles Fairbanks as his running mate. Many delegates were still upset with Roosevelt splitting the progressive ticket with Taft in 1912 and his stance on immigrants and possible American war efforts kept him at arm’s length from the rank and file. Though Roosevelt was not a fan of Hughes’ scholarly disposition, he offered his endorsement which helped Hughes among the progressive elements of the party.
Charles Evans Hughes’ campaign utilized a diverse media blitz, including billboards, magazine advertisements, and a strong stump speaking style that energized disgruntled Republicans back to the party. Nevertheless, Hughes trailed throughout the campaign in polling and Wilson’s campaign slogan, “He Kept Us Out of War,” was more compelling than the Republican response, “He Kept Us Out of Suffrage.” The average voter had no intention of going to war and trusted Wilson to stay the neutral course on a European conflict. But the electoral majority was narrow, with only the loss of California by Hughes (due to conflicts with popular Californian Hiram Johnson) keeping the Republicans out of office. The Democrats still did not get the popular mandate that they felt was necessary to rule effectively and Wilson would find keeping his promise of neutrality difficult over the next few years.
