1920 Still Too Close to Call

If you're feeling deprived over having both presidential primary campaigns decided so early on, Smokefilledback Saturday comes to the rescue by bringing you up to date on the campaigns of 1920.

"Nearing the End of the Primaries" by Clifford Berryman in Washington Evening Star, May 3, 1920

With only a baker's half dozen contests left on the calendar, neither the Republicans nor Democrats had a clear leader for their nominations. On the Republican side, Sen. Hiram Johnson had racked up the most primary and caucus victories, including a resounding win in his home state of California on May 4. General Leonard Wood, carrying the banner of Teddy Roosevelt, was not far behind.

"Counting Their Chickens" by Charles H. "Bill" Sykes in Philadelphia Evening Ledger, May 12, 1920

...Which, as Bill Sykes's cartoon of Gen. Wood and Sen. Johnson illustrates, wouldn't mean a damn thing once the "Old Guard" weighed in.

"Proposing Trial Marriage" by John McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, May 6, 1920

Other contenders such as Sen. Warren Harding of Ohio (walking away in the above cartoon) and Gov. Frank Lowden of Illinois (kneeling in the foreground), had come in first in their home states but nowhere else. There were a few delegates pledged to Iowan Herbert Hoover (far right) heading to both parties' national conventions despite his having publicly declared himself a Republican in March.

"Who's Looney Now?" by Jay N. "Ding" Darling in New York Tribune, May 2, 1920

The Democrats hadn't settled on a presidential nominee, either — but since most states were sending unpledged delegations to the Democratic National Convention, that was hardly surprising. The Democratic candidate whose two (count 'em, two) primary victories put him in the delegate lead was Attorney General A. Mitchell Palmer.

"A. Mitchell Palmer Out for a Stroll" by John T. McCutcheon in Chicago Tribune, May 4, 1920

Even given McCutcheon's Republicanism, his ridicule of the Democratic Attorney General in this cartoon might seem peculiar; the Chicago Tribune cartoonist was as strident as any other in the country in attacking the Red Menace. But on April 29, Palmer publicly announced that Bolsheviks were planning a major uprising on May Day. Law enforcement around the country braced for riots and insurrection, but the day passed without incident and Palmer was made a laughingstock.

"They're Always Nice an' Cordial" by Clifford Berryman in Washington Evening Star, May 29, 1920

Sending unpledged/uninstructed delegations to either party's nominating convention was not at all unusual. The conventions were not the protracted coronation ceremonies we see today, but were where all the wheeling and dealing were made to produce a nominee. The majority of Democratic delegations in 1920 would be unpledged to any candidate. New York's and Massachusetts's Republican delegations were unpledged, and Pennsylvania's were pledged to a favorite son candidate who had withdrawn from the race.

"His Hat in the Ring" by Clive Weed in Philadelphia Public Ledger, by May 15, 1920

The conventions today may do little more than ratify decisions made months earlier, but some things never change. Clive Weed's cartoon could be redrawn by any of today's altie cartoonists, just with fewer labels sticking out of the hat.

"Mothers' Day" by Clifford Berryman in Washington Sunday Star, May 9, 1920

It's Mother's Eve, so I'll wrap things up with Clifford Berryman's Mother's Day cartoon, and a historical first. Berryman offers a nice sentiment, since baseball and apple pie were ineligible to run, but that's a whole lot of sweeping he was expecting out of dear old mama.

As for the historical first: Kentucky was first to place a woman's name in nomination at a major party convention. Two of them, actually: Laura Clay and Cora Wilson Stewart were Kentucky delegates at the 1920 Democratic convention in San Francisco. Clay received one vote on the 33rd ballot, and Stewart received one vote on the 36th.

Clay was a suffragette but believed women's suffrage should be decided by individual states, not by a federal constitutional amendment. She expressed skepticism over enfranchising a large number of “inexperienced voters,” a term often used as code language for black women, although she denied that was what she meant by it.

Stewart's driving issue was eliminating adult illiteracy, to which end she founded night schools operating within the Kentucky public school system and including schools (albeit segregated) for Blacks. Her support of the eventual 1920 Democratic presidential nominee — she gave a nominating speech for him — hinged, however, on making sure that he shared her strong support not of the as yet unratified 19th Amendment to the Constitution, but of the 18th.

Kentucky's delegates to the 1920 Democratic National Convention. Laura Clay is at far left; Cora Wilson Stewart is fourth from the left. Future Vice President Alben W. Barkley is the tall man fourth from the right. Source.