31: 4. The Republican Convention: Harding Emerges from the Smoke-Filled Room David Pietrusza 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents The Republican National Convention in Chicago in June 1920 was hot and chaotic. Leading candidates included Hiram Johnson, Leonar
Update: 2025-10-27
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4. The Republican Convention: Harding Emerges from the Smoke-Filled Room
David Pietrusza
1920: The Year of the Six Presidents
The Republican National Convention in Chicago in June 1920 was hot and chaotic. Leading candidates included Hiram Johnson, Leonard Wood, and Frank Lowden, while Warren Harding was a distant long shot, seeking the presidency partly to boost his reelection campaign for his Senate seat. The balloting quickly established the limits of the frontrunners. Because Republicans required only a majority for nomination, unlike the Democratic two-thirds rule, they were able to pivot to Harding, who was seen as an acceptable compromise. The Republican platform on the League of Nations was deliberately ambiguous, reflecting the deep division between internationalists like Hoover and isolationists like Lodge.
1913 WILSON OPENING DAY
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