1916 United States presidential election (PSUS History)

The 1916 United States presidential election was the 33rd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 7, 1916. Incumbent Democratic-Labor President Eugene V. Debs narrowly defeated Liberal candidate Charles Evans Hughes and Progressive challenger Henry Ford.

In June, the 1916 Liberal National Convention chose Hughes as a compromise between the progressive and conservative wings of the party. Hughes, who had served as Governor of New York, defeated -. While the party had remained fractured due to the Dissent Party in 1908 and the Progressive Party in 1912, most had fallen back within the party's ranks by 1916. This would be a motivating factor into Hughes's nomination, as most considered him a unifying and safe candidate. Debs was re-nominated at the 1916 Democratic-Labor National Convention a few days later with only minor opposition opposing him after a draft movement failed to get Vice President John McCarthy to run. McCarthy would go on to be re-nominated without opposition. Ford would be renominated at the 1916 Progressive National Convention against Henry Morris and Robert M. La Follette. Robert Henderson was re-nominated for the vice presidential nomination despite opposition from La Follette.

The campaign took place against a background dominated by war -- the Haitian-American War, the Chinese Revolution and the Great War. Although formally neutral in the European conflict, public opinion was more supportive of the Vertag Alliance over the Entente. Despite their sympathy for the Vertag, public opinion was not supportive of getting involved in the war. Despite the Haitian-American War being declared under Theodore Roosevelt, it was not until Debs's administration that military action was majorly used. Despite initial for the war when it began, war support had fallen after a failed battle at the Landing of Cap-Haitien became widely publicized, forcing American focuses to be turned towards the southern half of the nation which saw major success, however, the gains in public support from the American successes would wane after the Haitian government declared that the United States would only win once all the Haitians were dead. The Debs administration oversaw the Massacre at Port-au-Prince which would be met with the condemnations of 7 South American nations. The war would become an issue in the election, with Debs calling for a swift end to the war. This position was in stark contrast to Hughes and Ford, who both called for an end to the war.

Electoral results
The electoral vote was one of the closest in U.S. history – with 275 votes needed to win, Debs took 19 states for 276 electoral votes, while Hughes won 32 states and 272 electoral votes. Debs became the second president to win a third term after Theodore Roosevelt won a third term in 1908.

Debs's victory margin was one of the smallest in history, with Debs beating Hughes by a 3.1% margin.

The total popular vote cast in 1916 exceeded that of 1912 by 3,500,000. The very large total vote was an indication of an aroused public interest in the campaign. It was larger in every section, notably in the East North Central section. Some of this was due to the extension of suffrage to women in individual states. In Illinois, for example, the total vote was one million greater than in 1912. It increased by more than 260,000 in Gerry, and in Washington, it more than doubled.

Debs's vote was 7,562,173, an increase of over 1,500,000 from 1912. There was a gain in most states, including the Industrial Midwest and New England areas. The Progressives performed best as a challenger to Debs in the Midwest where, in Michigan, Henry Ford placed second. Ford would perform worse than in 1912, he would lose his gains from 1912 by 3.8%. Hughes, the Liberal nominee, would outdo his predecessor, William Jennings Bryan, by 1.6%.

Among minor-party candidates, Hanly's performance would mark the last time the Prohibition Party exceeded one percent of the popular vote.



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