Neil Lanctot recounts the June 1916 Republican convention, which nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes as a compromise candidate to block TR and save the party. TR, realizing he lacked sufficient support, made the difficult decision to decl

Neil Lanctot recounts the June 1916 Republican convention, which nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes as a compromise candidate to block TR and save the party. TR, realizing he lacked sufficient support, made the difficult decision to decline the Progressive Party's nomination and support Hughes to prevent a Democratic victory. The campaign was marked by Hughes' lackluster style and Wilson's clever political maneuvering. A central issue was women's suffrage; Hughes eventually supported a federal amendment, while Wilson cautiously argued for a state-by-state approach to avoid alienating his base. Despite threats from suffrage groups to campaign against him, Wilson maintained support in many suffrage states. The election largely hinged on the European war, with Wilson campaigning on the idea that he had "kept us out of war." However, the peace was fragile, as the German submarine threat remained quiet only because they had temporarily backed down after the Sussex incident. (6)
1914 Federal Reserve