Pietrusza-1920:Layout 1 1/30/08 4:05 PM Page 1 HISTORY Selected as one of Kirkus’s Best Books of the Year THE PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION OF 1920 WAS AMONG THE MOST DRAMATIC EVER. PIETRUSZA Six once-and-future presidents—Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover, and Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt—jockeyed for the White House. With voters ultimately choosing between Wilson’s League of Nations and Harding’s front-porch isolationism, the 1920 electionshapedmodernAmerica. Womenwonthevote.RepublicansoutspentDemocratsby4to1,asvoterswitnessedthe firstextensivenewsreelcoverage,moderncampaignadvertising,andresultsbroadcaston radio.Americahadbecomeanurbannation:automobiles,massproduction,chainstores, and easy credit transformed the economy. 1920paints a vivid portrait of America, beset by the Red Scare, jailed dissidents, Prohibition, smoke-filled rooms, bomb-throwing terrorists,andtheKlan,gingerlycrossingmodernity’sthreshold. “AhugelyfascinatingepisodeinAmericanhistory,toldwithinsightandgreathumor, byanauthorincommandofhissubject.”—Kirkus Reviews (starredreview) “Absorbing…abroad,satisfyingpoliticalandsocialhistory.” —Publishers Weekly “Aterrificandfunread.” —Bloomberg Radio 6.125 x 9.25 “[A]campaignlikenootherbeforeorsince.DavidPietrusza…buildsthesuspenseof B:1-1/8” the1920campaignsoeffectivelythatthereadereasilysuspends,forthemoment, BA knowledgeoftheoutcome,asifitwerestillabouttohappen.” PB —The Weekly Standard 4/color process TEMPLATE t/k matte poly finish DAVID PIETRUSZA has written or edited more than thirty books. His previous book, Rothstein: The Life, Times, and Murder ofthe Criminal Genius WhoFixedthe1919WorldSeries, was nominated for the Mystery Writers of America Edgar AwardintheBestFactCrimecategory.Anexpertonthe1920s,Pietruszahasservedon the Board of Directors of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation. He lives in upstateNewYork. $18.95US/$20.50CAN CoverdesignbyTomMcKeveny ISBN978-0-7867-2102-3 Backgroundphotograph©Corbis 51895 PresidentialimagesfromTheLibraryofCongress WITH A NEW EPILOGUE AMemberofthePerseusBooksGroup www.basicbooks.com 9 780786 721023 Praise for David Pietrusza’s 1920 “A colorful, nonacademic account ... Most of all, there are the characters. Pietrusza draws them sharply: the imperious Wilson, the obliging Harding, the dour and honest Coolidge and the ambitious and dissembling Franklin Roosevelt. Fans of political history will enjoy this book.” —Seattle Times “Fascinating and compelling ... Highly recommended.” —Library Journal “An ably popular treatment that fans of campaign histories will enjoy.” —Booklist “More than just a story of six men who either already had been president or would be, this is the story of America as it moved into the modern age.” —Denver Post “A very vivid portrait of each of these presidents.” —Ann Compton, ABC News “Through a lens trained on a long-ago election, David Pietrusza’s 1920: The Year of Six Presidents, delivers a rich and compelling narrative of Amer- ican politics. Exploring a year when giant figures of American history were waxing and waning, he deftly explains how we ended up with a presidential showdown between two largely unknown—yet surprisingly randy—editors of small-town Ohio newspapers, which Warren Harding won principally by being ‘nice.’” —David O. Stewart, author of The Summer of 1787: The Men Who Invented the Constitution “Sweeping and original.” —The History Book Club “In 1920: The Year of the Six Presidents, writer David Pietrusza shows the right way to pull together disparate characters into a coherent narra- tive ... this book portrays an America that has stopped looking backward and has begun to craft a new country and a new world role.” —The Washington Times “An absolutely wonderful book ... I loved [it], absolutely marvelous, absolutely wonderful research ... just a great read, marvelously done, brilliantly constructed and really integrates the entire story of one year— 1920 ... if I were teaching a history class of early twentieth century America this is the book I would use . . . It reads like a novel but it’s fact ... a great book.” —John Rothman, KGO (San Francisco) “I just love 1920: The Year of Six Presidents by David Pietrusza. It’s not historical fiction, but plain old history that zips along like good fiction. I just wish I’d read it before I wrote my book.” —Jonah Goldberg, National Review Online “With a storyteller’s eye for characters and drama, Pietrusza re-creates America at a post-World War I turning point, when the country wanted steady leadership but got scandal instead.” —Washington CEO Magazine “A fine and lively recommendation both for high school and college collections strong in American history and politics in particular, or even public lending libraries.” —California Bookwatch “Pietrusza’s volume brings the vivid history of the 1920 election to life. Both entertaining and insightful, it provides exceptionally well crafted “mini” biographies of the Six Presidents and how their careers inter- sected that year. The narrative is rich and compelling as it peeks into the backrooms and describes the national mood. Pietrusza’s handling of the personalities, issues, trends and techniques that went on to define American politics in the first half of the 20th century is to be recommended to anyone with an interest in presidential biography or U.S. political history.” —Dr. Ron Faucheux, former Editor-in-Chief, Campaigns and Elections magazine and Campaign Insider newsletter; Former Louisiana legislator and Secretary of Commerce 1920 The Year of the Six Presidents 1920 The Year of the Six Presidents DAVID PIETRUSZA A MEMBEROFTHEPERSEUSBOOKSGROUP NEWYORK Copyright © 2007 by David Pietrusza Hardcover edition first published in 2007 by Carroll & Graf Publishers Paperback edition first published in 2008 by Basic Books, A Member of the Perseus Books Group All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. For information, address Basic Books, 387 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10016-8810. Books published by Basic Books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in the United States by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more information, please contact the Special Markets Department at Perseus Books Group, 2300 Chestnut Street, Suite 200, Philadelphia, PA 19103; or call (800) 255-1514; or e-mail [email protected]. Designed by Bettina Wilhelm A CIP catalog record for the hardcover is available from the Library of Congress. HC ISBN: 978-0-78671-622-7 PB ISBN: 978-0-78672-102-3 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 To the folly of Man and the mercy of God (cid:2) Contents (cid:2) The Players in Our Drama 1 Chapter 1 “DISCOVER A COMMON HATE” 9 Chapter 2 “SOMETHING QUEER WAS HAPPENING” 26 Chapter 3 “I SEEM TO HAVE GONE TO PIECES” 36 Chapter 4 “HE IS THE ONLY CANDIDATE” 55 Chapter 5 “A TURTLE ON A LOG” 72 Chapter 6 “I AM GOVERNOR OF MASSACHUSETTS” 90 Chapter 7 “HE IS CERTAINLY A WONDER” 105 Chapter 8 “A TWENTIETH-CENTURY APOLLO” 122 Chapter 9 “CRIMINAL INTRIGUES EVERYWHERE” 140 Chapter 10 “SUPERIOR BIOLOGIC VALUES” 155 Chapter 11 “THE FUNERAL BAKE MEATS” 167 Chapter 12 “A ‘SAFE’ KIND OF LIBERAL” 187 Chapter 13 “RED FEATHERS, TIN BEARS, AND CARDBOARD ORANGES” 201 Chapter 14 “WARREN HARDING IS THE BEST OF THE SECOND-RATERS” 224