1924 Republican National Convention: Difference between revisions

1924 Republican National Convention
1924 presidential election;
	Nominees; Coolidge and Dawes
Convention
Date(s)	June 10–12, 1924
City	Cleveland, Ohio
Venue	Public Auditorium
Candidates
Presidential nominee	Calvin Coolidge of Massachusetts
Vice presidential nominee	Charles G. Dawes of Illinois
	‹ 1920 · 1928 ›

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Crowd gathered outside of the Public Auditorium during the convention

The 1924 Republican National Convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio, at the Public Auditorium, from June 10 to 12.

Incumbent President Calvin Coolidge was nominated for a full term and went on to win the general election. The convention nominated Illinois Governor Frank Orren Lowden for vice president on the second ballot, but he declined the nomination. The convention then selected Charles G. Dawes. Also considered for the nomination was Senator Charles Curtis of Kansas, a future vice president.

Delegates[edit]

For this convention the method of allocating delegates changed in order to reduce the overrepresentation of the South.^[1] This effort proved only partly successful as Southern delegates proved to be more overrepresented than they had been in 1916 or 1920, though they were not as overrepresented as they had been in 1912 and earlier.

There were 120 women delegates, 11% of the total.^[2]^[a] The Republican National Committee approved a rule providing for a national committeeman and a national committeewoman from each state.^[3]^[4]^[5]

Ku Klux Klan presence[edit]

The head of the KKK, Imperial Wizard Hiram Wesley Evans, was in the city for the convention but maintained a low public profile.^[4]^[5] Time featured Evans in a cover photograph^[6] in conjunction with an article about the organization's role in the Republican convention, dubbing it "the Kleveland Konvention."^[7] As with the 1924 Democratic National Convention, some delegates supported adding a condemnation of the Ku Klux Klan by name into the party platform, but they lacked enough support to bring their proposed language to a vote.^[8]

Presidential nomination[edit]

Presidential candidates[edit]

President
Calvin Coolidge
of Massachusetts
Senator
Hiram Johnson
of California
(Not Nominated)
Senator
Robert M. La Follette
of Wisconsin
(Not Nominated)

Coolidge faced a challenge from California Senator Hiram Johnson and Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette in the 1924 Republican primaries. Coolidge fended off his progressive challengers with convincing wins in the Republican primaries, and was assured of the 1924 presidential nomination by the time the convention began.^[9] After his defeat in the primaries, La Follette ran a third party candidacy that attracted significant support.

Declined to run[edit]

Columbia President
Nicholas Murray Butler
of New York
Secretary of Commerce
Herbert Hoover
of California
Secretary of State
Charles Evans Hughes
of New York
Former Governor
Frank Orren Lowden
of Illinois
Governor
Gifford Pinchot
of Pennsylvania
Senator
James Wadsworth Jr.
of New York
Senator
James E. Watson
of Indiana
Secretary of War
John W. Weeks
of Massachusetts

Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st	Unanimous
Coolidge	1,065	1,109
La Follette	34
Johnson	10

Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 12, 1924)

1st Presidential Ballot

Vice Presidential nomination[edit]

Vice Presidential candidates[edit]

Former Budget Director
Charles G. Dawes
of Illinois
Former Governor
Frank Orren Lowden
of Illinois
(Rejected Nomination)
Representative
Theodore E. Burton
of Ohio
(Not Nominated)
Commerce Secretary
Herbert Hoover
of California
(Not Nominated)
Circuit Court Judge
William S. Kenyon
of Iowa
Senator
James E. Watson
of Indiana
Senate Majority Whip
Charles Curtis
of Kansas
Governor
Arthur M. Hyde
of Missouri
Veterans Director
Frank T. Hines
of Utah
Former Senator
William P. Jackson
of Maryland

As Calvin Coolidge had ascended to the presidency following the death of Warren G. Harding on 2 August 1923, he served the remainder of Harding's term without a vice president as the 25th Amendment had not yet been passed. With Coolidge having locked up the presidential nomination, most attention was focused on the vice presidential nomination.

Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover of California and appellate judge William Kenyon of Iowa were seen as the front-runners for the nomination, as both were popular Western progressives who could provide balance to a ticket led by a conservative from Massachusetts.^[10] Coolidge's first choice was reported to be Idaho Senator William E. Borah, also a progressive Westerner, but Borah declined to be considered.^[10] Illinois Governor Frank O. Lowden, University of Michigan president Marion Leroy Burton, Ambassador Charles B. Warren of Michigan, Washington Senator Wesley Livsey Jones, college president John Lee Coulter of North Dakota, General James Harbord, and General Charles Dawes also had support as potential running mates.^[10] Despite saying that he would not accept the nomination, Lowden was nominated for Vice President on the second ballot over Dawes, Kenyon, and Ohio Representative Theodore E. Burton.^[11] However, Lowden declined, an action, that as of 2020^[update], has never been repeated, and is now considered unthinkable. The convention then held another ballot, with Coolidge favoring Hoover.^[11] However, the delegates picked Dawes, partly as a reaction to the perceived dominance of Coolidge in running the convention.^[11]

Vice Presidential Balloting
Candidate	1st	2nd (Before Shifts)	2nd (After Shifts)	Unanimous	3rd	Unanimous
Lowden	222	413	766	1,109	0
Dawes	149	111	49		682.5	1,109
Burton	139	288	94		0
Hoover	0	0	0		234.5
Kenyon	172	95	68		75
Graham	81	0	0		0
Watson	79	55	7		45
Curtis	56	31	24		0
Hyde	55	36	36		0
Norris	35	2	2		29
Brookhart	0	31	31		0
Hines	29	15	0		0
March	28	0	0		0
Taylor	27	0	0		0
Jackson	23	0	0		0
Warren	0	23	23		0
DuPont	0	0	0		11
Dixon	0	1	1		6
Sanders	0	0	0		4
Harbord	3	0	0		0
Beveridge	2	0	0		0
Coulter	0	1	1		0
Wrigley	1	1	1		1
Not Voting	8	6	6		21

Vice Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 12, 1924)

1st
Vice Presidential Ballot
2nd
Vice Presidential Ballot
(Before Shifts)
2nd
Vice Presidential Ballot
(After Shifts)
3rd
Vice Presidential Ballot

Prayers[edit]

Each of the three days of the convention opened with a lengthy invocation by a different clergymen—one Methodist, one Jewish, one Catholic. Each was listed among the convention officers as an official chaplain.^[12]

On June 10, the opening prayer was given by William F. Anderson, Methodist Episcopal bishop of Boston. Among other things, he called for "stricter observance of the law and the preservation of the Constitution of the United States", in other words, for more zealous enforcement of Prohibition.^[13]

The next day's session was opened by Rev. Dr. Samuel Schulman, rabbi of Temple Beth-El in New York. Schulman spoke with appreciation for "the Republican Party's precious heritage of the championship of human rights"; he called for "every form of prejudice and misunderstanding" to be "driven forever out of our land". Speaking of Calvin Coolidge, he praised "the integrity, the wisdom, the fearlessness of our beloved President".^[14]

On June 12, the final day's invocation was given by Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Schrembs of Cleveland. Schrembs characterized President Calvin Coolidge as "a chieftain whose record of faithful public service, and whose personality, untarnished and untainted by the pollution of political corruption, will fill the heart of America with the new hope of a second spring".^[15]

Notes[edit]

^ Women's participation in national GOP conventions declined after 1924 and did not reach 11% again until 1952.^[2]

References[edit]

^ "An historical analysis of the apportionment of delegate votes at the National Conventions of the two major parties". thegreenpapers.com.
^ ^a ^b Rymph, Catherine E. (2006). Republican Women: Feminism and Conservatism from Suffrage Through the Rise of the New Right. University of North Carolina Press. p. 27. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
^ "Milestones: Women in the GOP". National Federation of Republican Women. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
^ ^a ^b Suydam, Henry (June 11, 1924). "Wizard Evans Leads Drive on Anti-Klan Plank". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
^ ^a ^b "Ku Klux Klan: Kleveland Konvention". Time. Vol. III, no. 25. June 23, 1924.
^ "Cover". Time. June 23, 1924. Retrieved October 30, 2018.
^ "Ku Klux Klan: Kleveland Konvention". Time. June 23, 1924. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
^ Gin, Willie (2017). Minorities and Reconstructive Coalitions: The Catholic Question. Taylor & Francis. p. 68. ISBN 9781351981859.
^ Lower, Richard Coke (1993). A Bloc of One: The Political Career of Hiram W. Johnson. Stanford University Press. pp. 221–223. ISBN 0-8047-2081-9.
^ ^a ^b ^c Oulahan, Richard V. (June 10, 1924). "Kenyon Leads for Second Place on Convention Eve, New Move to "Draft" Lowden Fails; Hoover Strong; La Follette Starts Fight for a Radical Platform". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Coolidge and Dawes Nominated; General Named for Second Place After Lowden, Chosen, Refuses it". The New York Times. June 13, 1924. Retrieved October 9, 2015.
^ Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention (1924), pp. 37
^ Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention (1928), pp. 7–9
^ Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention, published by the Republican National Committee (1924), pp. 49–50
^ Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention, published by the Republican National Committee (1924), pp. 125–26

External links[edit]

Republican Party platform of 1924 at The American Presidency Project

Preceded by 1920 Chicago, Illinois	Republican National Conventions	Succeeded by 1928 Kansas City, Missouri

[3] Women's participation in national GOP conventions declined after 1924 and did not reach 11% again until 1952.^[2]

[1] "An historical analysis of the apportionment of delegate votes at the National Conventions of the two major parties". thegreenpapers.com.

[rymph-2] Rymph, Catherine E. (2006). Republican Women: Feminism and Conservatism from Suffrage Through the Rise of the New Right. University of North Carolina Press. p. 27. Retrieved October 30, 2018.

[4] "Milestones: Women in the GOP". National Federation of Republican Women. Retrieved October 30, 2018.

[:0-5] Suydam, Henry (June 11, 1924). "Wizard Evans Leads Drive on Anti-Klan Plank". Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Newspapers.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.

[:1-6] "Ku Klux Klan: Kleveland Konvention". Time. Vol. III, no. 25. June 23, 1924.

[7] "Cover". Time. June 23, 1924. Retrieved October 30, 2018.

[8] "Ku Klux Klan: Kleveland Konvention". Time. June 23, 1924. Retrieved May 22, 2022.

[9] Gin, Willie (2017). Minorities and Reconstructive Coalitions: The Catholic Question. Taylor & Francis. p. 68. ISBN 9781351981859.

[lower-10] Lower, Richard Coke (1993). A Bloc of One: The Political Career of Hiram W. Johnson. Stanford University Press. pp. 221–223. ISBN 0-8047-2081-9.

[oulahan-11] Oulahan, Richard V. (June 10, 1924). "Kenyon Leads for Second Place on Convention Eve, New Move to "Draft" Lowden Fails; Hoover Strong; La Follette Starts Fight for a Radical Platform". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2015.

[nyt2-12] "Coolidge and Dawes Nominated; General Named for Second Place After Lowden, Chosen, Refuses it". The New York Times. June 13, 1924. Retrieved October 9, 2015.

[13] Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention (1924), pp. 37

[14] Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention (1928), pp. 7–9

[15] Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention, published by the Republican National Committee (1924), pp. 49–50

[16] Official Report of the Proceedings of the Eighteenth Republican National Convention, published by the Republican National Committee (1924), pp. 125–26

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v t e (1923←) 1924 United States elections (→1925)
President	1924 United States presidential election Democratic primaries Republican primaries Democratic convention Republican convention
U.S. Senate	Alabama Arkansas Colorado Colorado (special) Connecticut (special) Delaware Georgia Idaho Illinois Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Massachusetts Michigan Michigan (special) Minnesota Mississippi Montana Nebraska New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Oklahoma Oregon Rhode Island Rhode Island (special) South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Virginia West Virginia Wyoming
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State legislatures	Iowa Senate

v t e Calvin Coolidge
30th President of the United States (1923–1929) 29th Vice President of the United States (1921–1923) 48th Governor of Massachusetts (1919–1921)
Life	Early life and family history Boyhood home and first inauguration site gravesite Calvin Coolidge House Early career and marriage Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Massachusetts Boston police strike (1919) Vice Presidency Retirement and death Presidential Library and Museum
Presidency (timeline)	First inauguration Second inauguration Industry and trade Taxation (Revenue Act of 1924, Revenue Act of 1926, Revenue Act of 1928) Allegheny National Forest Civil rights (Indian Citizenship Act of 1924) Immigration Act of 1924 Clarke–McNary Act Oil Pollution Act of 1924 World War Adjusted Compensation Act (1924) Opposition to farm subsidies (McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill) Judiciary Act of 1925 Federal Corrupt Practices Act Amendments of 1925 Railway Labor Act Passport Act of 1926 Flood control (Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, Flood Control Act of 1928) State of the Union Addresses (1926 1927) "I do not choose to run" (1927) Radio Act of 1927 Federal Radio Commission Equal-time rule McFadden Act (1927) Brave Little State of Vermont speech (1928) McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928 Migratory Bird Conservation Act Reed–Jenkins Act Foreign policy (Banana Wars, United States occupation of Nicaragua (1912–1933), United States occupation of Haiti (1915–1934), United States occupation of the Dominican Republic (1916–1924), Washington Naval Treaty (1922), Kellogg–Briand Pact (1928) Presidential transition of Herbert Hoover Cabinet Judicial appointments Harlan F. Stone Supreme Court nomination
Elections	1918 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1919 Massachusetts gubernatorial election 1920 Republican National Convention 1920 United States presidential election 1924 Republican National Convention 1924 United States presidential election
Books	The Autobiography of Calvin Coolidge (1929)
Public image	Things named after Coolidge Sesquicentennial half dollar U.S. postage stamps Coolidge effect SS President Coolidge Backstairs at the White House (1979 miniseries)
Family	Grace Coolidge (wife) John Coolidge (son) John Calvin Coolidge Sr. (father) Calvin Galusha Coolidge (grandfather) Arthur Brown, Olympia Brown, Charles A. Coolidge (cousins) Marcus A. Coolidge, Arthur W. Coolidge, Martha Coolidge, Carlos Coolidge (distant relations) Edmund Rice (ancestor) Rob Roy (family dog) Rebecca (pet raccoon)
← Warren G. Harding Herbert Hoover → ← Thomas R. Marshall Charles G. Dawes → Category