ELECTION #33, 1916. The NASTY-METER is 3.

QUOTE from the Washington in 1915: "The president spent most of the evening entering Mrs. Galt."

In Wilson's first term he got a lot things done:
-kept the U.S. out of World War I,
-lowered tariffs so the common folks could buy cheaper foreign goods,
-got the 16th amendment passed which provided for a federal income tax,(1% over $3,000 and 7% over $20,000)
-got the 17th amendment passed which allowed for popular election of senators instead of state legislatures,
-signed the "Child Labor Bill" which forbade kids under the age of 14 from working in fctories,
-signed bills providing federal funds for new highways and schools,
- signed the first Unemployment Compensation Act,
-established the Federal Trade Commission which had the power to study suspected monopolies and recommend the destruction of them.
He was the first truly liberal president and it looked like he was assured of being reelected.

The CANDIDATES in 1916.

DEMOCRAT: WOODROW WILSON.

With Wilson swearing to keep Americans out of war, he was nominated to deafening applause on the first ballot at the Democratic Convention in St. Louis. His VP continued to be Thomas Marshall.

REPUBLICAN: CHARLES EVANS HUGHES.

Being Wilson was described as an "intellectual" the Republicans decided to get their own "intellectual" in the White House by nominating Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes. Hughes chose Charles Fairbanks as his running mate - he was Teddy's old VP.

The CAMPAIGN in 1916.

Teddy Roosevelt still had clout in the Republican Party and he was not in love with Hughes. He called Hughes a "whiskered Wilson" and suggested that the only difference between the two was "a shave." However, after hemming and hawing he finally did endorse Hughes.
Wilson and the Democratic Party used one of the best campaign slogans in U.S. history: That slogan was, "He kept us out of war." This played exceedingly well, particularly in the western states where more and more women had gotten the right to vote. And Wilson supporters said that "a vote for Hughes is a vote for war."
The Republicans responded by saying Wilson had not done enough in responding to the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915 (124 Americans were killed) so he should build up America's armed forces so we would be prepared and respected in the world.
They also attacked Wilson on a personal level. His wife, Ellen, had died in 1914 and he shocked the country by marrying again in December 1915 - this time to Edith Bolling Galt, a widow lady in her forties. Republicans quickly spread rumors that the president had had an affair with Edith before Ellen's death causing her to die of a broken heart. The following typograhical error in the Washington Post in 1915 didn't help Wilson as far as the rumor was concerned. A year after Ellen had died Wilson took Edith to the theater. The error in the Post was meant to read like this: "The president spent most of his time entertaining Mrs. Galt." Instead, the printed story read this way: "The president spent most of his time entering Mrs. Galt." (It's funny to read now but I'm sure Wilson didn't think it was funny at the time.)

The WINNER was WOODROW WILSON and he continued as the 28th president of the U.S.

Wilson got 9,126,868 popular and 277 electoral.

Hughes got 8,548,728 popular and 254 electoral.

The race was closer than expected but thanks to California and the western states Wilson pulled out the win. He only won California by 3,800 votes and swept the rest of the western states.