Woodrow Wilson and the Democrats had been pretty successful during his first term, and even though war had broken out in Europe, at the time called the Great War, Wilson had managed to keep America out of the conflict. By the time of the election in November of 1916, the United States was still not involved in the conflict, although some weapons and supplies had been going over to Europe. Challenging Wilson for the Republicans was Supreme Court justice Charles Evans Hughes, stepping down from the bench to run for the presidency. Hughes was fairly popular, and gained the support of both William H. Taft and Teddy Roosevelt. One of the main issues in the election was the war in Europe and what to do about it. Wilson and the Democrats campaigned for neutrality and doing everything possible to avoid a conflict, while Hughes and the Republicans campaigned for greater mobilization in case war broke out. On election day, it appeared that Hughes had defeated Wilson, winning many states along the east coast and the Midwest, but it was the west coast and California that handed Wilson the election, winning that state by just less than 4,000 votes, out of over 1 million cast. This was the closest election between 1876 and 2000, with Wilson defeating Hughes in the electoral college 277-254. Many newspapers had printed headlines about Hughes' victory, much like what would happen in the 1948 election between Harry Truman and Thomas Dewey. Wilson became the first Democrat re-elected to consecutive terms since Andrew Jackson in 1832. For Wilson, the cries of peace proved to be futile, as Wilson was forced to enter America into the war in Europe after such events as the sinking of the Lusitania and Germany's continued U-boat attacks. Shortly after America entered the war, the tide changed for the Central Powers, and the team of America, France, Great Britain, and Italy was able to defeat Germany and her allies, and by the end of 1918, the war was over. Also during this time, Russia underwent the Bolshevik Revolution, turning the country into a communist nation. American forces were involved in the Russian Civil War. As for Wilson, he headed for Paris in 1919 to push world peace and his Fourteen Points. However, Wilson was in poor health and had to make concessions on many of his policies he wanted to pass, but he did get his League of Nations idea passed. On a speaking tour in 1919 in Colorado supporting the League, Wilson suffered a stroke, and was virtually paralyzed the remainder of his term. He left office in 1921 a sick man, living in D.C. the rest of his life, dying in 1924. As for Charles E. Hughes, he was appointed Secretary of State in 1921 by Warren Harding, and continued in Calvin Coolidge's administration in the same post. In 1930, Hughes was appointed to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court by Herbert Hoover. Many campaign items from this election are common, especially single picture buttons in the 7/8" size. Any Wilson jugate showing him with his VP Thomas Marshall are more rare, while items like sheet music supporting Wilson can be found pretty easily. For Hughes items, some of the larger pins and jugates are worth more. The ultimate Wilson button is a coattail, showing him with James M. Cox for Governor of Ohio. The items shown here are pretty common for both Hughes and Wilson. The exception is the larger 1-1/4" Hughes button, and any button from Hughes over 7/8" is scarce. As for the Wilson items shown, some of these could be from 1912, as it's hard to tell unless it gives a war reference. I also have a 1916 election pocket guide, showing Hughes and Wilson and giving all the results from 1789-1912. I also have several items from Wilson like sheet music and paper items, but I will blog on them later.
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