16 July 23
Correction!
In my Quip of earlier today, I conveyed the impression that Woodrow Wilson was the Democrat presidential candidate in 1920 national election.
That is not correct!
Wilson’s severe stroke in 1919 left him unable to campaign for his third term as president.
Instead, Democrats nominated newspaper magnate, James M Cox.
It was Cox who suffered a lop-sided defeat at the hands of Republican Warren G Harding in the 1920 presidential election. Most historians believe Cox’s unsuccessful run was mostly due to the unpopularity of Wilson’s presidency, particularly post WWI.
Interestingly, Cox’s running-mate was Franklin D Roosevelt, who himself would be elected president in 1933!
Warren G Harding unexpectedly died after only two years in office (1923, age 57, probably from a heart attack, but no autopsy was ever conducted) and was succeeded by his vice-president, J Calvin Coolidge.
/John
