1924 United States Presidential Election

1920 Presidential Election - 1928 Presidential Election

## Background

Since Mulford was re-elected, the nation continued it's predicted path of isolationist nationalism, which arguably led to the continued economic decline of the country. Saddled with that, as well as rising racial tensions and the impeachment of President Patrick Mulford, the upcoming 1924 Election was fertile ground for a divisive political battle.

During his second term, it was revealed that Patrick Mulford's second cousin had used his position to engage in briberies with the Secretary of the Interior and several private oil companies to lease petroleum reserves at biased prices for monetary gain. This erupted into a massive national story, creating numerous investigations into the President's conduct and involvement, leading to his impeachment by the Republican controlled House of Representatives. Facing trial before the Senate, many Democrats claimed that the Senate hearing was unfair, biased, unprofessional and improper. The President narrowly survived the Senate vote, with 5 votes shy of being removed from office, though the scandal was widely known and sent ripples through the nation.

## Primaries

**-Dem Primary**

1924 Democrat PrimariesDenver DickersonFranklin Delano RooseveltThe Democrat Primaries were hotly contested between Vice President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and former Governor of Nevada, as well as Warden of the Federal Prisons, Denver Dickerson, who enjoyed folk hero status among the progressive wing of the Democrat party. Dickerson managed to pull ahead of Roosevelt's political machine slightly and win the nomination for President, as well as give a speech at the convention outlining his campaign's clear intent. Controversially, Dickerson jabbed at southern Democrat politicians for their stances on race related issues, telling them to "Get with the program or get the hell out of my way", as well as reaffirming his support to isolationism and fair economics. He would choose the Mayor of New York City, John Francis Hylan, as his running mate.
**-GOP Primary**

Joel SingerAfter Medill McCormick's loss in the 1920 Presidential Election, Republicans were initially demotivated. However, with the poor state of the country and the Teapot Dome scandal revolving Patrick Mulford, they found renewed energy and a very winnable chance in 1924. The field was fierce, however the party decided that to best contrast with the scandals of the Mulford administration, they would coalesce around a relatively new and inexperienced outsider, a Representative from Florida, Joel Singer. Most Americans did not view large Republican figures much less corrupt than the Democrat President, who still enjoyed relatively large personal popularity, so they knew an outsider ticket would be their best chance. Keeping with this strategy, they nominated another young Representative, James Willis Taylor of Tennessee, as the Vice Presidential nominee.

## Results

Joel SingerDenver DickersonThis was a very surprising election, and an important one demographically. Joel Singer was a southern, more conservative Republican, whereas Dickerson was staunchly on the progressive wing of the Democrats. Because of this, both candidates managed to win over states that were previously thought inconceivable for either party, and began a political realignment. However, despite Dickerson's shocking gains in northern areas, the majority of the country was exhausted from the constant progressive laws and the drama of Mulford's scandals, and Joel Singer, being the political outsider that he is, managed to appeal to Americans in areas that Dickerson couldn't, who embodied many of the problems that the average American had with the modern Democrat party. Joel Singer managed to win, in a symbolic move of the changing times.