1924 United States presidential election

Election of Calvin Coolidge related races 1924 United States elections January 2026 November 2013 1924 United States presidential election United States 1912 presidential no 1920 United States presidential election 1920 November 4, 1924 1928 United States presidential election 1928 531 members of the Electoral College 266 electoral 48.9%http://www.electproject.org/national-1789-present National General Election VEP Turnout Rates, 1789-Present United States Election Project CQ Press 0.3 pp File:President Calvin Coolidge, 1924 portrait photograph (3x4 cropped 2).jpeg Calvin Coolidge Republican Party (United States) Massachusetts Charles G. DawesFrank O. Lowden had originally been nominated as Coolidge's running mate; however, Lowden declined the nomination and Dawes was chosen instead. 382 35 15,723,789 54.0% Image:Jno. W. Davis at Dem. hdqrts., (9-27-24) LCCN2016849507 (3x4 cropped).jpg John W. Davis Democratic Party (United States) West Virginia Charles W. Bryan 136 12 8,386,242 28.8% File:Sen._R.M._La_Follette_LCCN2016849092_(cropped).jpg Robert M. La Follette Progressive Party (United States, 1924–1927) font-weight:normal;text-align:left; Parties Socialist Farmer–Labor Nonpartisan League Wisconsin Burton K. Wheeler 13 1 4,831,706 16.6% 350px Presidential election results map. Red denotes states won by Coolidge/Dawes, blue denotes those won by Davis/Bryan, light green denotes Wisconsin, the state won by La Follette/Wheeler. Numbers indicate the number of electoral votes allotted to each state. President Calvin Coolidge Republican Party (United States) Calvin Coolidge Republican Party (United States) x160px Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 4, 1924. The Republican ticket of incumbent President Calvin Coolidge and former Director of the Bureau of the Budget Charles G. Dawes defeated the Democratic ticket of former ambassador John W. Davis and Nebraska Governor Charles W. Bryan and the Progressive ticket of Senator Robert M. La Follette and Senator Burton K Wheeler. Coolidge was the second vice president, after Theodore Roosevelt, to ascend to the presidency and then win a full term. Coolidge had been vice president under Warren G. Harding and became president in 1923 upon Harding's unexpected death. Coolidge was given credit for a booming economy at home and no visible crises abroad, and he faced little opposition at the 1924 Republican National Convention. The Democratic Party nominated former Congressman and ambassador to the United Kingdom John W. Davis of West Virginia. Davis, a compromise candidate, triumphed on the 103rd ballot of the 1924 Democratic National Convention after a deadlock between supporters of William Gibbs McAdoo and Al Smith. Dissatisfied by the conservatism of both major party candidates, the newly formed Progressive Party nominated Senator Robert M. La Follette of Wisconsin. The election has been characterized as marking the "high tide of American conservatism", as both major-party candidates campaigned for limited government, reduced taxes, and less regulation.Garland S. Tucker III, The High Tide of American Conservatism: Davis, Coolidge and the 1924 Election (Emerald, 2010) By contrast, La Follette called for the gradual nationalization of the railroads and increased taxes on the wealthy, policies that foreshadowed the New Deal. Coolidge won a landslide victory, taking majorities in both the popular vote and the Electoral College and winning almost every state outside of the Solid South (while still making headway by winning Kentucky). La Follette won 16.6% of the popular vote, a strong showing for a third-party candidate, while Davis won the lowest share of the popular vote of any Democratic nominee in history. This is the most recent election to date in which a third-party candidate won a non-Southern state, and the last time a Republican won the presidency without winning any of the former Confederate states. It was also the US election with the lowest per capita voter turnout since records were kept. Also, it was the only election from 1868 to 1952 in which none of the candidates were from New York or Ohio.Voter Turnout in Presidential Elections https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/statistics/data/voter-turnout-in-presidential-elections December 8, 2020 University of California, Santa Barbara As of 2026, this is the last presidential election in which the winning candidate did not carry any of the former Confederate states. Nominations Republican Party nomination 1924 Republican National Convention 1924 Republican Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party (United States)1924 Republican Party ticket white Calvin Coolidge white Charles G. Dawesfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px 30thPresident of the United States(1923–1929) 1stDirector of the Bureau of the Budget(1921–1922) Republican candidates The Republican Convention was held in Cleveland, Ohio, from June 10 to 12, with the easy choice of nominating incumbent President Coolidge for a full term of his own. Coolidge won with only token competition from Senators Robert M. La Follette and Hiram Johnson, both members of the party's progressive wing; an attempt to have Coolidge's nomination declared unanimous failed when La Follette's delegates refused to support Coolidge.Coolidge and Dawes Nominated; General Named for Second Place After Lowden, Chosen, Refuses it https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/politics/camp/240613convention-gop-ra.html The New York Times 24 July 2026 Former Illinois Governor Frank Orren Lowden was nominated as Coolidge's running mate, but he declined the honor, a unique event in 20th-century American political history. Charles G. Dawes, a prominent Republican businessman, was nominated for vice-president instead. Byron E. Shafer, and Elizabeth M. Sawyer. "Factions, Constituencies, and Candidates: The Republicans" in Eternal Bandwagon: The Politics of Presidential Selection (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2020) pp. 121-157. 1924 RNC presidential ballot (1)1924 RNC vice presidential ballots (1–3) Presidential ballot 1 Vice presidential ballot 1 2 Before shifts 2 After shifts 3Calvin Coolidge 1065 Charles G. Dawes 149 111 49 682.5Robert M. La Follette 34 Frank Orren Lowden 222 413 766 0Hiram Johnson10 Theodore E. Burton 139 288 94 0 Herbert Hoover 0 0 0 234.5 William S. Kenyon 172 95 68 75 George Scott Graham 81 0 0 0 James Eli Watson 79 55 7 45 Charles Curtis 56 31 24 0 Arthur M. Hyde 55 36 36 0 George W. Norris 35 0 0 0 Smith W. Brookhart 0 31 0 0 Frank T. Hines 28 1 0 0 Charles A. March28 0 0 0 J. Will Taylor 21 20 27 27 William Purnell Jackson 23 0 0 10 Charles B. Warren 10 1 23 14 T. Coleman du Pont 0 0 3 11 Joseph M. Dixon 6 0 0 2 Everett Sanders 0 0 0 4 James Harbord 1 0 0 3 Albert J. Beveridge 0 0 0 2 John L. Coulter1 0 0 1 William Wrigley 1 0 0 1 John J. Pershing 0 0 0 0 Democratic Party nomination thumb|Cover of Life, 19 Jun 1924 1924 Democratic National Convention 1924 Democratic Party presidential primaries 65px|center|link=Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party (United States)1924 Democratic Party ticket white John W. Davis white Charles W. Bryanfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom(1918–1921) 20thGovernor of Nebraska(1923–1925) Democratic candidates: While the Democratic Party had been largely able to unite around strong leaders including Grover Cleveland, William Jennings Bryan, and Woodrow Wilson during the previous four decades, the party had become increasingly fragmented and factionalized during the first half of the 1920s. By 1924, Cleveland and Wilson were both dead, and Bryan had largely left politics in favor of religious activism. Franklin D. Roosevelt, the party's vice-presidential candidate at the previous election had been looked at as a potential unifying figure able to appeal to all sides of the party, but he had fallen severely ill and been left paralysed in 1921. Though his health had generally recovered by 1924, he believed he could still eventually regain full use of his legs and resolved not to put himself forward as a presidential candidate until he had done so. The 1924 Democratic National Convention was held in New York City from June 24 to July 9. The two leading candidates were William Gibbs McAdoo of California, former Secretary of the Treasury and son-in-law of former President Woodrow Wilson, and Governor Al Smith of New York. The balloting revealed a clear geographic and cultural split in the party, as McAdoo was supported mostly by rural, Protestant delegates from the South, West, and small-town Midwest who were supporters of Prohibition (called "drys"). In some cases, McAdoo's delegates were also supporters of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which was at its peak of nationwide popularity in the 1920s, with chapters in all 48 states and 4 to 5 million members. Governor Smith was supported by the anti-Prohibition forces (called "wets"), many Roman Catholics and other ethnic minorities, big-city delegates in the Northeast and urban Midwest, and by liberal delegates opposed to the influence of the Ku Klux Klan. An example of the deep split within the party came in a brutal floor fight over a proposal to publicly condemn the Klan. Most of McAdoo's delegates in the South and West opposed the motion, while most of Smith's big-city delegates supported it. In the end the motion failed to carry by a single vote. William Jennings Bryan, the three-time Democratic presidential candidate, argued against condemning the Klan for fear that it would permanently split the party. Wendell Willkie, who would go on to become the Republican Party's 1940 presidential candidate, was a Democratic delegate in 1924, and he supported the proposal to condemn the KKK. The bitter fight between the McAdoo and Smith delegates over the KKK set the stage for the nominating ballots to come. Most of the ensuing ballots followed a pattern of having McAdoo leading, Smith second, Davis third, and 1920 candidate James M. Cox fourth, followed by various favorite son candidates. Due to the two-thirds rule governing nominations, neither McAdoo, who briefly got a majority of the votes halfway through the balloting, nor Smith was able to get the two-thirds majority necessary to win. However, neither candidate would back down, and so the deadlock continued for days on end, as ballot after ballot was taken with neither McAdoo or Smith getting close to enough delegates to win the nomination. Cox withdrew after the 64th ballot, only for his support to split relatively evenly between the three frontrunners, leaving the situation no closer to being resolved. Eventually the convention would go to over 100 ballots, becoming the longest-running political convention in American history. Humorist Will Rogers joked that New York had invited the Democratic delegates to visit the city, not to live there. As the convention approached the hundredth ballot, a movement to draft Indiana senator Samuel M. Ralston gained traction and began to look like it might break the deadlock; Ralston, who had been content for his name to be put forward purely as a favorite son candidate, quickly sent the convention a message stating that due to his poor health, he could not accept the nomination. Due to the great divide in the Democratic Party, the convention could have gone on for a great deal longer. However, with some state delegations running low on money and unable to stay in the city any longer, on the 100th ballot both Smith and McAdoo mutually withdrew as candidates. This allowed the convention's delegates to search for a compromise candidate acceptable to both Smith and McAdoo supporters.Prude James 1972 William Gibbs McAdoo and the Democratic National Convention of 1924 The Journal of Southern History 38 4 621–628 10.2307/2206152 Southern Historical Association 2206152 Finally, on the 103rd ballot, the exhausted convention turned to John W. Davis, a former Congressman from West Virginia, former Solicitor General of the United States, and former United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom, as the presidential nominee. The Democrats' disarray prompted Will Rogers's famous quip: "I'm not a member of any organized political party, I'm a Democrat!" Governor of Nebraska Charles W. Bryan, William Jennings Bryan's brother, was nominated for vice-president in order to gain the support of the party's rural voters, many of whom still saw Bryan as their leader. (1-20)Presidential Ballot1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th 11th 12th 13th 14th 15th 16th 17th 18th 19th 20th J.W. Davis 3132343434.555.555576357.5596064.564.56163646684.5122McAdoo 431.5431437443.6443.1443.1442.6444.6444.6471.6476.3478.5477475.5479478471.5470.5474432Smith241251.5255.5260261261.5261.5273.5278299.5303.2301303.5306.5305.5305.5312.5312.5311.5307.5Cox5961605959595960606060606060606060606060Harrison43.523.523.520.520.520.520.520.520.531.520.521.520.520.520.500000Underwood42.5424241.541.542.542.54845.543.942.541.540.540.539.541.54239.539.545.5Silzer38302828282828282800000000000Ferris303030303030306.5000000000000Ralston303030303030303030.530.532.531.531.531313130303130Glass2525294525252526252525.5262524252544303025Ritchie22.521.522.521.542.922.920.919.917.517.517.517.517.517.517.517.517.518.517.517.5Robinson2141411919191921212020191919204628222221J.M. Davis202320292827302932.4121113.5111111111010910C.W. Bryan1818191919181816151211111011111111111011Brown1712.512.59.98.5889889999910000Sweet1212000000000000000000Saulsbury76666666666666666666Kendrick66600000000000000000Thompson11111111111100000000Walsh01111111111111111228W.J. Bryan00000001100000000000Baker00000000011011100001Berry00000000001000000000Krebs00000000000010000000Copeland0000000000000000.50.5010Hull000000000000000002000Hitchcock00000000000000000001Dever00000000000000000000.5 (21–40)Presidential Ballot21st 22nd23rd 24th 25th 26th27th28th29th30th31st32nd33rd34th35th36th37th38th39th40thJ.W. Davis 125123.5129.5129.5126125128.5126124.5126.5127.5128121107.5107106.51071057170McAdoo 439438.5438.5438.5436.5415.5413412415415.5415.5415.5404.5445439429444.5444499506.4Smith307.5307.5308308308.5311.5316.5316.5321323.5322.5322310.5311323.5323321321320.5315.1Cox6060606059595959595757575754505555555555Underwood45.545.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.539.538.541.5Ralston30323233313232343433323232313333.532323231Glass2425302929292925252424242424292424242524Robinson2222232223232324232324242324242424242324Ritchie17.517.517.517.517.517.518.518.517.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.517.517.518.517.5Saulsbury1212666666666666666666Walsh88.5891614771.51.52.53.52.51.50.50.50.51.510J.M. Davis55555566666663333433Baker10000000000000000000Miller0.50000000000000000000Pomerene00010000000000000000Owen00000202024242525242552525242444Daniels00000001100000000000Martin00000000100000000000Gaston0000000000000.50000000Gerard00000000000000110000Doheny00000000000000010000Jackson00000000000000000010 (41–60)Presidential Ballot41st42nd43rd44th45th46th47th48th49th50th51st52nd53rd54th55th56th57th58th59th60thJ.W. Davis 70677171737170.570.563.56467.559636262.558.558.540.56060McAdoo 504.9503.4483.4484.4483.4486.9484.4483.5462.5461.5442.5413.5423.5427426.5430430495473.5469.5Smith317.6318.6319.1319.1319.1319.1320.1321320.5320.5328320.5320.5320.5320.5320.5320.5331.5331.5330.5Cox5556545454545454535455545454545454545454Underwood39.539.540393837.538.538.54242.54338.542.5404039.539.5384042Ralston303031313131313157586393949297979740.542.542.5Glass2428.5242424242425252425242524242525252525Robinson2423444444444544454443424343434343232323Ritchie17.517.517.517.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.517.516.516.516.516.516.516.5Saulsbury66666666666666666666Owen4444444444444344442424J.M. Davis33323333222000000000Cummings10000000000000000000Spellacy11000000000000000000Walsh00111111112.5101111103Edwards00010000000000000000C.W. Bryan00000000000667333322Battle000000000000020000000Roosevelt00000000000001000000Behrman0000000000000.50000000 (61–80)Presidential Ballot61st62nd63rd64th65th66th67th68th69th70th71st72nd73rd74th75th76th77th78th79th80thJ.W. Davis 6060.56261.571.574.575.572.5646767656678.578.575.576.573.57173.5McAdoo 469.5469446.5488.5492495490488.5530528.5528.5527.5528510513513513511507.5454.5Smith335.5338.5315.5325336.5338.5336.5336.5335334334.5334335364366368367363.5366.5367.5Cox544949541000000001111000Underwood424039.539.54039.546.546.53837.537.537.538.54746.547.547.5495046.5Ralston37.538.55610000000003.54.54.56.5545Glass2526252525252526252525252528282927211768Owen2424242424222222222222444001Robinson232323242321212121212121212325252422.528.529.5Ritchie16.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.516.5Saulsbury66666666666667666666C.W. Bryan24433233232234444334.5Walsh33333321001224.5222664Ferris002824.56.5000000000000171817.5Walsh0002.50000000000000000Baker00004855545756565657.5545211000Wheeler000020000000020000000Rogers00000001000000000000Coolidge00000000.5000000000000Daniels000000002.500000000001Kevin00000000000001000000Roosevelt00000000000000001111Gerard00000000000000000110 (81–100)Presidential Ballot81st82nd83rd84th85th86th87th88th89th90th91st92nd93rd94th95th96th97th98th99th100thJ.W. Davis 70.57172.5666865.566.559.564.565.566.569.56881.75139.25171.5183.25194.75210203.5McAdoo 432413.5418388.5380.5353.5336.5315.5318.5314318310314395417.5421415.5406.5353.5190Smith365366368365363360361.5362357354.5355.5355.5355.5364.5367.5359.5359.5354354351.5Glass73787672.567.572.57166.566.530.528.526.52737343939363835Underwood484948.540.540.53838394142.546.545.2544.7546.2544.2538.537.2538.2539.541.5Robinson29.528.527.52527.52520.52320.52020201937313222252546Owen212120202020202020000000011320Ritchie16.516.516.516.516.523.52322.522.516.516.516.516.516.520.521.519.518.517.517.5Ferris16127.500000000000000000Walsh7441.535453.554.54.54.542446452.5Saulsbury66666666666660006666C.W. Bryan4.54.55.56.59.57799158889976552Ralston424248687929398100.5159.5187.5196.75196.2537000000Barnett10000000000000000000Daniels11000002319.51900000000024Roosevelt11111111110002210000Miller00000010000000000000Wheeler00100000000000000000Coyne00010000000000000000Baker00006000000020000004Meredith00000262626262626262626260003775.5Maloney00000100000000000000J.M. Davis0000002020202240020000000Cox0000000.50000000000000Cummings00000000008.58.58.51000000Houston00000000000200000009Callahan00000000000100000000Copeland000000000000017200000Stewart00000000000001000000Marshall00000000000000002320Berry00000000000000000011Gerard000000000000000000010 (101–103) Presidential Ballot101st102nd103rdbefore shifts103rdafter shiftsJ.W. Davis 316415.5575.5844Underwood229.5317250.5102.5Walsh9812384.558Glass59677923Robinson22.5212120Meredith13066.542.515.5McAdoo 522114.511.5Smith1214410.57.5Gerard16787Hull2111Daniels1210Thompson0110Berry01.500Allen0100C.W. Bryan0100Ritchie0.50.500Owen23000Cummings9000Houston9000Murphree4000Baker1000 Vice Presidential Ballot First ballot before shifts after shiftsGovernor C. W. Bryan332739George Berry270.5212Bennett Clark–42Lena Springs4218Colonel Alvin Owsley–16Governor George S. Silzer–10Mayor John F. Hylan1096Governor Jonathan M. Davis–4 Progressive Party nomination Progressive Party (United States, 1924–1927) Presidential nomination of Robert M. La Follette thumb|right|Cover of The Forward's art section, featuring Senators La Follette and Wheeler in the top left corner, 3 Aug 1924 1924 Progressive Party ticket white Robert M. La Follette white Burton K. Wheelerfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px U.S. Senator from Wisconsin(1906–1925) U.S. Senator from Montana(1923–1947) Senator Robert M. La Follette, who had left the Republican Party and formed his own political party, the Progressive Party, in Wisconsin, was so upset over both political parties choosing conservative candidates that he decided to run as a third-party candidate to give liberals from both parties an alternative. He thus accepted the presidential nomination of the Progressive Party. A longtime champion of labor unions, and an ardent foe of Big Business, La Follette was a fiery orator who had dominated Wisconsin's political scene for more than two decades. Backed by radical farmers, the American Federation of Labor (AFL) labor unions, and Socialists, La Follette ran on a platform of nationalizing cigarette factories and other large industries. He also strongly supported increased taxation on the wealthy and the right of collective bargaining for factory workers. Despite a strong showing in labor strongholds and winning over 16% of the national popular vote, he carried only his home state of Wisconsin in the electoral college. Prohibition Party nomination 1924 Prohibition National Convention 71x71px 1924 Prohibition Party ticket white Herman P. Faris white Marie C. Brehmfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px Party Treasurerfrom Missouri Activistfrom California Candidates in this section are sorted by their highest vote count on the nominating ballotsA.P. GoutheyPresbyterian Ministerfrom WashingtonHCV Highest Convention Vote: 40 votes By 1924, the Prohibition Party was increasingly being regarded as an irrelevant single-issue party. With there still being little serious opposition to Prohibition in either of the main parties, the Prohibitionists had resorted to increasingly extreme rhetoric in an effort to distinguish themselves from the Republicans and Democrats, including advocating harsh punishments for people caught drinking or selling alcohol. They attempted to branch out into other, socially conservative policy areas in this election, including anti-immigrant sentiment, and advocating for religious instruction in public schools.Prohibition National Committee (U.S.) records, 1872-1972 - University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library - University of Michigan Finding Aids https://findingaids.lib.umich.edu/catalog/umich-bhl-86124 findingaids.lib.umich.edu June 16, 2026 en At the party's nominating convention, party treasurer Herman P. Faris was nominated over Presbyterian minister A.P. Gouthey.https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40834336/the_star_press/ Faris, Ex-Prohi Candidate For President, Dies in Crash 21 March 1936 The Star Press https://web.archive.org/web/20191220075756/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40834319/the_owensboro_messenger/ 20 December 2019 live 3 Newspapers.com Gouthey was then proposed as Faris' running-mate and led on the first round of balloting for the vice-presidential nomination, but withdrew in favor of party activist Marie C. Brehm. Brehm became the first woman to run on a national party's presidential ticket since the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which made it definitively possible for women to serve in the office of President or Vice-President.Drys Name Woman for Vice President: Convention Puts Miss Marie C. Brehm on Ticket Headed by H.P. Faris June 7, 1924 New York Times 2 Workers (Communist) Party nomination 1924 Workers National Convention 65px|center|link=Workers Party of America1924 Workers Party ticket white William Z. Foster white Benjamin Gitlowfor Presidentfor Vice President center|200x200px center|200x200px Trade Unionistfrom Massachusetts State Assemblymanfrom New York(1918–1918) The Communist Party USA, who had been founded in 1919, ran their first presidential ticket at this election, officially under the guise of the Workers Party of America. While there had been some initial suggestions that the party might endorse La Follette's candidacy, any prospect of this was ended when La Follette publicly repudiated the party and communism more generally. Going into the party's first nominating convention the favorites for the nomination were C. E. Ruthenberg, the party's executive secretary, along with William Z. Foster and James P. Cannon, who were both prominent trade unionists and party activists. With Ruthenberg ultimately deciding not to put himself forward for the nomination, and Cannon withdrawing to become the party's candidate for governor of New York, Foster was left as the clear choice, and was formally declared the party's candidate for the presidency at the party's convention on July 10. Benjamin Gitlow, a former New York state assemblyman who had been jailed for pro-Communist activities in 1919 and was still serving the remainder of his sentence on parole, was chosen as Foster's running-mate.Communist Party of the United States of America (1919-1946) Organizational History http://www.marxisthistory.org/subject/usa/eam/communistparty.html Marxist History May 31, 2026 Foster's campaign put forward a platform based heavily on the policies that were then being used by the Soviet government of Joseph Stalin.Pratt William C. Communists and American Farmers in the 1920s American Communist History 3 April 2018 17 2 162–175 10.1080/14743892.2018.1460968 https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14743892.2018.1460968 1474-3892 subscription General election thumb|Calvin Coolidge at podium LCCN2016887418 Keep Cool with Coolidge Backers of Coolidge incorporated the political stability of the era into the president's catchphrase for the campaign. The image of the quiet competence of Coolidge was seen as a strong positive in a time where Americans wanted to move past the destruction of the First World War and achieve "plenty" for themselves and their families. The era which began in 1920 with "Return to Normalcy", was seen as continuing through Coolidge and the pace of inventions of new comfort goods which increased the quality of life of middle class Americans were seen as signs that a Republican administration was a safe bet for 4 more years. A stark example of this is that in 1920 virtually no households owned a radio and by the end of the republican era of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover more than 60% did.Craig Steve 2004-06-01 How America Adopted Radio: Demographic Differences in Set Ownership Reported in the 1930-1950 U.S. Censuses https://www.researchgate.net/publication/233149747_How_America_Adopted_Radio_Demographic_Differences_in_Set_Ownership_Reported_in_the_1930-1950_US_Censuses Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media 48 179–195 10.1207/s15506878jobem4802_2 The Nativism movement reached its highest influence during the campaign of 1924. The issue caused the most divided Democratic convention in history and divided the party into two main factions, the Nativist faction being led by William McAdoo. Contrast the democratic party's implosion with the Immigration Act of 1924 going into law just months before, Coolidge represented Americanism in the eyes of voters.Devine Christopher J. 2025 It Wasn't Just the Economy, Stupid: How Calvin Coolidge Won the 1924 Presidential Election https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/psq.70007 Presidential Studies Quarterly en 55 3 e70007 10.1111/psq.70007 1741-5705 Results right|thumb|400px|Results by county explicitly indicating the margin of victory for the winning candidate. Shades of red are for Coolidge (Republican), shades of blue are for Davis (Democratic), shades of green are for "Other(s)" (Non-Democratic/Non-Republican), grey indicates zero recorded votes and white indicates territories not elevated to statehood.https://books.google.com/books?id=9WaaAAAAIAAJ The Presidential Vote, 1896-1932 – Google Books Stanford University Press August 12, 2014 1934 9780804716963 Victory Speech Coolidge — 1924 Electioncenter|thumb|329x329px|Portrait of President Calvin Coolidge by Ercole Cartotto."I can only express my simple thanks to all those who have contributed to this result and plainly acknowledge that it has been brought to pass through the work of a Divine Providence, of which I am but one instrument. Such powers as I have I dedicate to the service of all my country and of all my countrymen."— Calvin Coolidge, November 5, 1924 This was the first presidential election in which all American Indians were recognized as citizens and allowed to vote. The total vote increased by 2,300,000 but, because of the great drawing power of the La Follette candidacy, both the Republican and Democratic totals were less. Largely because of the deep inroads made by La Follette in the Democratic vote, Davis polled 750,000 fewer votes than were cast for Cox in 1920. Coolidge polled 425,000 votes less than Harding had in 1920. Nonetheless, La Follette's appeal among liberal Democrats allowed Coolidge to achieve a 25.2 percent margin of victory over Davis in the popular vote (the second largest since 1824, and the largest in the last century). Davis's popular vote percentage of 28.8% remains the lowest of any Democratic presidential candidate (not counting John C. Breckinridge's run on a Southern Democratic ticket in 1860, when the vote was split with Stephen A. Douglas, the main Democratic candidate), albeit with several other candidates performing worse in the electoral college. Both La Follette and Davis had criticized the Ku Klux Klan during the campaign, but Coolidge did not speak on the issue despite pleas from black groups. The New York Times stated that "Either Mr. Coolidge holds his peace for mistaken reasons of policy and politics or he tolerates the Klan". Charles G. Dawes criticized the KKK on August 23, but his comments were criticized by Representative Fiorello La Guardia who stated that "General Dawes praised the Klan with faint damn".Murphy Paul 1974 Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present G. P. Putnam's SonsAugust 24, 1924 General 'Opposed to' Klan; But Dawes Says But Many Join It in Interest of Law and Order The New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/1924/08/24/archives/general-opposed-to-klan-but-dawes-says-many-join-it-in-interest-of.html live https://web.archive.org/web/20220126235808/https://www.nytimes.com/1924/08/24/archives/general-opposed-to-klan-but-dawes-says-many-join-it-in-interest-of.html January 26, 2022 The "other" vote amounted to nearly five million, owing in largest part to the 4,832,614 votes cast for La Follette. This candidacy, like that of Roosevelt in 1912, altered the distribution of the vote throughout the country and particularly in eighteen states in the Middle and Far West. Unlike the Roosevelt vote of 1912, the La Follette vote included most of the Socialist strength. The La Follette vote was distributed over the nation, and in every state, but its greatest strength lay in the East North Central and West North Central sections. However, La Follette carried no section, and he was second in only two sections, the Mountain and Pacific areas. In twelve states, the La Follette vote was greater than that cast for Davis. In one of these states, Wisconsin, La Follette defeated the Republican ticket also, thus winning one state in the electoral college. The "other" vote led the poll in 235 counties, and practically all of these (225) gave La Follette a plurality. Four counties, three in the South, recorded zero votes, as against seven in 1920 – this decrease reflecting the Indian Citizenship Act. With most of the third-party vote united under La Follette's candidacy, the Prohibition Party dropped to less than a third of the popular vote percentage that it had earned four years prior. This was the end of the Prohibitionists as a significant political force; having regularly earned at least a percentage point of the popular vote since 1884, they would struggle to earn even a tenth of that number in the decades ahead as Prohibition became increasingly unpopular and was eventually repealed in 1933, though the party nominally continues to exist and contest presidential elections to this day. Davis won in 1,279 counties, which was 183 more than what Cox had received, and Coolidge failed to win in 377 counties that Harding had won in 1920. Coolidge's net vote totals in the twelve largest cities were less than Harding's with Coolidge only receiving 1,308,000 compared to Harding's 1,540,000. The inroads of the La Follette candidacy upon the Democratic Party were in areas where Democratic county majorities had been infrequent in the Fourth Party System. At the same time, the inroads of La Follette's candidacy upon the Republican Party were in areas where in this national contest their candidate could afford to be second or third in the poll.The Presidential Vote, 1896-1932, Edgar E. Robinson, pg. 24 Thus, Davis carried only the traditionally Democratic Solid South (except Kentucky), and Oklahoma; due to liberal Democrats voting for La Follette, Davis lost the popular vote to Coolidge by 25.2 percentage points. Only Warren Harding, who finished 26.2 points ahead of his nearest competitor in the previous election, did better in this category in competition between multiple candidates (incumbent James Monroe was the only candidate in 1820 and thus took every vote). This was one of only three elections with more than two major candidates where any candidate received a majority of popular votes cast, the others being 1832 and 1980. The combined vote for Davis and La Follette over the nation was exceeded by Coolidge by 2,500,000. Nevertheless, in thirteen states (four border and nine western), Coolidge received only a plurality. The Coolidge vote topped the poll, however, in thirty-five states, leaving the electoral vote for Davis in only twelve.The Presidential Vote, 1896–1932, Edgar E. Robinson, pg. 23 All the states of the former Confederacy voted for Davis (plus Oklahoma), while all of the Union/postbellum states (except Wisconsin and Oklahoma) voted for Coolidge. This remains the last time anyone won the presidency without carrying a single former Confederate state. This was the last presidential election until 2008 that West Virginia voted Republican while Virginia voted Democratic. This was the last election in which Republicans won Massachusetts and Rhode Island until 1952. Davis did not carry any counties in twenty of the forty-eight states, two fewer than Cox during the previous election, but nonetheless, an ignominy approached since only by George McGovern in his landslide 1972 loss. Davis did not carry one county in any state bordering the Pacific or sharing a land border with Canada. The election was the last time a Republican won the presidency without Florida, Oklahoma, and Tennessee. It was the first time ever that a Republican won without Wisconsin. The eleven states of the former Confederacy provided 4.43% of Coolidge's votes, with him taking 27.94% of the vote in that region while La Follette took 4.80%.Sherman 1973 263 This election was the last time the Democratic nominee for vice president was a sitting governor, and that Virginia voted for a Democratic nominee who lost the popular vote, until 2024. This was also the last election that neither major party nominee was from New York until 1956. File: United States Electoral College 1924.svg Calvin Coolidge (incumbent) Republican Massachusetts 15,723,789 54.04% 382 Charles G. Dawes Illinois John W. Davis Democratic West Virginia 8,386,242 28.82% 136 Charles W. Bryan Nebraska Robert M. La Follette Progressive-Socialist-Farmer–Labor Wisconsin 4,831,706 16.61% 13 Burton K. Wheeler Montana Herman P. Faris Prohibition Missouri 55,951 0.19% 0 Marie C. Brehm California William Z. Foster Communist Massachusetts 38,669 0.13% 0 Benjamin Gitlow New York Frank T. Johns Socialist Labor Oregon 28,633 0.10% 0 Verne L. Reynolds New York Gilbert Nations American District of Columbia 24,325 0.08% 0 Charles Hiram Randall California 7,792 0.03% 29,097,107 531 266 Source (Popular Vote): 1924 September 12, 2012 Source (Electoral Vote): 1924 July 31, 2005 Popular vote 600px 410px Coolidge Republican Party (US) 54.04 Davis Democratic Party (US) 28.82 La Follette #0BDA51 16.61 Others #777777 0.53 Electoral vote 600px 410px Coolidge Republican Party (US) 71.94 Davis Democratic Party (US) 25.61 La Follette #0BDA51 2.45 Geography of results Cartographic gallery 650px|thumb|left Results by state Source:http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/data.php?year=1924&datatype=national&def=1&f=0&off=0&elect=0 1924 Presidential General Election Data - National Uselectionatlas.org March 18, 2013 States/districts won by Davis/BryanStates/districts won by La Follette/WheelerStates/districts won by Coolidge/Dawes Calvin CoolidgeRepublican John W. DavisDemocratic Robert La FolletteProgressive Herman FarisProhibition William FosterCommunist Frank JohnsSocialist Labor Margin State Total State electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % electoralvotes # % # Alabama 12 45,005 27.01 - 112,966 67.81 12 8,084 4.85 - 538 0.32 - - - - - - - -67,961 -40.79 166,593 AL Arizona 3 30,516 41.26 3 26,235 35.47 - 17,210 23.27 - - - - - - - - - - 4,281 5.79 73,961 AZ Arkansas 9 40,564 29.28 - 84,795 61.21 9 13,173 9.51 - - - - - - - - - - -44,231 -31.93 138,532 AR California 13 733,250 57.20 13 105,514 8.23 - 424,649 33.13 - 18,365 1.43 - - - - - - - 308,601 24.07 1,281,900 CA Colorado 6 195,171 57.02 6 75,238 21.98 - 69,945 20.44 - 966 0.28 - 562 0.16 - 378 0.11 - 119,933 35.04 342,260 CO Connecticut 7 246,322 61.54 7 110,184 27.53 - 42,416 10.60 - - - - - - - 1,373 0.34 - 136,138 34.01 400,295 CT Delaware 3 52,441 57.70 3 33,445 36.80 - 4,979 5.48 - - - - - - - - - - 18,996 20.90 90,885 DE Florida 6 30,633 28.06 - 62,083 56.88 6 8,625 7.90 - 5,498 5.04 - - - - - - - -31,450 -28.81 109,154 FL Georgia 14 30,300 18.19 - 123,200 73.96 14 12,691 7.62 - 231 0.14 - - - - - - - -92,900 -55.77 166,577 GA Idaho 4 69,879 47.12 4 24,256 16.36 - 54,160 36.52 - - - - - - - - - - 15,719 10.60 148,295 ID Illinois 29 1,453,321 58.84 29 576,975 23.36 - 432,027 17.49 - 2,367 0.10 - 2,622 0.11 - 2,334 0.09 - 876,346 35.48 2,470,067 IL Indiana 15 703,042 55.25 15 492,245 38.69 - 71,700 5.64 - 4,416 0.35 - 987 0.08 - - - - 210,797 16.57 1,272,390 IN Iowa 13 537,635 55.03 13 162,600 16.64 - 272,243 27.87 - - - - 4,037 0.41 - - - - 265,392 27.17 976,960 IAKansas 10 407,671 61.54 10 156,319 23.60 - 98,461 14.86 - - - - - - - - - - 251,352 37.94 662,454 KS Kentucky 13 398,966 48.93 13 374,855 45.98 - 38,465 4.72 - - - - - - - 1,499 0.18 - 24,111 2.96 815,332 KY Louisiana 10 24,670 20.23 - 93,218 76.44 10 - - - - - - - - - - - - -68,548 -56.21 121,951 LA Maine 6 138,440 72.03 6 41,964 21.83 - 11,382 5.92 - - - - - - - 406 0.21 - 96,476 50.20 192,192 ME Maryland 8 162,414 45.29 8 148,072 41.29 - 47,157 13.15 - - - - - - - 987 0.28 - 14,342 4.00 358,630 MD Massachusetts 18 703,476 62.26 18 280,831 24.86 - 141,225 12.50 - - - - 2,635 0.23 - 1,668 0.15 - 422,645 37.41 1,129,837 MA Michigan 15 874,631 75.37 15 152,359 13.13 - 122,014 10.51 - 6,085 0.52 - 5,330 0.46 - - - - 722,272 62.24 1,160,419 MI Minnesota 12 420,759 51.18 12 55,913 6.80 - 339,192 41.26 - - - - 4,427 0.54 - 1,855 0.23 - 81,567 9.92 822,146 MN Mississippi 10 8,494 7.55 - 100,474 89.34 10 3,494 3.11 - - - - - - - - - - -91,980 -81.79 112,462 MS Missouri 18 648,486 49.58 18 572,753 43.79 - 84,160 6.43 - 1,418 0.11 - - - - 883 0.07 - 75,733 5.79 1,307,958 MO Montana 4 74,138 42.50 4 33,805 19.38 - 66,123 37.91 - - - - 357 0.20 - - - - 8,015 4.60 174,423 MT Nebraska 8 218,585 47.09 8 137,289 29.58 - 106,701 22.99 - 1,594 0.34 - - - - - - - 81,296 17.51 464,173 NE Nevada 3 11,243 41.76 3 5,909 21.95 - 9,769 36.29 - - - - - - - - - - 1,474 5.48 26,921 NV New Hampshire 4 98,575 59.83 4 57,201 34.72 - 8,993 5.46 - - - - - - - - - - 41,374 25.11 164,769 NH New Jersey 14 675,162 62.17 14 297,743 27.41 - 108,901 10.03 - 1,337 0.12 - 1,540 0.14 - 819 0.08 - 377,419 34.75 1,086,079 NJ New Mexico 3 54,745 48.52 3 48,542 43.02 - 9,543 8.46 - - - - - - - - - - 6,203 5.50 112,830 NM New York 45 1,820,058 55.76 45 950,796 29.13 - 474,913 14.55 - - - - 8,244 0.25 - 9,928 0.30 - 869,262 26.63 3,263,939 NY North Carolina 12 191,753 39.73 - 284,270 58.89 12 6,651 1.38 - 13 0.00 - - - - - - - -92,517 -19.17 482,687 NC North Dakota 5 94,931 47.68 5 13,858 6.96 - 89,922 45.17 - - - - 370 0.19 - - - - 5,009 2.52 199,081 ND Ohio 24 1,176,130 58.33 24 477,888 23.70 - 357,948 17.75 - - - - - - - 3,025 0.15 - 698,242 34.63 2,016,237 OH Oklahoma 10 226,242 42.82 - 255,798 48.41 10 46,375 8.78 - - - - - - - - - - -29,556 -5.59 528,415 OK Oregon 5 142,579 51.01 5 67,589 24.18 - 68,403 24.47 - - - - - - - 917 0.33 - 74,176 26.54 279,488 OR Pennsylvania 38 1,401,481 65.34 38 409,192 19.08 - 307,567 14.34 - 9,779 0.46 - 2,735 0.13 - 634 0.03 - 992,289 46.26 2,144,850 PA Rhode Island 5 125,286 59.63 5 76,606 36.46 - 7,628 3.63 - - - - 289 0.14 - 268 0.13 - 48,680 23.17 210,115 RI South Carolina 9 1,123 2.21 - 49,008 96.56 9 620 1.22 - - - - - - - - - - -47,885 -94.35 50,752 SC South Dakota 5 101,299 49.69 5 27,214 13.35 - 75,355 36.96 - - - - - - - - - - 25,944 12.73 203,868 SD Tennessee 12 130,882 43.59 - 158,537 52.80 12 10,656 3.55 - 100 0.03 - - - - - - - -27,655 -9.21 300,275 TN Texas 20 130,023 19.78 - 484,605 73.70 20 42,881 6.52 - - - - - - - - - - -354,582 -53.93 657,509 TX Utah 4 77,327 49.26 4 47,001 29.94 - 32,662 20.81 - - - - - - - - - - 30,326 19.32 156,990 UT Vermont 4 80,498 78.22 4 16,124 15.67 - 5,964 5.79 - 326 0.32 - - - - - - - 64,374 62.55 102,917 VT Virginia 12 73,312 32.79 - 139,716 62.48 12 10,377 4.64 - - - - - - - 197 0.09 - -66,404 -29.70 223,602 VA Washington 7 220,224 52.24 7 42,842 10.16 - 150,727 35.76 - - - - 761 0.18 - 1,004 0.24 - 69,497 16.49 421,549 WA West Virginia 8 288,635 49.45 8 257,232 44.07 - 36,723 6.29 - - - - - - - - - - 31,403 5.38 583,662 WV Wisconsin 13 311,614 37.06 - 68,115 8.10 - 453,678 53.96 13 2,918 0.35 - 3,773 0.45 - 458 0.05 - -142,064 -16.90 840,826 WI Wyoming 3 41,858 52.39 3 12,868 16.11 - 25,174 31.51 - - - - - - - - - - 16,684 20.88 79,900 WY TOTALS: 531 15,723,789 54.04 382 8,386,242 28.82 136 4,831,706 16.61 13 55,951 0.19 - 38,669 0.13 - 28,633 0.10 - 7,337,547 25.22 29,097,107 US States that flipped from Republican to Democratic Oklahoma Tennessee States that flipped from Democratic to Republican Kentucky States that flipped from Republican to Progressive Wisconsin Close states Margin of victory less than 5% (30 electoral votes): North Dakota, 2.52% (5,009 votes) Kentucky, 2.96% (24,111 votes) Maryland, 4.00% (14,342 votes) Montana, 4.60% (8,015 votes) Margin of victory between 5% and 10% (69 electoral votes): West Virginia, 5.38% (31,403 votes) Nevada, 5.48% (1,474 votes) New Mexico, 5.50% (6,203 votes) Oklahoma, 5.59% (29,556 votes) Arizona, 5.79% (4,281 votes) Missouri, 5.79% (75,733 votes) Tennessee, 9.21% (27,655 votes) Minnesota, 9.92% (81,567 votes) Tipping point state: Nebraska, 17.51% (81,296 votes) (tipping point state for a Coolidge victory) New York, 26.63% (869,262 votes) (tipping point state for a Davis victory) Pennsylvania, 51.00% (1,093,914 votes) (tipping point state for a La Follette victory) Statistics Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Republican) Johnson County, Tennessee 91.32% Keweenaw County, Michigan 91.15% Shannon County, South Dakota 88.89% Leslie County, Kentucky 88.83% Windsor County, Vermont 88.43% Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Democratic) Edgefield County, South Carolina 100.00% Marlboro County, South Carolina 100.00% Kershaw County, South Carolina 99.86% Horry County, South Carolina 99.70% Marion County, South Carolina 99.68% Counties with Highest Percent of Vote (Progressive) Comal County, Texas 73.96% Mercer County, North Dakota 71.38% Shawano County, Wisconsin 70.69% Hutchinson County, South Dakota 70.38% Calumet County, Wisconsin 69.42% See also 1924 Farmer-Labor National Convention 1924 Prohibition National Convention 1924 Workers National Convention History of the United States (1918–1945) Progressive Era 1924 United States Senate elections 1924 United States House of Representatives elections Second inauguration of Calvin Coolidge Notes References Works cited Sherman Richard The Republican Party and Black America From McKinley to Hoover 1896-1933 University of Virginia Press 1973 0813904676 Further reading 1920 United States elections#Further reading Burner, David. The Politics of Provincialism: The Democratic Party in Transition, 1918-1932 (1968) Chalmers, David. "The Ku Klux Klan in politics in the 1920's." Mississippi Quarterly 18.4 (1965): 234-247 online. Craig, Douglas B. After Wilson: The Struggle for the Democratic Party, 1920-1934 (1993) Craig, Douglas B. "“Don't You Hear all the Railroad Men Squeak?”: William G. McAdoo, the United States Railroad Administration, and the Democratic Presidential Nomination of 1924." Journal of American Studies 48.3 (2014): 777-795. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0021875814000607 Davies, Gareth, and Julian E. Zelizer, eds. America at the Ballot Box: Elections and Political History (2015) pp. 139–52. Devine, Christopher J. "It Wasn't Just the Economy, Stupid: How Calvin Coolidge Won the 1924 Presidential Election." Presidential Studies Quarterly 55.3 (2025): e70007. online Faykosh, Joseph D. "A Party in Peril: Franklin Roosevelt, the Democratic Party, and the Circular Letter of 1924" (PhD dissertation, Bowling Green State University, 2016) online. Republican Ascendancy 1921-1933 Hicks John Donald 1955 Harper and Row New York 0-06-011885-7 Goldberg, David J. "Unmasking the Ku Klux Klan: The northern movement against the KKK, 1920-1925." Journal of American Ethnic History (1996): 32-48 online. The Progressive Movement of 1924 MacKay K. C. 1947 Octagon Books New York 0-374-95244-2 registration https://archive.org/details/progressivemovem00mack McVeigh, Rory. "Power Devaluation, the Ku Klux Klan, and the Democratic National Convention of 1924." Sociological Forum 16#1 (2001) abstract. Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President https://archive.org/details/calvincoolidgequ00mcco registration McCoy Donald R. 1967 Macmillan New York 0-7006-0350-6 Martinson, David L. "Coverage of La Follette Offers Insights for 1972 Campaign." Journalism Quarterly 52.3 (1975): 539–542. The 103rd Ballot: Democrats and Disaster in Madison Square Garden Murray Robert K. 1976 Harper and Row New York 0-06-013124-1 registration https://archive.org/details/103rdballotdemoc0000murr Prude, James C. "William Gibbs McAdoo and the Democratic National Convention of 1924." Journal of Southern History 38.4 (1972): 621-628 online. Ranson, Edward. The Role of Radio in the American Presidential Election of 1924: How a New Communications Technology Shapes the Political Process (Edwin Mellen Press; 2010) 165 pages. Looks at Coolidge as a radio personality, and how radio figured in the campaign, the national conventions, and the election result. Roberts, Jason. "The Biographical Legacy of Calvin Coolidge and the 1924 Presidential Election." in A Companion to Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover (2014): 191-211. Tucker, Garland S., III. The high tide of American conservatism: Davis, Coolidge, and the 1924 election (2010) online Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer Unger Nancy C. 2000 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill 0-8078-2545-X registration https://archive.org/details/fightingboblafol00unge_0 Primary sources Chester, Edward W A guide to political platforms (1977) online Porter, Kirk H. and Donald Bruce Johnson, eds. National party platforms, 1840-1964 (1965) online 1840-1956 Fighting Bob La Follette: The Righteous Reformer Unger Nancy C. 2000 University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill 0-8078-2545-X registration https://archive.org/details/fightingboblafol00unge_0 External links 1924 popular vote by counties Election of 1924 in Counting the Votes https://web.archive.org/web/20190304165834/http://www.countingthevotes.com/1924 March 4, 2019 Category:Presidency of Calvin Coolidge Category:Calvin Coolidge Category:Charles G. Dawes Category:1924 in American politics Category:November 1924 in the United States Category:Robert M. La Follette