Warren G. Harding chosen as Republican US presidential candidate

Washington, 14 June 1920 - Warren G. Harding, a Senator from Ohio, has been selected as the Republican nominee to contest the U.S presidential election which will be held later this year. At the party’s convention in Chicago on 12 June, Mr Harding defeated General Leonard Wood, US Chief of Staff from 1910-14, on the 10th ballot by a margin of 592 votes to 156.

Mr Harding has been described as a ‘compromise candidate’. The son of a country doctor, he was born in Corsica, Morrow County, Ohio in 1865 and since 1884 has been involved in the newspaper business in the city of Marion, where he is president of the Harding Publishing Co. A Baptist, he became a member of the Ohio Senate in 1900 and has been a Senator for Ohio since 1915. His Vice-Presidential running-mate will be Massachusetts Governor, Calvin Coolidge.

The issue of Ireland was notably absent from the discussions at the convention, especially in light of the fact that Sinn Féin President, Éamon de Valera, Congressman William Mason and lawyer, Frank Walsh appeared before the organising committee to urge that it provide for a full and formal recognition of the Irish Republic. The unionist Belfast Newsletter has described the Republicans’ unwillingness to give the Irish issue a hearing as not merely a ‘severe blow’ to de Valera and his companions, but a ‘crushing defeat’.

Nevertheless, as the Sunday Times has reported, the Irish question is still likely to be a feature of the election campaign, given the influence of Irish-Americans, particularly within the ranks of the Democratic Party.

While the Republicans spent recent weeks sorting out their ticket for the election, the incumbent, President Woodrow Wilson, is reported to be in a state of deteriorating health. However, in response to these rumours, the White House has moved to provide reassurance about Wilson’s health, stating that physicians in attendance of the president are happy that his condition has improved.

Prof. Enda Delaney, University of Edinburgh, discusses the role of the large Irish diaspora in the opening decades of the 20th century, in supporting the Irish independence in struggle in Ireland, as well as in building networks of support, and shaping political attitudes, within their host countries

[Editor's note: This is an article from Century Ireland, a fortnightly online newspaper, written from the perspective of a journalist 100 years ago, based on news reports of the time.]