I Could Have Been Somebody (Part 3) Quiz

Answer: 1884

The Election of 1884 focused on issues of character. The Republican Party nominated James G. Blaine (1830-1893) of Maine, who served as a member of the House of Representatives, a Senator, and Secretary of State. The Democratic Party nominated Grover Cleveland (1833-1908) who had served as Mayor of Buffalo and Governor of New York.

The Prohibition Party nominated John St. John (1833-1916), the former governor of Kansas. The Greenback Party nominated Benjamin Butler (1818-1893), Civil War veteran, and long-time member of the House of Representatives for Massachusetts.

The 36 electoral votes of New York proved crucial to the election with Cleveland winning the state by less than 1,200 popular votes. In the Electoral College, Cleveland won 20 states and 219 votes to 18 states and 182 votes for Blaine.

The popular vote (10.0 million) was also close with Cleveland (48.9%) edging Blaine (48.3%), followed by St. John (1.5%) and Butler (1.3%).

Answer: 1896

The Election of 1896 focused on several issues including the role of silver and gold in the national monetary system. This election featured the famous "Cross of Gold" speech. The Republican Party nominated William McKinley (1843-1901), former member of the House of Representatives from Ohio, as well as Governor of Ohio.

The Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925), former congressman from Nebraska. The National Democratic Party nominated John M. Palmer (1817-1900), governor of Illinois.

The Prohibition Party nominated Joshua Levering (1846-1935)of Maryland, one-time president of the Southern Baptist Convention. In the Electoral College, McKinley won 23 states with 271 votes to 22 states with 176 votes for Bryan. In the popular vote (14.0 million), McKinley (51.0%) won over Bryan (46.7%), with Palmer (1.0%) and Levering (0.9%) trailing.

Answer: 1900

In the Election of 1900, the issues were the Gold standard and imperialism. The Republican Party nominated incumbent President William McKinley for a second term. The Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan for a second time. The Prohibition Party nominated John Woolley (1850-1922), a lawyer.

The Social Democrats nominated Eugene V. Debs (1855-1926), former member of the Indiana General Assembly. McKinley won the Electoral College with 28 states and 292 votes to 17 states and 155 votes for Bryan. Similarly, McKinley won the popular vote (14.0 million) by 51.6% to 45 5% for Bryan, with Woolley (1.5%) and Debs (0.6%) trailing.

Answer: 1908

The Election of 1908 focused on support for Progressive Ideas. The Republican Party nominated Secretary of War William Howard Taft (1857-1930) of Ohio. The Democratic Party nominated William Jennings Bryan for the third time. The Socialist Party again nominated Eugene Debs.

The Prohibition Party nominated lawyer Eugene Chafin (1852-1920). Taft won in the Electoral College by 29 states and 321 votes to 17 states and 162 votes for Bryan. He similarly won the popular vote (14.9 million) with 51.6% of the vote to 43.0% for Bryan, with Debs (2.8%) and Chafin (1.7%) trailing.

Answer: 1888

The Election of 1888 focused on tariff policy. The Republican Party nominated Benjamin Harrison (1833-1901), Civil War veteran and former Senator for Indiana. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent President Grover Cleveland for a second term in office.

The Prohibition Party nominated Clinton Fisk (1828-1890), Civil War veteran and founder of Fisk University. The Union Labor Party nominated Alson Streeter (1823-1901) who served in both houses of the legislature of Illinois. In the popular vote (11.4 million), Cleveland actually held a lead (48.6%) over Harrison (47.8%), with Fisk (2.2%) and Streeter (1.3%) trailing.

In the Electoral College, however, Harrison won 20 states and 233 votes over Cleveland's 18 states and 168 votes.

Answer: 1880

The Election of 1880 featured a slate full of Civil War veterans and the issues of Civil War loyalties, tariffs, and Chinese immigration. The Republican Party nominated James Abram Garfield (1831-1881) of Ohio, a long serving member (1863-1880) of the US House of Representatives and Civil War veteran.

The Democratic Party nominated Winfield Scott Hancock (1820-1886) of Pennsylvania, a career officer who served in the US Army for four decades. The nominee of the Greenback Party, James Weaver (1833-1912), was also a Civil War veteran and a congressman from Iowa (1879-1881).

In terms of the popular vote (9.2 million), the election was one of the closest in US history with Garfield (48.27%) edging Hancock (48.25%) with Weaver gaining 3.4% of the vote.

In the electoral college, each candidate won 19 states but Garfield's had 214 votes to 155 for Hancock's, with Weaver winning no electoral votes.

Answer: 1892

Tariff issues dominated the Election of 1892 with a rematch of candidates. The Republican Party nominated incumbent President Benjamin Harrison. The Democratic Party nominated former President Grover Cleveland. The Populist Party nominated James Weaver, who had been the nominee of the Greenback Party in 1880. John Bidwell (1819-1900), former member of the House of Representatives from California, won the nomination of the Prohibition Party.

In the Electoral College, Cleveland 23 states and 277 votes to 16 states and 145 votes for Harrison and five states and 22 votes for Weaver.

The popular vote (12.1 million) was closer with Cleveland (46.0%) winning over Harrison (43.0%), Weaver (8.5%), and Bidwell (2.2%).

Answer: 1916

The Election of 1916 focused in part on the ongoing war in Europe. The Democratic Party nominated incumbent President Woodrow Wilson for a second term. The Republican Party nominated Associate Justice of the Supreme Court Charles Evans Hughes (1862-1948).

The Socialist Party nominated newspaper editor Allan Benson (1871-1940). The Prohibition Party nominated Frank Hanly (1863-1920), former Congressman from Indiana. In the Electoral College, Wilson won 30 states and 277 votes to 18 states and 254 votes for Hughes. Wilson's margin of victory in several states including California (3,300) with its 13 electoral votes was very small.

In the popular vote (18.5 million), Wilson won 49.2% of the vote to 46.1% for Hughes, with Benson (3.2%) and Hanly (1.2%) trailing.

Answer: 1904

The Election of 1904 was largely based on the personalities of the candidates. The Republican Party nominated incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) of New York. The Democratic Party nominated Alton Parker (1852-1926), Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

The Socialist Party nominated Eugene Debs. The Prohibition Party nominated minister Silas Swallow (1839-1930) of Pennsylvania. Roosevelt won a landslide in the popular vote (57.4%) compared to Alton (37.6%), with Eugene Debs (3.0%) and Swallow (1.9%) trailing.

He similarly had a large majority in the Electoral College, 32 states and 336 votes to 13 states and 140 votes for Alton.

Answer: 1912

The Election of 1912 again focused on the issues of Progressivism. The Democratic Party nominated Woodrow Wilson (1856-1924), former President of Princeton University and governor of New Jersey. The Republican Party nominated incumbent President William Howard Taft.

The Progressive (Bull Moose) Party nominated former President Theodore Roosevelt. The Socialist Party nominated Eugene Debs. The Prohibition Party nominated Eugene Chafin. With a split in the Republican Party, Wilson was able to win the popular vote (15.0 million) with 41.8% of the vote to 27.1% for Roosevelt, with Taft (23.2%), Debs (6.0%), and Chafin (1.4%) trailing. Similarly in the Electoral College, Wilson won 40 states and 435 votes to six states and 88 votes for Roosevelt and the eight electoral votes of Vermont and Utah for Taft. Roosevelt's total represent the greatest level of success for any third party candidate of the 19th or 20th centuries.