The 1920 General Election: The League and Campaign Oratory — David Pietrusza — Harding proved to be a surprisingly effective orator, earning substantial speaking fees on the Chautauqua lecture circuit despite his reputation for carefully evasive rhetoric. Following his meeting with the infirm Wilson, Cox committed unreservedly to supporting the League of Nations, a political miscalculation that proved electorally catastrophic. Wilson's documented inability to negotiate or tolerate substantive opposition represented a fundamental character flaw that prevented compromise on League ratification. Socialist Eugene Debs also mounted a presidential campaign, remarkably doing so while imprisoned for wartime anti-war advocacy.
1920 COX AND FDR