1920 R.N.C.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

President Roosevelt's short third term was marked by war, victory, and peace negotiations. President Roosevelt, a skilled diplomat who nonetheless possessed a lust for war, gladly led the United States into the Great War in 1917 following an attack on an American ship. Before the end of 1918, America had tipped the balance to the Allied powers and they had accomplished a decisive victory. Nevertheless, Republicans took losses in the 1918 mid-term elections as the war and its resulting peace negotiations had begun to wear on the American public. With the peace treaty in limbo in Congress during the lame duck session, President Roosevelt died in his sleep in the White House on January 6th, 1919. Ironically, the first man to take office in the wake of a presidential death became the second man to leave office in the wake of a presidential death. George Norris became president. Norris was left to deal with a Democratic congress to deal with, and one long tired of Republican dominance. Despite Norris himself being an isolationist, disagreements over tariffs, domestic policy, a post-war economic depression, and Norris being left to defend Roosevelt's record, made his two year presidency difficult.

Now, at the 1920 Republican National Convention, President Norris is besieged on all sides. Teddy Roosevelt supporters are pushing Major General Leonard Wood, who led American forces in the Great War and was a good personal friend of Roosevelt for over a half-century. From the Midwest hail a number of candidates including Ohio's Senator Warren G. Harding and Illinois Governor Frank Lowden. Progressives, looking for an alternative to the embattled Norris, are supporting choices like former President Robert La Follette and Senator Hiram Johnson (also a Roosevelt ally). Governor Calvin Coolidge made headlines with the 1919 Boston Police strike and his cool handling of the situation. Whom will you choose?