Editing Warren G. Harding (section)

===Convention===
{{further|1920 Republican National Convention}}
The [[1920 Republican National Convention]] opened at the [[Chicago Coliseum#The third Coliseum|Chicago Coliseum]] on June 8, 1920, assembling delegates who were bitterly divided, most recently over the results of a Senate investigation into campaign spending, which had just been released. That report found that Wood had spent $1.8 million (equivalent to ${{Inflation|US|1.8|1920|r=2}}&nbsp;million in {{Inflation-year|US}}), lending substance to Johnson's claims that Wood was trying to buy the presidency. Some of the $600,000 that Lowden had spent had wound up in the pockets of two convention delegates. Johnson had spent $194,000, and Harding $113,000. Johnson was deemed to be behind the inquiry, and the rage of the Lowden and Wood factions put an end to any possible compromise among the frontrunners. Of the almost 1,000 delegates, 27 were women—the [[Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution]], guaranteeing women the vote, was within one state of ratification, and would pass before the end of August.{{sfn|Bagby|p=660}}{{sfn|Russell|pp=351–356, 363}} The convention had no boss, most uninstructed delegates voted as they pleased, and with a Democrat in the White House, the party's leaders could not use patronage to get their way.{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=33}}

Reporters deemed Harding unlikely to be nominated due to his poor showing in the primaries, and relegated him to a place among the [[dark horse]]s.{{sfn|Bagby|p=660}} Harding, who like the other candidates was in Chicago supervising his campaign, had finished sixth in the final public opinion poll, behind the three main candidates as well as former Justice Hughes and Herbert Hoover, and only slightly ahead of Coolidge.{{sfn|Russell|p=335}}{{sfn|Dean|p=60}}

After the convention dealt with other matters, the nominations for president opened on the morning of Friday, June 11. Harding had asked Willis to place his name in nomination, and the former governor responded with a speech popular among the delegates, both for its folksiness and for its brevity in the intense Chicago heat.{{sfn|Russell|pp=374–375}} Reporter Mark Sullivan, who was present, called it a splendid combination of "oratory, grand opera, and [[hog calling]]." Willis confided, leaning over the podium railing, "Say, boys—and girls too—why not name Warren Harding?"{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=34}} The laughter and applause that followed created a warm feeling for Harding.{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=34}}

{{quote box | align = right | width = 23em | salign = right
| quote = I don't expect Senator Harding to be nominated on the first, second, or third ballots, but I think we can well afford to take chances that about eleven minutes after two o'clock on Friday morning at the convention, when fifteen or twenty men, somewhat weary, are sitting around a table, some one of them will say: "Who will we nominate?" At that decisive time, the friends of Senator Harding can suggest him and afford to abide by the result.
| source =Harry M. Daugherty{{sfn|Bagby|p=661}}}}

Four ballots were taken on the afternoon of June 11, and they revealed a deadlock. With 493 votes needed to nominate, Wood was the closest with 314{{frac|1|2}}; Lowden had 289{{frac|1|2}}. The best Harding had done was 65{{frac|1|2}}. Chairman [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] of Massachusetts, the [[Senate Majority Leader]], adjourned the convention about 7&nbsp;p.m.{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=34}}{{sfn|Dean|p=61}}

The night of June 11–12, 1920 would become famous in political history as the night of the "[[smoke-filled room]]", in which, legend has it, party elders agreed to force the convention to nominate Harding. Historians have focused on the session held in the suite of Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman [[Will H. Hays|Will Hays]] at the [[Blackstone Hotel]], at which senators and others came and went, and numerous possible candidates were discussed. Utah Senator [[Reed Smoot]], before his departure early in the evening, backed Harding, telling Hays and the others that as the Democrats were likely to nominate Governor Cox, they should pick Harding to win Ohio. Smoot also told ''[[The New York Times]]'' that there had been an agreement to nominate Harding, but that it would not be done for several ballots yet.{{sfn|Bagby|pp=662–663}} This was not true: a number of participants backed Harding (others supported his rivals), but there was no pact to nominate him, and the senators had little power to enforce any agreement. Two other participants in the smoke-filled room discussions, Kansas Senator [[Charles Curtis]] and Colonel [[George Brinton McClellan Harvey]], a close friend of Hays, predicted to the press that Harding would be nominated because of the liabilities of the other candidates.{{sfn|Murray 1969|p=38}}

Headlines in the morning newspapers suggested intrigue. Historian Wesley M. Bagby wrote, "Various groups actually worked along separate lines to bring about the nomination—without combination and with very little contact." Bagby said that the key factor in Harding's nomination was his wide popularity among the rank and file of the delegates.{{sfn|Bagby|pp=657-674}}

The reassembled delegates had heard rumors that Harding was the choice of a cabal of senators. Although this was not true, delegates believed it, and sought a way out by voting for Harding. When balloting resumed on the morning of June 12, Harding gained votes on each of the next four ballots, rising to 133{{frac|1|2}} as the two front runners saw little change. Lodge then declared a three-hour recess, to the outrage of Daugherty, who raced to the podium, and confronted him, "You cannot defeat this man this way! The motion was not carried! You cannot defeat this man!"{{sfn|Russell|pp=387–390}} Lodge and others used the break to try to stop the Harding momentum and make RNC Chairman Hays the nominee, a scheme Hays refused to have anything to do with.{{sfn|Dean|p=65}} The ninth ballot, after some initial suspense, saw delegation after delegation break for Harding, who took the lead with 374{{frac|1|2}} votes to 249 for Wood and 121{{frac|1|2}} for Lowden (Johnson had 83). Lowden released his delegates to Harding, and the tenth ballot, held at 6&nbsp;p.m., was a mere formality, with Harding finishing with 672{{frac|1|5}} votes to 156 for Wood. The nomination was made unanimous. The delegates, desperate to leave town before they incurred more hotel expenses, then proceeded to the vice presidential nomination. Harding wanted Senator [[Irvine Lenroot]] of Wisconsin, who was unwilling to run, but before Lenroot's name could be withdrawn and another candidate decided on, Oregon delegate [[Wallace McCamant]] proposed Governor Coolidge and received a roar of approval. Coolidge, popular for his role in breaking the [[Boston Police Strike|Boston police strike]] of 1919, was nominated for vice president, receiving two and a fraction votes more than Harding had. James Morgan wrote in ''[[The Boston Globe]]'': "The delegates would not listen to remaining in Chicago over Sunday&nbsp;... the President makers did not have a clean shirt. On such things, Rollo, turns the destiny of nations."{{sfn|Russell|pp=392–394}}{{sfn|Dean|pp=66–67}}