publications

Bryan for President in 1920?

Lincoln has seldom been the site of a national political convention, but in July 1920 it hosted such a meeting. “Dry Convention Comes to Order ‘to Bury Booze,'” reported the July 21, 1920, Lincoln Daily Star as the national Prohibition Party met in Lincoln.

“‘We have come together to select a burial lot for John Barley corn,’ said National Chairman Virgil Hinshaw of Chicago, calling to order the thirteenth quadrennial convention of the prohibition party in the city auditorium. A hundred and fifty delegates were present when the gavel fell at 10 a.m.” Aaron S. Watkins of Germantown, Ohio, eventually to be the party’s presidential nominee, gave the keynote address.

Party leaders were reported to be “intent on going forward with plans to run William Jennings Bryan for the presidency regardless of his own wishes in the matter. The national executive committee and prohibition leaders at an informal conference with Charles W. Bryan Tuesday were informed that the Commoner did not desire to be nominated or to run on the ticket.

“Mr. Bryan recommended to the committee that the convention forego a national ticket, and concentrate its efforts on electing ‘dry’ men to congress. In the face of these suggestions the committee announced late Tuesday night that it would proceed to nominate Mr. Bryan unless definite personal word forbidding it was received personally from Mr. Bryan himself, who is now supposed to be on a chautauqua circuit in Wyoming.”

During Bryan’s early career, he had supported many progressive measures, but prohibition was not at the top of his agenda. In his private life, he did not drink alcohol, had taken a temperance pledge as a child, and felt prohibition would contribute to the moral improvement of the individual and society. But his public, political record in Nebraska from 1887 to 1910 was more anti-prohibitionist than prohibitionist.

In 1910 Bryan abandoned his neutral stand on prohibition and began to encourage members of the Democratic Party to follow the “dry” track. He announced that he would introduce a county option plank in the Democratic state convention in 1910 that would enable counties to regulate the sale of alcoholic beverages. He declared that the government had the right to regulate the sale of liquor and that included the right to prohibit the saloon.

With the passage and ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution in 1919, law enforcement officials all over the nation were charged with stopping “the manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors within, the importation thereof into, or the exportation thereof from the United States . . . for beverage purposes.” The change made the Prohibition Party seem less relevant to many former supporters. Due to Bryan’s refusal to run, the party selected Aaron S. Watkins as its presidential candidate in 1920. Watkins garnered less than 200,000 votes, the poorest showing for the Prohibition Party in a presidential race since 1884.

 

Aaron S. Watkins was the Prohibition Party’s presidential candidate in 1920. . . .

 

William Jennings Bryan refused the nomination. NSHS RG3198.

 

Become a Member!

Our members make history happen.

Join Now

Other Publications

The Bachelors’ Protective Union of Kearney

When the Bachelors' Protective Union gave a gala reception for two of its newly married, former members and their brides in March of 1890, the social club for young, ...

U.S. Weather Bureau in 1890s Nebraska

The U.S. Weather Bureau was established by an act of Congress on October 1, 1890. It took over the weather service that had been established in the office of the Chief ...

Canning the Way to Victory

During American participation in World War I the U.S. Food Administration, under the direction of Herbert Hoover, launched a massive campaign to persuade Americans to ...

The Shoemaker’s Ashes

"Edward Kuehl, one of the most peculiar characters that ever lived in Omaha, or anywhere else, was found dead in his bed last night in the back room of his place of ...

Crazy Horse Surrender Ledger Foreward

Red Dog, an Oglala Lakota who lived at the Red Cloud Agency, Nebraska, 1876-77 (Nebraska State Historical Society RG2955.ph).   In the summer of 1876, following the ...

Darryl F. Zanuck

Darryl F. Zanuck Darryl F. Zanuck (1902-1979), a native Nebraskan, produced some of Hollywood's most important and controversial films. He helped found 20th Century Fox ...

The Burlington’s Profitable Pork Special

Nebraska railroads were much concerned with developing an adequate economy in the areas they served. The Burlington, for example, had a long history of caring for the ...

Bungalow Filling Stations

After the giant Standard Oil Company was broken into thirty-four separate companies in 1911, the newly independent Standard Oil of Nebraska dominated the state's market ...

The Bull Fight

This is the perfect time of year for a visit to the old fishin' hole. But a group of fisherfolk from Plainview discovered that this bucolic pastime sometimes has ...

Buffalo Soldiers West

African-American soldiers on the western frontier are the focus of an exhibit at the Nebraska History Museum in Lincoln. Buffalo Soldiers West, on loan from the Colorado ...

Protection for Buffalo

The extermination of the buffalo on the Plains occurred largely between 1870 and 1885. The Nebraska State Journal of Lincoln on February 1, 1874, editorialized in vain ...

Buffalo Hunting

In late October 1877 young Rolf Johnson and three friends left their homes in Phelps County, Nebraska, for a buffalo hunt in northeastern Colorado. The hunt was not very ...
About History Nebraska
History Nebraska was founded in 1878 as the Nebraska State Historical Society by citizens who recognized Nebraska was going through great changes and they sought to record the stories of both indigenous and immigrant peoples. It was designated a state institution and began receiving funds from the legislature in 1883. Legislation in 1994 changed History Nebraska from a state institution to a state agency. The division is headed by Interim Director and CEO Jill Dolberg. They are assisted by an administrative staff responsible for financial and personnel functions, museum store services, security, and facilities maintenance for History Nebraska.
Explore Nebraska
Discover the real places and people of our past at these History Nebraska sites.

Upcoming Events

View our new and upcoming events to see how you can get involved.

Become a Member

The work we do to discover, preserve, and share Nebraska's history wouldn't be possible without the support of History Nebraska members.

Latest Hall of Fame Inductee

The Nebraska Hall of Fame was established in 1961 to officially recognize prominent Nebraskans.

Listen to our Podcast

Listen to the articles and authors published in the Nebraska History Magazine with our new Nebraska History Podcast.

Nebraska Collections

History Nebraska's mission is to collect, preserve, and open our shared history to all Nebraskans.

Our YouTube Video Collection

Get a closer look at Nebraska's history through your own eyes, with our extensive video collections.

Additional Research Resources

History Nebraska Research and Reference Services help connect you to the material we collect and preserve.

Support History Nebraska
Make a cash donation to help us acquire, preserve, and interpret Nebraska’s history. Gifts to History Nebraska help leave a legacy and may help your taxes, too! Support the work of History Nebraska by donating to the History Nebraska Foundation today.

Volunteers are the heroes of History Nebraska. So much history, so little time! Your work helps us share access to Nebraska’s stories at our museums and sites, the reference room, and online.