Hughes is what we claim we want. In both a president ial candidate and a president. A man who did get it. A man called Charles Evans hughes as a Supreme Court justice. All but when the election. In 1916 when president Woodrow Wilson went to bed the Election Night, he thought he was beaten. He had been elected, how American History goes in several Different Directions on suffrage, civil rights. What does he do on Foreign Policy . Germany baited us into war. Wilson would hughes have avoided it . Hes the one you could write novels about. He had Charles Evans hughes who would later the he was on the Supreme Court. He left the Supreme Court when he ran for president. He went back on the Supreme Court. One of the finest minds on the court. A fellow justice called Charles Evans hughes, the greatest in our great line of chief justices. Why hughes . Robert jackson provided part of the answer when he was attorney general. Jackson said that hughes, quote, looks like god and talks like a god. And a quote. In 16 footage of Charles Evans hughes, shot as hughes that republican president ial nominee campaigned soon after the Republican National convention. Tonight the contenders looks at the life and legacy of Charles Evans whos who in addition to being a republican president ial nominee, was a two term new york governor, secretary of state, and it twice a Supreme Court justice. Of all this he is perhaps best known for his role as the chief justice during the years of fdrs new deal. The contenders is live this evening from the United StatesSupreme Court. Just across from the capital in washington d. C. Then chief Justice Hughes inaugurated this building when it first opened to the court in 1935. Let me introduce you to our two guests, the first of the evening, who are joining us to talk about the life and legacy of Charles Evans hughes. David pietrusza is a historian, the most relevant book to the peered is 1920, the euro president s. And bernadette a. Meyler is a professor at Cornell Law School, and by the way is hughes is all moderate. Thank you for being here. Lets jump into the election. I want you to set the stage for us. 1916, wilson wants to be reelected. Europe is at war. Frame what was going on and the country, in the president ial campaign. Woodrow wilson as i winning ran it would be a tragedy if his administration was framed by Foreign Policy, defined by it. It turns out to be just that. America which starts his term focusing on the progressive era, the income tax lowering, the tariffs, the Federal Reserve system, changes after 1914. With the war in europe, america is fighting to stay out. But there is a question of preparedness for the war. Are you prepared in case anything happens . Are we being tough . Are we being too weak . Secretary of state brian resigned from the cabinet. He thinks were being too tough. So its a question of war and peace in europe, more and peace in mexico. Aside from all the domestic issues, more overshadows everything. Charles evans hughes is serving on the Supreme Court as an associate justice. How does it get from there in to the nominating process . He gets there somewhat reluctantly. He enjoyed his position as associate justice on the court. He was quite satisfied with his role there. But then he felt called by duty after several candidates did not pan out for the republicans. He felt called to actually accept the nominations for president. In a sense he wasnt a particularly gun whoa candidate. What was a Republican Party like at that stage . Its fractured. In 1912, there had been the great Teddy RooseveltWilliam Howard taft split. The are rants as a Progressive Party. There is a question, a real question that year is if they are going to be able to put the Republican Party back together again. And do you take roosevelt . Roosevelt is still radio active with the old guard. If you take someone to conservative, the progressives will not come back. Even though the party has been dying on the vine for previous four years. You have to pick somebody who is respected by both sides. Someone who is not some wild man from the prairies, or from the west like a johnson. Someone whos not a conservative like route. The main to do it, and also the man whos been out of politics since 1910 because hes out of the Supreme Court, he has not been in the part of the 1912 battles, is mr. Hughes. Hes respected by just about everyone in the party. What were his politics . At the time it was mildly progressive. As i say, he is not a mild man from the west. What he is, he has moved from the practice of law. He was never interested, really, in a being part of politics. When he first comes to new york, he establishes his law practice, they say would you like to run for judge . Now an appointment to federal judgeship . No. But he is asked to investigate the gas monopoly in new york city. That is really gouging the customers. Six companies coming out since 1880, they come to him and say do want to take over the investigation . He says no, i do not. I really dont. But he does. He says how much time to have to prepare for the testimony . For the hearings . A week and with the great brilliance this man had, hes able to pull everything together. Not doing it in a bomb basket way, but simply going through all the papers. Grossly executives on the stand, bring the holding down. Ultimately what you have leading to is a Public Service commission in new york state. You have the gas rates, electricity rates in the city, by a third. He moves on to fixing the Insurance Agency in new york state. Really becomes a national figure. This is 1906 through just before 1906. Hes a progressive type candidate who is opposed to the machine, the democrats in the city. They are protecting the monopolies. But also the massive new york state political machine. Under boss plaid, who ruled when Teddy Roosevelt was there. And roosevelt would defer to the bosses to some extent hughes moves forward, winds governorship. He puts forward a whole bunch of reforms. And then it moves on to the court for the first time. Today it would be almost unimaginable for someone to resign from this position and build to run for an National Elective office. What was the reaction at the time . Surprise . How is it viewed . I think some were surprised. But also the office of Supreme Court justice was not quite what it has become now i think part of the reason people would be so shocked today if a justice resigned is that the appointment process is so much more difficult to actually get through. Its much more difficult to confirm any justice. Justices are appointed young and are expected to stay for the rest of their working career. Hughes, his first appointment as justice was quite on contentious. His second one was almost the beginning of the contentions within the appointments process. It occurred fairly soon after there were new rules about Senate Debate on nominees. It garnered a lot of criticism from progressives, surprisingly, given his career as governor of new york. As you can see, we are on the plaza of the Supreme Court. Beautiful early october night. Were going to be heard for two hours tonight. It is 14 men in the Contender Series who ran for presidency and lost, but change political history. Charles evans hughes, he made his mark through many positions, but particularly in his role as chief justice. And the second half are focusing on the whole contentious era with Court Packing and the new deal. He was really at the helm during that period, lots of interesting things to talk about. Will open up the phone lines as weve done for each of the programs that allow you to offer up questions and observations to our discussion. What was a convention that year . I think it was in chicago. Maybe philadelphia. I am not sure. The interesting is is that theres two conventions going on a block apart from each other. That is the real interesting geography that year. The republicans go through a series of ballots. I think hughes is third on the first ballot. He moves up until he is nominated on the third ballot and meanwhile the progressives are meeting just a short ways away. What they are doing is debating who they can accept, who they accept. Roosevelt is saying im not going to do it. He throws out a couple of names, leonard wood who is a big advocate, an army general, of preparedness. Hes got into trouble with the Wilson Administration. Or henry cabinet lodge. Neither one of the guys is acceptable to the progressives. He is throwing out the prothe pill. What happens is that at the ending only poison that they can agree, on the progressives, is to any extent hughes. These still are in a great pit and dissolve the party. The party evaporates but they go away. They dont run a third party. This is one of the great things of the legacy of houstons race in 1916 we take the Republican Party for granted as a continuing thing since lincoln. It did not have to be in 1916. If hes not the guy willing to put it together, maybe the progressives go back. We dont know what happens with the Republican Party. Thats a go the way of the whigs . The progressives, do they replace it . Who can say at that point . The thing is that hughes takes the position. He didnt want to do it. He really is uncertain about what to do. But walks away from the Supreme Court judgeship he had said that when he had taken it, when there was talk in 1912, which would be the compromised candidate to avoid the Taft Roosevelt split . No, i will not do it. And it finally he doesnt. The democrats cannot fully criticize nominating a judge for the presidency. There is a reason for it. Because in 1904 they take all ten parker off the Supreme Court in the state of new york and run him for presidency did you get the nomination on the first ballot . Hughes . No, on the third ballot. How difficult was it, they had come to the court and sit down with him and say this is the offer . I think they called him on the phone. Someone did. And back then candidates, even non reluctant ones, would not go to the conventions. There was a formal nominating process. Weeks later they would have a big speech and be like surprise, you are the nominee. The fellow doing that year was worn harding. Who had been the chair of the convention. He is really undecided. Even as family members, his closest associates are not sure what hes going to do. Now there had been people in the early days of the Republican Party who had resigned from the court to take other positions. There had been a david davies on the court in 19 seventies, the 18th century, who took a senatorial nomination out in illinois. But not since then, certainly not since hughes. Can you speak, and if youre also familiar with it, could he have been a politician before . How was it as a National Campaigner . That campaign is probably the worst thing he ever does. In his life. Not just his public career. He exiles at everything. But that campaign, hes getting off the mark slowly. Hes doing a dance. Its the dance that jack kennedy and Richard Nixon do in 1960. We have the black vote in the north, the southern white vote. What do we do . And kennedy carries about. The same thing occurs with the peace votes, the pro war people in 1916. Wilson runs a campaign, he kept us out of war. And shoes really is doing this dance. He ends up losing both sides, really. He loses the probe or people and the people who want to stay neutral. Hes branded as being pro german. You see the editorial cartoons. Hes lumped in with william writeoff hearse with the irish nationalists. At the end of the day, the german american vote goes to wilson. He doesnt elucidate the Campaign Themes well. Hes fighting on things like the terror of, not a popular issue for the republicans that year. There are labor issues there are labor issues which are very important that youre too big things which cross him up. They do not work well for him. Even though as governor of new york he is an admirable record. He establishes wrecker calm ports. The whole system thats first in the country. Theres all sorts of labor regulations put in place for the first time. Hes really a champion of labour but then theres two things that happen. The infamous california trip will get into it later. And those two things that happen. One thing which is never talked about. He blenders into San Francisco where the chamber of commerce is trying to break the unions. And they are particularly trying to do it in the restaurants, and they want them to be open shops. In other words, you dont have to join the union to be there. They forced the restaurants to open up open shop signs where do they schedule his appearance . In a restaurant with an open shop sign on the door. This sets off working men. Not only in california but around the country. Union Members Around the country. Also in september there is a threatened National Rail strike. The administration, the Congress Passes the added some act which establishes an eighthour day. The first time nationwide. And the constitutionality is threatened later. But hughes opposes it again, this cuts into his labor vote. He has problems. He really doesnt come out and say what he would do better than wilson. Here are the phone numbers. Were gonna get your calls and about six or seven meters. Two zero two, triple zero one in addition to labor issues, there were also women suffrage issues. At the time, women still dont have the right to vote at a national level. Can you tell us about the aspect of the campaign . Definitely, wilson had already changed his position to some extent on womens suffrage. Initially he was quite opposed to the notion that women would have about. But them as wives were also have his view on this matter. At some point he had one of his daughters that became active in the suffrage movement. His views were gradually shifting. However at the time of the Election Campaign in 1916, he Still Believes that womens suffrage should be decided on a state by state laughable rather than by a national amendment. Hues went far beyond it. Far beyond a lot of the republicans. To claim that there should actually be a womans suffrage amendment. And this is puzzling. The states in which women could vote largely went for wilson rather than hughes. Its somewhat paradoxical given his support. And there may be various reasons for. One of them being the issue of the war, the womans peace movement. It was a post of the war. 12 states at that time had given women the right to vote. And for his support of womens suffrage, a group of supporters of shoes formed a fan club, i guess, who campaigned for him. They went by the name of the hues hats. It seems pretty modern. We have some interesting things to show you one of the nieces up one who was a hughettes, they put together a campaign of the website which talks about the ants participation in the campaign. Its elizabeth friedman. Org. Were showing you some of the history of her aunt as a hughettes, campaigning for Charles Evans he was in the 1916 election. Just to also further explain your position, Charles Evans hughes, his law firm, still exist in new york city. We went there and talk to one of the senior partners. Who talked a little bit about Charles Evans hughes and his support for womens voting. Were proud of the original addition of the independent weekly magazine which came out the week after Justice Hughes received the republican nomination for the presidency. That is mrs. Hughes on the cover, who was a very important person in justice uses life. In particular in respect to the issue of the magazine, shes on here because of his support of womens suffrage. She supported as well. Something we learned in the magazine that we were not aware of beforehand, which isnt often talked about with respect to choose, is that the Republican Party platform in 1916 with simply that each state would have the right to determine whether or not women would have the right to vote. Justice hughes gave a speech which is reprinted in the magazine after that and which he said he was going to go beyond the Republican Party path form. He would support the susan bee anthony amendment to the constitution which would provide women with the right to vote throughout the United States, would not give each state the right to determine whether or not women can vote. And it from that we will move to Election Night