Charles G. Dawes - Vice Presidency

Vice Presidency

I should hate to think that the Senate was as tired of me at the beginning of my service as I am of the Senate at the end.

— Charles G. Dawes

At the 1924 Republican National Convention, Calvin Coolidge was quickly selected almost without opposition to be the Republican Presidential Nominee. The vice presidential nominee was more contested. Illinois Governor Frank Lowden was nominated, but declined. Coolidge's next choice was Idaho Senator William Borah, but he also declined the nomination. The Republican National Chairman, William Butler, pledged to nominate then Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover, but he was not sufficiently popular. Eventually, the delegates chose Dawes to be the Vice Presidential nominee. Coolidge quickly accepted the delegates' choice and felt that Dawes would be loyal to him and make a strong addition to his campaign.

Dawes was elected Vice President of the United States on November 4, 1924 with more popular votes than the candidates from the Democratic and Progressive parties combined. Dawes and Coolidge were inaugurated on March 4, 1925.

Soon after his election, Dawes sent a letter to the president saying that he would not be attending cabinet meetings. This is believed to be the beginning of a feud between the two which brought the reputation of the Vice Presidency to its nadir for the 20th century.

Having angered the President, Dawes publicly criticized the U.S. Senate. At that time, the Vice President was inaugurated in the Senate Chamber, where he would give an inaugural address. After that, the parties would go to the outside platform, where the President would take the oath. Dawes made a fiery, half-hour address denouncing the rules of the Senate, the seniority system and many other things that Senators held dear. His speech overshadowed that of Coolidge, which angered the President.

Only days after Dawes started presiding over the Senate, he made a major error. On March 10, the president's nomination of Charles B. Warren to be United States Attorney General was being debated. In the wake of the Teapot Dome scandal and other business-related scandals, Democrats and Progressive Republicans objected to the nomination because of Warren's close association with the Sugar Trust. At midday six speakers were scheduled to address Warren's nomination. Desiring to take a break for a nap, Dawes consulted the majority and minority leaders, who assured him that no vote would be taken that afternoon. After Dawes left the Senate, however, all but one of the scheduled speakers decided against making formal remarks, and a vote was taken. When it became apparent that the vote would be tied, Republican leaders hastily called Dawes at the Willard Hotel. He jumped in a taxi and sped toward the Capitol. But in the intervening time, the only Democratic senator who had voted for Warren switched his vote against him. By the time Dawes arrived, there was no longer a tie to break. The nomination had failed by a single vote—the first such rejection of a president's nominee in nearly 60 years.

This incident was chronicled in a derisive poem, based on the Longfellow poem "Paul Revere's Ride;" it began with the line, "Come gather round children and hold your applause for the afternoon ride of Charlie Dawes." The choice of poem was based on Charles Dawes being descended from William Dawes, who rode with Paul Revere.

Dawes convinced the Senate to pass the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill; Coolidge vetoed the bill.

In 1928, the Republican nomination went to Commerce Secretary Herbert Hoover. His supporters considered putting Dawes on the ticket as vice president. But President Coolidge made it known that he would consider Dawes' re-nomination to be a personal affront. The Senate Majority Leader, Charles Curtis of Kansas, known for his skills in collaboration, was chosen.