1916
The 1916 U.S. presidential election was won by Woodrow Wilson (Democratic) with 277 of 531 electoral votes, defeating Charles Evans Hughes (Republican). Electoral vote margin: 23 EV, popular-vote margin +3.1%; turnout 61.8%. The cycle falls in the Progressive Era era of American electoral history.
Woodrow Wilson and the 1916 map
Wilson narrowly won re-election over Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes on the slogan 'He kept us out of war,' as Europe was embroiled in World War I. Hughes was ahead on election night — the New York Times even declared him the winner — but Wilson took California by fewer than 4,000 votes to win the presidency. Wilson would ask Congress to declare war on Germany just five weeks after his second inauguration, making the campaign slogan bitterly ironic.
World War I neutrality; progressive domestic reforms (Federal Reserve, labor laws)
'He kept us out of war' — Wilson declared war 5 weeks after his inauguration; Hughes led on election night
States · 48 reporting
Embed
Drop this map on your site · coming soon
Free iframe with attribution. White-label option in the works.
Get notified →Classroom
All 300 packets, free
60 cycles · K-2 through AP · open download.
Browse packets →Poster
Wall-worthy print · coming soon
Every-election grid and single-state series in the works.
Get notified →Read further
Curated picksThe Bully Pulpit
Doris Kearns Goodwin
TR, Taft, and the muckraking press.
Buy on Amazon →Wilson
A. Scott Berg
Definitive single-volume biography.
Buy on Amazon →Recommendations are editorial.
Free, ad-light, no paywall
Built by one person. Tips fund the next 60 elections of editorial.