Today’s post was written by David Langbart, an Archivist in the Textual Records Division at the National Archives at College Park.
Recently, during travels through the records, I ran across a copy of the Republican Party’s national platform from 1916. It includes sections on:
♦Protection of American Rights
♦Foreign Relations
♦Mexico
♦Monroe Doctrine
♦Latin America
♦Philippines
♦Rights of Expatriation
♦Protection of the Country
♦Tariff
♦Business
♦Rural Credits
♦Rural Free Delivery
♦Merchant Marine
♦Railroads
♦Economy and National Debt
♦Conservation
♦Civil Service Reform
♦Territorial Officials
♦Labor Laws
♦Woman Suffrage
On the hunt for the Democratic platform.
Source: File “1916,” Unindexed Records (Central Files) (NAID 1079774), 1910-1944, Entry A1-208, RG 59: General Records of the Department of State.
This blog post was vetted by the NARA Designated Agency Ethics Officer for compliance with the Hatch Act.
What a cool document, David, thanks for posting. The section on “Woman Suffrage” was particularly interesting, given we just passed the anniversary of the 19th Amendment taking effect. As NARA’s Designated Agency Ethics Officer, I also appreciate the opportunity to comment on why the Hatch Act is not a problem here – the document is about a past presidential election, not the current one. I hope you find the 1916 Democratic platform – was there a Progressive Party or Socialist Party platform that year, as well?