Charles Evans Hughes Made Campaign Stop in Sandusky

On September 26, 1916, Charles Evans Hughes campaigned for the U.S. presidency in Sandusky, Ohio. He had resigned from the Supreme Court to run for President. He is pictured above, speaking in front of the American Crayon Company, near the Hayes Avenue subway.  The factory was decorated with patriotic bunting and flags, and a large crowd came out to hear what the Republican candidate had to say.

                             

Because the train was an hour late, Ackley’s band entertained the crowds that had come out to hear the candidate speak. Once he arrived, Justice Hughes spoke for fifteen minutes, speaking about the power of progress, social justice, and the conditions of the American worker. Governor Myron T. Herrick and Erie County Auditor Hayes Adams also gave remarks.  In the November 1916 election, incumbent President Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, defeated Hughes.

During his 1908 presidential campaign, William Howard Taft spoke at the Ohio Soldiers' and Sailors' Home (now the Ohio Veterans Home), and Theodore Roosevelt gave a whistle-stop speech at the foot of Columbus Avenue to a large crowd of Sanduskians in May of 1912. Read an earlier blog post to learn more about other political campaigns in Sandusky