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→The Presidential Candidates and Issues
The idea of normalcy did resonate with a large part of the electorate. The Democrats were torn in many ways as a party. Wilson had made promises to key constituencies such as Irish-Americans in supporting Ireland's independence from Britain, which he reneged during the Versailles Treaty negotiations. In fact, it was likely German-Americans and Irish-Americans opposition to the League of Nations that heavily contributed to the United States staying out of this international body. Many press observers noted that the country was divided and the issues were less important than the cultural differences that emerged in the electorate. Accusations of fake news or false rumors were thrown as accusations between the parties. Interestingly, with advertising money now emerging as a major factor in the race, Harding came up with a new slogan he and his donors circulated widely during the election year, which was "America First (Figure 1)." On the Democratic side, the party attempted to use wide-scale racial prejudice to inspire their base. The had called Harding as someone with "Negro blood."<ref>For more on the major parties in the period, see: Conlin, J.R., 2014. <i>The American past: a survey of American history</i>. Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, Boston, MA, pg. 640. </ref>
[[[File:america_first.jpeg|400px|left|Figure 1. An America First Campaign slogan. ]]
==The Results of the Election==