Download Progressive Party (United States, 1912)

Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
1
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
Progressive Party
Founded
1912
Dissolved
1916
Succeeded by
Progressive Party, 1924, Progressive Party, 1948
Ideology
Progressivism, New Nationalism, Populism
International affiliation None
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American
political party. It was formed by former President
Theodore Roosevelt, after a split in the Republican
Party between himself and President William Howard
Taft.
The party also became known as the Bull Moose Party
when former President Roosevelt boasted "I'm fit as a
bull moose," before being shot in an assassination
attempt prior to his 1912 campaign speech in
Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Inspiration for the party's beginnings may have come
National Progressive Convention, 1912, in the Chicago Coliseum
from Roosevelt's friend and supporter, U.S. Senator
Thomas Kearns of Utah, who in October 1906 broke
off from the Republican Party and started the American Party in that state. Kearns was a Roman Catholic, and this
was a direct response to the influence of the leadership of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on the
Senatorial elections between 1902 to 1905.[1]
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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Birth of a new party
Roosevelt left office in 1909. He had selected Taft, his Secretary of
War to succeed him as President, and Taft easily won the 1908
presidential election. Roosevelt became disappointed by Taft's
increasingly conservative policies. Taft alienated Roosevelt when
he used the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to break up U.S. Steel. During
his own presidency, Roosevelt had approved J.P. Morgan-owned
U.S. Steel as a "good" trust.[2] By 1912, the two were openly
hostile, and Roosevelt decided to seek the presidency.
Taft was already being challenged by Senator Robert La Follette of
Wisconsin, but Roosevelt jumped in late in the campaign.
Roosevelt far outpolled Taft in the primaries. But Taft controlled
the party organization and the convention, which renominated him
in June.[3] Before the final vote, Roosevelt had said he would accept
nomination from a new "honestly elected" convention. He ordered
his delegates to abstain from voting in rebuke of Taft's "steamroller
Theodore Roosevelt was the founder of the Bull
Moose Progressive Party and thus is often associated
tactics". The next day, they met to form a new party. California
with the party.
governor Hiram Johnson became chairman, and a new convention
was scheduled for August.[4] Publisher Frank A. Munsey, the
largest stockholder of U.S. Steel at the time, provided much of the funds for the new organization; George W.
Perkins, a director of U.S. Steel and Chairman of the International Harvester Company—another trust Taft
attacked—became executive secretary.[5] [6] [7]
Roosevelt's ambitions received two setbacks in the interim. First, not many Republicans joined the new party. Only 5
of the 15 "progressive" Republican Senators declared support, and there was comparable reluctance among
Republican Representatives, governors, and committeemen, and the publishers and editors of Republican
newspapers. Many of Roosevelt's closest political allies supported Taft, including his son-in-law, Nicholas
Longworth (though Roosevelt's daughter Alice stuck with her father, causing a permanent chill in her marriage). For
men like Longworth, expecting a future in politics, bolting the party was simply too radical a step. However, many
independent reformers still signed up. Two important activists were Gifford Pinchot and his brother Amos Pinchot.
Second, in July the Democrats nominated Woodrow Wilson, their most articulate and prominent progressive. As a
leading educator and political scientist, he qualified as the ideal "expert" to handle affairs of state, and attracted many
of the independent progressives Roosevelt had been counting on.
Even some Republican progressives endorsed Wilson over Roosevelt as the best man to beat Taft, including La
Follette and two other Senators.
The Progressive convention and platform
Despite these obstacles, the August convention opened with great enthusiasm. Over 2,000 delegates attended,
including many women. In 1912, neither the other Republican candidate, President W. H. Taft, or the Democrat
Woodrow Wilson, endorsed women's suffrage on the national level.[8] The famed suffragette and social worker Jane
Addams gave a seconding speech for Roosevelt's nomination. Roosevelt insisted on excluding black Republicans
from the South, whom he regarded as a corrupt and ineffective element, but included black delegates from all other
areas.[9] Roosevelt went so far as to further alienate southern white supporters on the eve of the election, by publicly
dining with blacks at a Rhode Island hotel.[10]
Roosevelt was nominated by acclamation, with Johnson as his running mate.
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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The main work of the convention was the platform, which set forth the new party's appeal to the voters. It included a
broad range of social and political reforms advocated by progressives.[9][11]
In the social sphere the platform called for
• A National Health Service to include all existing government medical
agencies.
• Social insurance, to provide for the elderly, the unemployed, and the
disabled
• Limited injunctions in strikes
• A minimum wage law for women
• An eight hour workday
• A federal securities commission
• Farm relief
• Workers' compensation for work-related injuries
• An inheritance tax
• A Constitutional amendment to allow a Federal income tax
The political reforms proposed included
• Women's suffrage
• Direct election of Senators
16-page campaign booklet with party
platform of the Progressive Party
• Primary elections for state and federal nominations
The platform also urged states to adopt measures for "direct democracy", including:
• The recall election (citizens may remove an elected official before the end of his term)
• The referendum (citizens may decide on a law by popular vote)
• The initiative (citizens may propose a law by petition and enact it by popular vote)
• Judicial recall (when a court declares a law unconstitutional, the citizens may override that ruling by popular vote)
However, the main theme of the platform was an attack on the domination of politics by business interests, which
allegedly controlled both established parties. The platform asserted that
To destroy this invisible Government, to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt
politics is the first task of the statesmanship of the day.[12]
To that end, the platform called for
• Strict limits and disclosure requirements on political campaign contributions
• Registration of lobbyists
• Recording and publication of Congressional committee proceedings
Besides these measures, the platform called for reductions in the tariff, limitations on naval armaments by
international agreement and improvements to inland waterways.
The biggest controversy at the convention was over the platform section dealing with trusts and monopolies such as
Standard Oil. The convention approved a strong "trust-busting" plank, but Roosevelt had it replaced with language
that spoke only of "strong National regulation" and "permanent active [Federal] supervision" of major corporations.
This retreat shocked reformers like Pinchot, who blamed it on Perkins (a director of U.S. Steel). The result was a
deep split in the new party that was never resolved.[9]
In general the platform expressed Roosevelt's "New Nationalism": a strong government to regulate industry, protect
the middle and working classes, and carry on great national projects. This New Nationalism was paternalistic in
direct contrast to Wilson's individualistic philosophy of "New Freedom".
Roosevelt also favored a vigorous foreign policy, including strong military power. Though the platform called for
limiting naval armaments, it also recommended the construction of two new battleships per year, much to the distress
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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of outright pacifists such as Jane Addams.
Election of 1912
Roosevelt ran a vigorous campaign, but the campaign
was short of money, as the business interests which had
supported Roosevelt in 1904 either backed the other
candidates or stayed neutral. Roosevelt was also
handicapped by the fact that he had already served
nearly two full terms as President, and thus was
challenging the unwritten "no third term" rule.
In the end Roosevelt fell far short of winning. He drew
4.1 million votes—27%, well behind Wilson's 42% but
ahead of Taft's 23%. (6% went to Socialist Eugene
Debs). He received 88 electoral votes, compared to 435
for Wilson and 8 for Taft.[13]
Roosevelt depicted as "concocting a heady brew in his speeches" in
this 1912 political cartoon
Roosevelt and Johnson after nomination
This was nonetheless the best showing by any third
party since the modern two-party system was
established in 1864. Roosevelt was the only third-party
candidate to outpoll a candidate of an established party.
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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Many historians have concluded that
the Republican split allowed Wilson to
win the presidency. Others argue that
even without the split, Wilson would
have won (as he did in 1916).
In addition to Roosevelt's presidential
campaign,
hundreds
of
other
candidates
sought
office
as
Progressives in 1912.
Twenty-one ran for governor. Over
200 ran for U.S. Representative (the
exact number is not clear because there
were many Republican-Progressive
fusion
candidacies,
and
some
candidates ran with the labels of ad
hoc groups such as "Bull Moose
Republicans" or (in Pennsylvania) the
"Washington Party".
Pro-Roosevelt cartoon contrasts the Republican Party bosses in back row and Progressive
party reformers in front
On October 14, 1912, Theodore Roosevelt was shot in the chest in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and still delivered his
90-minute presidential campaign speech as planned. The would-be assassin, John Schrank, claimed the ghost of
William McKinley had appeared to him in a dream and ordered him to avenge his death by killing Roosevelt. Had it
not been for the 50-page speech and steel eyeglass case he was carrying in his jacket, the bullet would have gone
deeper into his chest and penetrated his lung. When asked if this would halter his election campaign, he said to the
reporter "I'm fit as a bull moose," which inspired the party's emblem.[14]
In California, the state Republican party was controlled by governor and Roosevelt ally Hiram Johnson, the
Vice-Presidential nominee, so progressives there stayed with the Republican label (with one exception).
Most of the Progressive candidates were in New York, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Massachusetts. Only a few were
in the South.
The lesser Progressive candidates generally got between 10% and 30% of the vote. Nine Progressives were elected
to the House; none won governorships.[15]
Some historians speculate that if the Progressive Party had run only the Roosevelt presidential ticket, it might have
attracted many more Republicans willing to split their ballot. But the progressive movement was strongest at the
state level, and, so the new party had fielded candidates for governor and state legislature. In Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, the local Republican boss, at odds with state party leaders, joined Roosevelt's cause.
In spite of this, very few Progressives were elected to local offices; about 250. The Democrats gained many state
legislature seats, which gave them 10 additional U.S. Senate seats; they also gained 63 U.S. House seats.
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
1914
Despite the failure of 1912, the Progressive Party did not disappear at once. 138 candidates, including women,[16] ran
for the U.S. House as Progressives in 1914, and 5 won. However, almost half got only 10% or less of the vote.[17]
Hiram Johnson was denied renomination for Governor as a Republican; he ran as a Progressive and was re-elected.
Seven other Progressives ran for governor; none got more than 16%.[18]
Some state parties remained fairly strong. In Washington, Progressives won a third of the seats in the Washington
State Legislature
1916
Louisiana businessman John M. Parker ran for governor as a Progressive early in the year. (The Republican Party
was deeply unpopular in Louisiana.) Parker got a respectable 37% of the vote. He was the only Progressive to run for
governor that year.[19]
Later that year, the party held its second national convention, in conjunction with the Republican national
convention. This was to facilitate a possible reconciliation. Five delegates from each convention met to negotiate.
The Progressives wanted reunification, but with Roosevelt as nominee, which the Republicans adamantly opposed.
Meanwhile, Charles Evans Hughes, a moderate progressive, became the front-runner at the Republican convention,
though opposed by many conservatives. The Progressives suggested Hughes as a compromise candidate. Then
Roosevelt sent a message proposing conservative Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. The shocked Progressives
immediately nominated Roosevelt again, with Parker as the Vice Presidential nominee.
Roosevelt refused to accept the nomination and endorsed Hughes, who was immediately approved by the Republican
convention.[20]
The national Progressive party promptly disintegrated. Nearly all Progressives reverted to the Republican Party,
including Roosevelt, who stumped for Hughes, and Hiram Johnson, who was elected to the Senate as a Republican.
Some leaders, such as Harold Ickes of Chicago, supported Wilson.
Five Progressives were elected to the House in 1916, all with joint Republican backing except Whitmell Martin of
Louisiana.[21]
1918
All the remaining "Progressives" in Congress rejoined the Republican Party, except Martin, who became a
Democrat. No candidates ran as Progressives for governor, Senator, or Representative.
Later years
From 1916 to 1932 the Taft wing controlled the Republican Party and refused to nominate any prominent 1912
Progressives to the Republican national ticket. Finally, Frank Knox was nominated for Vice President in 1936.
The relative domination of the Republican Party by conservatives left many former Progressives with no real
affiliation till the 1930s, when most joined the New Deal Democratic Party coalition of President Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
Robert M. La Follette, Sr. broke bitterly with Roosevelt in 1912, and ran for President on his own ticket, the 1924
Progressive Party, in 1924.
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Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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Office holders from the Progressive Party
Position
Name
State
Dates held office
Representative
James W. Bryan
Washington
1913–15
Representative
Walter M. Chandler
New York
1913–19
Representative
Ira Clifton Copley
Illinois
1915–17 as a Progressive
Representative
John Elston
California
1915–17 as a Progressive, 1917–1921 as a Republican
Lieutenant Governor John Morton Eshleman California
1915–17
Representative
Jacob Falconer
1913–15
Representative
William H. Hinebaugh Illinois
1913–15
Representative
Willis J. Hulings
Pennsylvania
1913–15
Governor
Hiram Johnson
California
1911–1917
Representative
Melville Clyde Kelly
Pennsylvania
1917–19 as a Progressive, 1919–1935 as a Republican
Representative
William MacDonald
Michigan
1913–15
Representative
Whitmell Martin
Louisiana
1915–19 as a Progressive, 1919–1929 as a Democrat
Senator
Miles Poindexter
Washington
1913–15
Representative
William Stephens
California
1913–17
Representative
Henry Wilson Temple
Pennsylvania
1913–15
Representative
Roy Woodruff
Michigan
1913–15
State Treasurer
Homer D. Call
New York
1914
Mayor
Louis Will
Syracuse, New York 1914–16
Representative
Parley P. Christensen
Utah
Washington
1914–16
Footnotes
[1] O. N. Malmquist, The First 100 Years: A History of the Salt Lake Tribune, Utah State Historical Society, 1971
[2] P.O. Box 400406 (2012-08-22). "American President: William Howard Taft: A Life in Brief" (http:/ / millercenter. org/ president/ taft/
essays/ biography/ 1). Millercenter.org. . Retrieved 2012-10-09.
[3] Congressional Quarterly's Guide to U. S. elections. Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly Inc. 1985. pp. 75, 387–388,.
ISBN 0-87187-339-7.
[4] CQG, 1985, p. 75
[5] Geisst, Charles R. (October 2003). Deals of the Century (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=iGaOX3iMAKsC& pg=PA28& lpg=PA28&
dq=frank+ munsey+ u. s. + steel& source=bl& ots=6xMM0q7tt4& sig=HD2lj5AfOQsvRmi-gDlkCChSNFM& hl=en#v=onepage& q=frank
munsey u. s. steel& f=false). John Wiley & Sons. p. 28. ISBN 0-4712-6397-4. .
[6] Ed. (1912). The Financial World (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=nRRAAAAAYAAJ& printsec=frontcover&
source=gbs_ge_summary_r& cad=0#v=onepage& q& f=false). 19. The Guenther Publishing Company. p. 1. .
[7] Zinn, Howard (November 2010, revised). A People’s History of the United States (http:/ / books. google. com/ books?id=Aw5sqwgQKtEC&
pg=PA353& lpg=PA353& dq=frank+ munsey+ u. s. + steel& source=bl& ots=Xp2HaT6uxk& sig=QuGEEG6XeZhwtWmvoeeGNMKxxtE&
hl=en#v=onepage& q=frank munsey u. s. steel& f=false). HarperCollins. p. 353. ISBN 0-0619-6558-8. .
[8] "Bull Moose years of Theodore Roosevelt by Theodore Roosevelt Association" (http:/ / www. theodoreroosevelt. org/ life/ bullmoose. htm).
Theodoreroosevelt.org. . Retrieved 2012-01-06.
[9] CQG, 1985, pp. 77–78
[10] Baum, B. and D. Harris, Radically Writing the Republic (2009), p. 188.
[11] P.O. Box 400406 (2012-08-22). "American President: Theodore Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections" (http:/ / millercenter. org/ president/
roosevelt/ essays/ biography/ 3). Millercenter.org. . Retrieved 2012-10-09.
[12] By Patricia OToole Sunday, June 25, 2006 (2006-06-25). "O'TOOLE, PATRICIA, "The War of 1912," ''Time'' in partnership with CNN, Jun.
25, 2006" (http:/ / www. time. com/ time/ magazine/ article/ 0,9171,1207791-2,00. html). Time.com. . Retrieved 2012-01-06.
[13] CQG, 1985, pp. 295, 348
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
[14] http:/ / www. nashuatelegraph. com/ news/ 880426-196/ daily-twip---theodore-roosevelt-delivers-campaign. html
[15] CQG, 1985, pp. 489–535, 873–879
[16] "A Kansas Woman Runs for Congress" (http:/ / archive. org/ stream/ independen79v80newy#page/ n54/ mode/ 1up). The Independent. Jul
13, 1914. . Retrieved August 14, 2012.
[17] CQG, 1985, pp. 880–885
[18] CQG, 1985, pp. 489–535
[19] CQG, 1985, p. 503
[20] CQG, 1985, pp. 78–79
[21] CQG, 1985, pp. 886–891
Further reading
• Benjamin P. DeWitt, The Progressive Movement: A Non-Partisan, Comprehensive Discussion of Current
Tendencies in American Politics. (http://archive.org/details/progressivemovem00dewi) New York: Macmillan,
1915.
• John A. Gable, The Bullmoose Years: Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Party. Port Washington, NY:
Kennikat Press, 1978.
• Harold Howland, Theodore Roosevelt and His Times: A Chronicle of the Progressive Movement. (http://archive.
org/details/cu31924027014152) New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1921.
• Richard Jensen, "Theodore Roosevelt: 1912," in Encyclopedia of Third Parties. Armonk, NY: ME Sharpe, 2000.
• Sidney M. Milkis, Theodore Roosevelt, the Progressive Party, and the Transformation of American Democracy.
Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 2009.
• George E. Mowry,The Era of Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of Modern America. New York: Harper and Row,
1962.
• Amos Pinchot, What's the Matter with America: The Meaning of the Progressive Movement and the Rise of the
New Party. (http://archive.org/details/whatsmatterwitha00pinc) n.c.: Amos Pinchot, 1912.
• Amos Pinchot, History of the Progressive Party, 1912–1916. (http://archive.org/details/
historyofprogres00pinc) Introduction by Helene Maxwell Hooker. New York: New York University Press, 1958.
• William English Walling, Progressivism — And After. (http://archive.org/details/cu31924032435608) New
York: Macmillan, 1914.
External links
• TeddyRoosevelt.com: Bull Moose Information (http://www.teddyroosevelt.com)
• 1912 platform (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/presidents/26_t_roosevelt/psources/ps_trprogress.html) of
the Progressive Party
8
Article Sources and Contributors
Article Sources and Contributors
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Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors
File:Aa addams work 2 e.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Aa_addams_work_2_e.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: Moffett Studio and Kaufmann, Weimer
& Fabry Co., copyright claimant. "National Progressive Convention, Chicago, August 6, 1912." August 1912. Taking the Long View: Panoramic Photographs, 1851-1991, Library of Congress.
File:Theodore Roosevelt circa 1902.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Theodore_Roosevelt_circa_1902.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors: M. P. Rice
Image:PamphletFrontPageProgressivePartyPlatform1912.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:PamphletFrontPageProgressivePartyPlatform1912.jpg License: Public
Domain Contributors: US Progressist Party
Image:Chemist.JPG Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Chemist.JPG License: Public Domain Contributors: Rjensen
File:Roosevelt and Johnson after nomination.jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Roosevelt_and_Johnson_after_nomination.jpg License: Public Domain Contributors:
Albertomos, Bubamara, Infrogmation, Trilliumz
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