Theodore Roosevelt: The Wrong Choice

The Presidential Election of 1912 received a lot of attention from American voters for a couple of reasons. First, two of the candidates (Roosevelt and William Howard Taft) had already held office. Second, a new political party- the Progressive Party- gradually emerged as some Republicans desiring reform and change in America decided to risk leaving their established party for a developing party. During the Republican National Convention of 1912, Roosevelt felt that the time was right for the National Progressive Party to present itself on the national stage. During the first two days of National Convention, the main focus was on the delegate confirmation process for the contested seats. On the first day, New York Senator Elihu Root, who was endorsed by Taft, received the nomination for chairman of the convention, beating Wisconsin senator Francis McGovern, Roosevelt's choice for chairman. Missouri's Herbert Hadley, who was Roosevelt's floor leader, led the charge to replace seventy-two of the most fiercely contested Taft delegates, who were fraudulently included in the temporary roll by the National Committee, with rightfully elected Roosevelt delegates.  Hadley was so effective as floor leader that at one point many people cheered for him to become the next president of the United States after reaching a compromise that pleased Republicans on both sides of the bitter divide. The compromise, which he reached with Taft spokesman and Indiana senator James Watson, required Hadley to consent to refer the resolution of the Committee on Credentials, which was to be officially appointed later that same day.  In response, a young attractive woman led a forty-two minute rally from the gallery to the floor that resulted in regained support of Roosevelt and the end of the possibility of becoming a compromise candidate.

Even with the compromise in place, Hadley and Root still did not see eye to eye. Hadley argued that the entire group of contested delegates should be barred from the makeup of the important Credentials Committee. Root, on the other hand, sticking to congressional parliamentary procedure, maintained that the rule did not disqualify any delegate whose name was on the roll from voting upon the contest of any other man's right, or participating in the ordinary business of convention as long as he holds his seat; "this pivotal ruling, which allowed all the contested delegates to participate in the makeup of the Credentials Committee, essentially delivered control of the convention to Taft" (Goodwin, 724). From there, things turned for the worst for Roosevelt and his campaign. Committee members in favor of Taft outnumbered those in favor of Roosevelt 31 to 21, and Roosevelt's men realized that the Taft contingency had no intention of relitigating the National Committee's seating decisions. In addition, it was clear that most of the contested delegates from the temporary roll would keep their seats, therefore giving Taft a clear majority. At this point, rebellious delegates and regular party members in favor of Roosevelt were faced with a dilemma: immediately flee back home or leave the Republican Party for a new party. At the middle of the night, Roosevelt met with his inner circle in his bedroom suite in order to initiate the birth of the National Progressive Party. This new party would receive financial support from two magnates: Frank Munsey and George Perkins. After meeting with his inner circle, Roosevelt read a short announcement to his delegates and supporters in the conference room, giving them the choice to either join him in bringing forth a new party or go home.

The birth of the Progressive Party caused the Credentials Committee to be unable to present a report to the convention the next day, thus causing the convention to be delayed twice that same day. Soon after, rumors began to spread among delegates and spectators in regards to what was actually going on behind closed doors. The fact that Roosevelt was determined to keep on fighting if the Credentials Committee refused to seat his delegates gradually came to light. The events happening inside the convention would catch the attention of the press as reporters and correspondents covered all aspects of the convention. In the end, Taft gained the nomination of the first ballot as all of his contested delegates attained seats. There were many people in the gallery who heckled as state by state voted to seat the Taft delegates. 344 Roosevelt delegates followed Roosevelt's advice to not vote on any matter before the National Convention since it was a complete fraud. Taft himself was glad that his victory prevented Roosevelt from gaining control over the Republican Party and was therefore confident about winning the November election. He felt that during the campaign, Roosevelt proved himself to be a threat to America's conservative institutions with his "radical" ideas. Instead of choosing a progressive to run alongside him for vice president, Taft re-nominated conservative Vice President James Sherman.

Shortly after the finalization of Taft's nomination, the Roosevelt delegates regrouped at Chicago's Orchestra Hall nearby. One by one, delegates from such states as California, Ohio, and Texas were welcomed with applause. These same delegates unanimously nominated Roosevelt to represent the new Progressive Party while running for president. In response, Roosevelt wanted them to meet again at a large convention where they would nominate a "progressive candidate on a progressive platform" that would truly represent all the states in the country. Roosevelt also made note that he would be content and supportive if he was not nominated to become the party's presidential candidate. Meanwhile, Speaker Champ Clark and New Jersey governor Woodrow Wilson were campaigning against each other to become the Democratic president nominee. Roosevelt actually wanted the former to win over the latter because Clark was a conservative while Wilson was a progressive. A power struggle similar to the one that occurred during the Republican National Convention earlier in the month occurred again during the Democratic National Convention. However, in the end, Wilson gained the nomination, and soon after, Roosevelt's supporters decided to endorse Wilson for president instead. 2,000 of these new supporters were originally from the Republican Party. Wisconsin senator Robert La Folllette openly supported Wilson and simultaneously wanted to villify Roosevelt as a fraud who received financial backing from people associated with the Steel Trust and Harvester Trust that were known to oppress farmers and laborers throughout the country. Roosevelt was still motivated to win the election so that the Democrats could not be elected into Congress and into state governments. As the time came for the National Progressive Party to reconvene in Chicago on August 5 was fast approaching, sixty-three prominent Republicans from forty states signed the declaration of the new party. Unfortunately, many delegates who at first supported Roosevelt's cause decided not to take the risk of leaving the Republican Party for a new untested party that might have not been ready for the election in November. These people, one of whom was Herbert Hadley, instead decided to initiate reform within the Republican Party. When he accepted his nomination at the Republican National Convention, Taft gave a speech in which he acknowledged the progressive reforms that had been enforced in recent years, such as workers' compensation and the establishment of the Children's Bureau, the first federal agency dedicated to the social welfare of children; "even as the Republican Party protected the traditions of the past, he argued, it must remain sensitive to the shifting views of the role of government" (Goodwin, 733). He basically wanted the country to move forward and protect it against the demagogic proposals of his political adversaries. Roosevelt found Taft's speech to be "fatuous, inadequate, conservative" and ignorant of all "the live issues".

 In the end, both Roosevelt and Taft were defeated by Wilson in the Presidential Election of 1912. After the election, both men never ran for president again.