Progressive Party

The Bull Moose Party

The Progressive Party (1912) came about as a result of a split in the Republican Party. Theodore Roosevelt, who left the presidency in 1909, was disappointed by the policies of his handpicked successor, William Howard Taft. After failing to win the Republican nomination, despite winning nine of the 12 presidential primaries held that year, Roosevelt called his own convention in Chicago, which nominated him for president and California's Republican governor, Hiram Johnson, for vice president. The Progressive Party platform called for the federal government “to dissolve the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics.” In his acceptance speech, Roosevelt told the delegates that, “we stand at Armageddon. And we battle for the Lord.”

Most Republican leaders refused to bolt the party to support Roosevelt (including his son-in-law Nicholas Longworth), believing that joining the new party was too risky a step. The Progressive Party's leading financial supporters were newspaper and magazine publisher Frank A. Munsey and George W Perkins, a financier who was a partner in the House of Morgan. Roosevelt's supporters included the social worker Jane Addams, former U.S. Senator Albert J. Beveridge of Indiana (who would be the party's unsuccessful candidate for governor in 1912, and the U.S. Senate in 1914), and U.S. Senator Joseph M. Dixon of Montana (who served as Roosevelt's campaign manager).

While campaigning in Milwaukee, John Schrank shot Roosevelt, who survived, stating, “it takes more than a bullet to stop a bull moose” (giving the party its nickname). Roosevelt came in second in the election, polling 27 percent of the popular vote and winning 88 electoral votes, more than Taft, but allowing Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency. The Progressives would run a number of candidates for the House of Representatives, winning nine seats. However, the real impact of the Progressives on the House was that, in a number of races, the Progressives split the Republican vote, allowing the Democrats to pick up 61 seats, expanding their majority to 290 in the 435 seat chamber.

The party continued after the 1912 elections. Perkins, the party's executive secretary, caused a split in the party in 1913 when he came out against anti-trust laws. Many Progressives had joined the party because of Roosevelt's reputation as a “trust buster.” In 1914, the Progressives would win only six seats in the House of Representatives (a loss of three). In 1916, Roosevelt rejected the Progressive Party nomination after the Republicans nominated Supreme Court Justice Charles Evans Hughes for president. Not wishing a repeat of the 1912 contest, Roosevelt campaigned for Hughes, who was narrowly defeated by President Wilson. In the congressional elections, the Progressives would win three seats, but by joining with the Democrats, they allowed the Democrats to remain in control of the House (the last time that the House would be controlled by a coalition of parties, rather than a single party).

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