1912+Presidential+Election+(1-3)

Wilson’s platform- As President of the United States, Wilson was responsible for the passage of many social and economic reforms. His New Freedom platform was very progressive and called for tariff reduction and reform of the banking and monetary system. His greatest achievement was the passage of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913, creating a system that still provides the framework for regulating the nation's banks, credit, and money supply today. Wilson sponsored legislation that supported unions to ensure fair treatment of working Americans and the development of the Child Labor Reform Act. Wilson also was instrumental with the passage of the 19th Amendment during his second term, guaranteeing all women the right to vote.

b. Taft’s platform- From the years 1916 to 1932 the Taft wing controlled the Republican Party. They also refused to nominate any prominent 1912 Progressives to the Republican national ticket. Taft's first major victory came in New York's primary on 3/26/1912. Just before the vote the New York Times reported that Taft had won 134 out of the 170 delegates chosen nationwide. New York Republicans voted overwhelmingly for Taft, by just about a 2:1 margin. New York City gave Taft nearly 70% of the vote there. It was a stunning repudiation of Roosevelt in his home state and his second loss in the first two presidential primaries.

c. Roosevelt’s platform- Roosevelt had the satisfaction of outpolling Taft in the popular vote and by a large margin of 88–8 in the electoral vote, but the split engendered in the Republican vote allowed Woodrow Wilson to win the presidency. Some historians argue that even without the split, Wilson would have won. Most members, including Roosevelt returned to the Republican Party after the Republicans nominated the more progressively-minded Charles Evans Hughes for President in 1916. The central problem faced by the Progressive Party was that the Democrats were more united and optimistic than they had been in decades. The Bull Moosers fancied they had a chance to elect Roosevelt by drawing out progressive elements from both the Republican and Democratic parties. That dream evaporated in July, when the Democrats nominated their most articulate and prominent progressive, Woodrow Wilson.

d. Outcome- The United States Progressive Party of 1912 was a political party created in the United States by a split in the Republican Party in the presidential election of 1912. It was formed by Theodore Roosevelt when he lost the Republican nomination to William Howard Taft and pulled his delegates out of the convention. The great majority of Republican governors, congressmen, editors and local leaders refused to join the new party, even if they had supported Roosevelt before. Although, one memorable event occurred during this election, on October 14, Roosevelt was shot by John F. Schrank while on his way to deliver a Progressive party speech. Schrank apparently did not have an issue with Theodore Roosevelt personally. His reason for the assassination attempt was a disapproval of anyone seeking a third term in office as president of the United States (Ironically, Schrank lived just long enough in a mental institution to be alive when Theodore's cousin Franklin was elected to a third term in office.). The bullet was slowed down by TR's speech and eyeglass case in his jacket. Nonetheless, the bullet entered his chest but defiantly, Roosevelt went ahead and gave a 90 minute speech without medical attention. He began his speech by saying " ...I don't know whether you fully understand that I have just been shot; but it takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose..". Doctors determined the bullet (from a .38) was too difficult to remove and Roosevelt carried the bullet with him till he died in his sleep in 1919.

Group 3