Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
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Progressive Party
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|---|---|
| Chairman | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Founded | 1912 |
| Dissolved | 1916 |
| Split from | Republican Party |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
| Ideology |
New Nationalism Progressivism |
| Political position | Center-left |
| International affiliation | None |
| Colors | Light green |
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American third party. It was formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt, after he lost the nomination of the Republican Party to his former protégé, President William Howard Taft, who had since become his political adversary. The new party was known for taking advanced positions on progressive reforms, and attracting some leading reformers. Beset by factionalism and failure to win many offices, the party went into rapid decline by 1914 and virtually disappeared in 1916.
The Progressive party was nicknamed the "Bull Moose Party" after journalists quoted Roosevelt saying that he felt "fit as a bull moose" shortly after the new party was formed.
Roosevelt left office in 1909. He had selected Taft, his Secretary of War, to succeed him as presidential candidate, and Taft easily won the 1908 presidential election. Roosevelt became disappointed by Taft's increasingly conservative policies. Taft upset Roosevelt when he used the Sherman Anti-Trust Act to sue U.S. Steel for an action that President Roosevelt had explicitly approved. They became openly hostile, and Roosevelt decided to seek the presidency.
Roosevelt entered the campaign late, as Taft was already being challenged by progressive leader Senator Robert La Follette of Wisconsin. Most of La Follette's supporters switched to Roosevelt, leaving the Wisconsin Senator embittered.
Nine of the states where progressive elements were strongest had set up preference primaries, which Roosevelt won. But Taft had worked far harder than Roosevelt to control the Republican Party's organizational operations and the mechanism for choosing its presidential nominee, the 1912 Republican National Convention. For example, he bought up the votes of delegates from the southern states, copying the technique Roosevelt himself used in 1904. The Republican national convention rejected Roosevelt's protests. Roosevelt and his supporters walked out, and the convention re-nominated Taft. The next day, Roosevelt supporters met to form a new political party of their own. California governor Hiram Johnson became its chairman, and a new convention was scheduled for August. Most of the funding came from wealthy sponsors, magazine publisher Frank A. Munsey provided $135,000; George W. Perkins, a director of U.S. Steel and chairman of the International Harvester Company, gave $130,000 and became its executive secretary. Roosevelt's family gave $77,500 and others gave $164,000. The total was nearly $600,000, far less than the major parties.
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