The Bull Moose Party or Progressives

1070 Words3 Pages

The election in 1912 brought a new Political Party to the ballot. Americans were used to Democrats and Republicans, but they now had the Bull Moose Party or Progressives. The Progressives were those who “firmly believed that they could change society for the better, and even come close to a state of perfection” (Bowles, M.D., 2011). The Progressives were “committed to the principle of government by a self-controlled democracy expressing its will through representatives of the people,” (Bull Moose Party, 1912). Theodore Roosevelt was and is the most famous of the Progressives and Woodrow Wilson who was a Progressive Democrat, would go head to head for election as President of the United States. Roosevelt had been President of the United States from 1900-1907. Each of them had their strong points and ideals of what needed to be accomplished to build a stronger nation, but what those ideals were and how to go about enacting them was very much different. Even though both were leaders of the Progressive Movement, Roosevelt and Wilson were very different men. Theodore Roosevelt was well known by the people for being for the people and willing to stand shoulder to should with “anyone who had a forward-thinking vision of the future and intense convictions,” he called them Progressives (Bowles, M.D., 2011). In 1912 TR and his Progressive Party had already accepted that their chances of winning the Presidential Race were very small. "Although I expect to lose I believe that we are founding what really is a new movement, and that we may be able to give the right trend to our democracy,” (Kraig, R.A., 2000). TR’s hope was to get his message out to as many Americans as possible to lay the groundwork for the future of his political pa... ... middle of paper ... ... time and time again. Wilson wouldn’t heavily engage child labor laws nor did he believe in ending women’s suffrage, it wasn’t until 1920 that Wilson and Congress voted and women got the right to vote. Roosevelt’s time as president was spent expanding the nation, expanding America’s Armed Forces, building the Panama Canal, and gaining small victories for the common man. Wilson’s presidency was spent battling for economic fairness, killing monopolies, turning the tides in World War I, and finally helping women to achieve their conquest of the right to vote. Works Cited Bowles, M.D. (2011) American History Since 1865 to Present: End of Isolation. Bridgepoint Education, Inc Kraig, R.A. (2000). The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundations of the Liberal State. Rhetoric & Public Affairs, Volume 3, Number 3, Fall 2000, pp. 363-395

More about The Bull Moose Party or Progressives

Open Document