American History - Part 148 - Taft - Roosevelt Splits Republican Party - Wilson Wins Election 1912
Channel: ListenAndReadAlong
Date: 22/07/2013

Welcome to the MAKING OF A NATION -- American history in VOA Special English.
This week in our series, we talk about the Presidential election of 1912.
The first 10 years of the 20th century in America were shaped by the strong leadership of President Theodore Roosevelt. And in the 2nd decade, he returned to national politics to bring, once more, dramatic changes to the United States.
Theodore Roosevelt was a distant cousin of Franklin Roosevelt, a Democrat who became President in 1933.
In 1912, Teddy Roosevelt organized a new political:  the Progressives. Roosevelt created this new party after he failed to win the Republican Presidential nomination.
The Republican convention of 1912 had been controlled by conservative supporters of President William Howard Taft. And, as we hear now from Leo Scully and Maurice Joyce, the party nominated Taft for 4 more years in the White House.
As a result, Roosevelt broke with the Republicans. And he and his supporters held their own convention. They formed the Progressive party and approved a platform that promised reforms. These reforms were proposed to make the government serve the people and carry out more fully their desire for social progress.
The Democratic Party also nominated a candidate who supported progressive ideas. The Democrats chose Governor Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey, a former President of Princeton University.
So, for the first time in many years, there were 3 major candidates for President. Wilson clearly had the best chance to win. He had the support of almost all the Democrats. The Republicans, however, were split. Some supported Taft. The others were for Roosevelt.
Roosevelt refused to accept the idea of defeat. He campaigned hard, visiting many cities and towns, making speech after speech. Wilson also campaigned hard. He seemed to enjoy it as much as Roosevelt.
Taft did not like it at all. He refused to do much campaigning. He spent most of the time at his summer home.
On November 5th, the people voted. The winner was Woodrow Wilson. He received more than 6,000,000 votes. Roosevelt was second with 4,000,000. Taft received only about 3,500,000. Wilson's victory was even greater in the electoral vote. He got 435. Roosevelt got only 88. And Taft received only the 8 electoral votes of Utah and Vermont.
The Democrats won not only the White House, but also control of Congress. And a number of Democratic governors were elected in states formerly controlled by Republicans.
The 1912 campaign ended public life for Theodore Roosevelt. Soon after the election, a friend visited Roosevelt and talked of possible victory in 1916.
"I thought you were a better politician," Roosevelt said. "The fight is over. We are beaten. There is only one thing to do. That is to go back to the Republican Party. You cannot hold a party like the Progressive Party together. There are no loaves and fishes...no financial support."
War was soon to break out in Europe. The United States would enter the struggle in 1917.
As always, Roosevelt was ready to join in a fight. He asked for permission to organize an American force and lead it into battle in France. President Wilson, however, turned down the request. Roosevelt was sure that it was a political decision. He never forgave Wilson for keeping him out of the war.
Although Roosevelt himself could not fight, 4 of his sons went into battle. One -- his youngest son Quentin -- did not return. When he received news of his son's death, Roosevelt wrote these words to honor    "Only those are fit to live who do not fear to die. And none are fit to die who have shrunk from the joy of life.  Both life and death are parts of the same great adventure. All of us who give service and stand ready for sacrifice are torch bearers. We run with the torches until we fall, satisfied if we can then pass them to the hands of other runners.
"The torches whose flame is brightest are carried by the brave men on the battlefield and by the brave women whose husbands, lovers, sons, and brothers struggle there. These are the torch bearers. These are they who have dared the great adventure."
Roosevelt's own great adventure was itself coming to an end.
He suffered from painful attacks of inflammatory rheumatism and from a serious ear infection. He had difficulty in hearing and could not walk. But the old man was still cheerful. He spent his 60th birthday in the hospital. And to his family and friends, he   "I am ahead of the game. Nobody ever packed more kinds of fun and interest into 60 years."
Death came to Roosevelt as he slept on the night of January 6th, 1919. Said Vice President Thomas, "Death had to take him sleeping. For if Roosevelt had been awake, there would have been a fight."