1908 Republican National Convention

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The 1908 Republican National Convention was held in

The Republican platform celebrated the Roosevelt administration's economic policies such as the keeping of the protective tariff, establishment of a permanent currency system (the

The following individuals spoke at the 1908 Republican National Convention. Many spoke with the goal of nominating a specific nominee as this was before the age of the primary and the nominees were all decided at the convention.

• Prayer by Rt. Rev. P.J. Muldoon V.G.
• Julius C. Burrows, Michigan Senator

• Prayer by Rev. William Otis Waters
• Henry Cabot Lodge, Massachusetts Senator

• Prayer by Rev. Dr. John Wesley Hill
• George Henry Williams, Former Attorney General
• Henry Sherman Boutell of Illinois, Lawyer and diplomat
• Joseph W. Fordney, Congressman of Michigan
• Frank Hanly, Governor of Indiana
• Charles A. Bookwalter, Mayor of Indianapolis
• Stewart L. Woodford, Former Congressman and Judge of New York
• Theodore E. Burton, Congressman of Ohio
• George A. Knight, Attorney and Businessman
• C. B. M'Coy, Ohio Factory Owner
• W. O. Emory, Young Black Delegate from Macon, Georgia
• Robert S. Murphy, Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania
• James Scarlet, Prominent Attorney from Danville, Pennsylvania
• Henry F. Cochems, Wisconsin Football Star
• Charles A. A. McGee, Author of "The Truth About Money" from Wisconsin

• Prayer by Rabbi Tobias Schanfarber
• Timothy L. Woodruff, Businessman and Former Politician
• Joseph Gurney Cannon, Speaker of the House
• Augustus E. Willson, Governor of Kentucky
• Henry Cabot Lodge (again)
• Chase Osborn of Michigan
• James Brownlow Yellowley, Mississippi State Legislator
• Thomas N. McCarter, Former Attorney General of New Jersey and public servant
• William Warner
  , Senator from Missouri
• Julius C. Burrows of Michigan

• 
  War Secretary
  William Howard Taft
  of Ohio
• 
  Senator
  Philander C. Knox
  of Pennsylvania
• 
  Governor
  Charles Evans Hughes
  of New York
• 
  Speaker
  Joseph G. Cannon
  of Illinois
• 
  Vice President
  Charles W. Fairbanks
  of Indiana
• 
  Robert M. La Follette
  of Wisconsin
• 
  Senator
  Joseph B. Foraker
  of Ohio
• 
  Former
  Treasury Secretary
  L. M. Shaw
  of Iowa
  (Not Nominated)

The Republicans faced difficulties selecting a successor to Roosevelt. Elihu Root was favored by Roosevelt, but his age and alignment with corporations made him unpalatable.^[1][2] Prior to the convention, Vice President Charles W. Fairbanks and New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes both seemed like plausible nominees, but Roosevelt was determined to pick his own successor.^[3] U.S. Senator Joseph B. Foraker sought the nomination and was financed by Winthrop M. Crane and Henry Cabot Lodge.^[4]

Roosevelt supported Secretary of War William Howard Taft.^[2] Entering the convention, Taft, buoyed by the support of the popular Roosevelt, was virtually assured of the nomination.^[5] U.S. Senator Jacob H. Gallinger was among the supporters of a movement to stop Taft's nomination.^[4] Taft won the presidential nomination on the first ballot, overcoming Fairbanks and the other favorite son candidates.^[6]

• 
  Treasury Secretary
  George B. Cortelyou
  of New York

• 
  State Secretary
  Elihu Root
  of New York
• 
  President
  Theodore Roosevelt
  of New York

Presidential Balloting / 3rd Day of Convention (June 18, 1908)

• 
  1st Presidential Ballot

• 
  Representative
  James S. Sherman
  of New York
• 
  Former Governor Franklin Murphy
  of New Jersey
• 
  Curtis Guild, Jr.
  of Massachusetts
• 
  Governor
  George L. Sheldon
  of Nebraska

  
  (Not Nominated)

• 
  Senator
  Albert J. Beveridge
  of Indiana
• 
  Governor
  Albert B. Cummins
  of Iowa
• 
  Senator
  Jonathan P. Dolliver
  of Iowa
• 
  Attorney General
  Herbert S. Hadley
  of Missouri
• 
  Governor
  Charles E. Hughes
  of New York

Vice Presidential Balloting / 4th Day of Convention (June 19, 1908)

• 
  1st
  Vice Presidential Ballot

• History of the United States Republican Party
• List of Republican National Conventions
• United States presidential nominating convention
• 1908 United States presidential election
• 1908 Democratic National Convention

• Mowry, George (1960). Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement. University of Wisconsin Press.

• Republican Party platform of 1908 at The American Presidency Project
• Taft acceptance speech at The American Presidency Project