1912 Republican Party presidential primaries
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1,074 delegates to the Republican National Convention[1][2] 538 votes needed to win | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Taft Roosevelt/Not Voting[a] La Follette Cummins | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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From January 23 to June 4, 1912, delegates to the
For the first time, a large number of delegates were selected through direct
At the conclusion of the delegation selection process, Roosevelt had won 411 instructed delegates, Taft had 201, and 254 were contested between the two candidates. Of the remaining delegates, 46 were pledged to the minor candidates Albert B. Cummins and Robert M. La Follette and 166 were uninstructed.[5] In the end, Taft won the vast majority of the contests over delegate credentials, delivering him a working majority outright, and many Roosevelt supporters abstained from voting at the convention before bolting to form their own party.
Background
1908 presidential election
In 1908, popular incumbent President Theodore Roosevelt declined entreaties to seek another term in office, keeping to a spontaneous pledge he made upon securing re-election in 1904.[c] His initial choice for a successor was Secretary of State Elihu Root, but Root's career as a corporate attorney had rendered him unpalatable to progressives, and he declined to seek the presidency.[6] Instead, Roosevelt endorsed Secretary of War William Howard Taft. With Roosevelt's support and steadfast refusal to accept the nomination himself, Taft easily won the Republican nomination and the general election over William Jennings Bryan. Roosevelt, after privately expressing some skepticism over Taft's decision not to retain his cabinet officers, departed for an African safari and European tour which kept him overseas into 1910, at least in part to give Taft latitude to operate politically.
Roosevelt's return trip from
Party split
Payne-Aldrich tariff
As part of the 1908 platform, the party pledged itself to "tariff revision," which nearly all observers took to mean a reduction in the record-high rates under the
Taft, unlike his predecessor, refused to interfere with legislation through executive leverage, and his efforts at mediation between progressives and conservatives failed. Seizing on the plain meaning of "revision" in the 1908 platform, Aldrich questioned, "Where did we ever make the statement that we would revise the tariff downward?"[9] Though Taft had been a bystander in the tariff's passage, he defended it in a speaking tour soon after its passage into law. He said, "On the whole... I think the Payne bill is the best bill that the Republican Party ever passed."[9]
Pinchot-Ballinger controversy
One of the cabinet secretaries not retained by the Taft administration was
Ballinger's chief critic was his own subordinate, head of the United States Forestry Service
Immediately after his Spokane speech, Pinchot took his case directly to Taft, claiming that waterpower interests had begun an immense land grab in Montana.[11] Soon after, Pinchot and regional forestry official Louis Glavis additionally advised Taft that Ballinger had, as Commissioner, obstructed antitrust investigations into a Seattle developer who later became his legal client. In September, Taft rejected their findings and publicly exonerated Ballinger of wrong-doing and criticized Glavis's zeal.[11] In January 1910, Pinchot took the case public in an open letter to progressive Senator Jonathan P. Dolliver, after which Taft promptly fired him for insubordination.
Still in Africa, Roosevelt declined to publicly comment but privately wrote Pinchot, "I cannot believe it. I do not know any man in public life who has rendered quite the service you have rendered."[14] Separately, he wrote to Senator Henry Cabot Lodge that he would "say nothing about politics until I have been home long enough to know the situation" and that he believed the party "must renominate" Taft.[15] Nevertheless, public speculation mounted. Dolliver said, "With Pinchot knocked out and Aldrich put in command, I think you can hear a roar in East Africa."[16][page needed]
Pinchot met Roosevelt at
Through the spring of 1910, as Roosevelt made his return from Europe, Congress held hearings into Taft's handling of the controversy.
1910 elections
Roosevelt re-entered politics in his home state of New York, allying with Governor
Roosevelt's western trip and New Nationalism
If our political institutions were perfect, they would absolutely prevent the political domination of money in any part of our affairs. We need to make our political representatives more quickly and sensitively responsive to the people whose servants they are. ... The prime problem of our nation is to get the right type of good citizenship, and, to get it, we must have progress, and our public men must be genuinely progressive.
Theodore Roosevelt, August 31, 1910, New Nationalism speech, Osawatomie, Kansas[21]
In advance of the New York convention, Roosevelt embarked on a western tour, ostensibly as an independent commentator for
His trip culminated in a speech calling for a "new nationalism" in Osawatomie, Kansas on August 31.[18] The speech was drafted with advice from Pinchot, William Allen White, and Herbert Croly and by far the most radical he had ever delivered, calling for primacy of the executive, as "the steward of the public welfare" over the judiciary, which must be made "interested primarily in human welfare rather than in property." He also called for the large-scale revision of law "so as to work for a more substantial equality of opportunity and of reward for equally good service."[22]
National progressives praised the speech, while conservatives decried Roosevelt as a "new Napoleon," "neo-Populist," "peripatetic revolutionist," "a virtual traitor to American institutions."[22][21] The speech was declaimed as "more nearly revolutionary than anything that ever proceeded from the lips of any American who has held high office in our Government" and "more and worse than rank socialism—it is communism at the limit."[22][21] Privately, Roosevelt admitted to Lodge, "I had no business to take the position in the fashion that I did."[21]
Schism and New York convention
Upon his return to New York, Roosevelt met with Taft in New Haven, Connecticut.[23][18] Taft reiterated his willingness to support Roosevelt's bid for convention chair.[24] However, when Taft's secretary, Charles D. Norton, told the press that Roosevelt had begged for the meeting to boost his failing career, Roosevelt was privately incensed and denied the story, annoying Taft in turn.[24] Taft told Archibald Butt that he and Roosevelt had reached "the parting of the ways."[18]
At the end of September, Roosevelt personally appeared at the New York convention in Saratoga. There, delegates rallied to his support and elected him over Vice President Sherman, who had to escort him to the stage for his keynote address, in which he denounced machine politics as "the negation of democracy."
Democratic landslide and aftermath
In the fall, Roosevelt campaigned for both progressive and conservative Republicans.[26] The Democratic Party gained a majority in the United States House of Representatives for the first time since 1895. Many of the Democratic victories were achieved by combining with progressive independents and Republicans to defeat conservatives, while many progressive Republicans retained their seats, heightening confidence that they could supplant Taft in 1912.[27] In the alternative, some saw the defeat of the Republican ticket in New York as a personal rebuke of Roosevelt.[28]
Pre-campaign maneuvering
After the humiliating defeat of 1910, Roosevelt receded into private life and Taft turned his focus to the divided Congress, controlled by a mix of Democrats and insurgent Republicans. Roosevelt generally declined entreaties to challenge Taft, stating that the best hope for progressives was to "do what we can with Taft, face probable defeat in 1912, and then endeavor to reorganize under really capable and sanely progressive leadership."
In March and April, Roosevelt completed a quiet tour of the American Southwest. While he publicly declined to comment on politics, he privately told friends Taft could only be renominated "by default," absent a serious progressive in the race. He did not regard La Follette, who struggled to attract support in the East, as that candidate.[31] Roosevelt made his first public criticism of Taft administration policy in a spring editorial for The Outlook denouncing international arbitration. In June, the two men made their final public appearance together in Baltimore; after Roosevelt denied subsequent reports that he had promised to support Taft in 1912, they did not speak for several years.[31]
Through the year, Taft's popularity sagged further. His efforts for tariff reciprocity with Canada had devolved into a prolonged struggle over rates and, though Congress eventually passed a compromise bill, the parallel debate north of the border resulted in the collapse of Wilfrid Laurier's government.[32] Roosevelt's editorial criticisms became more strident, though he privately admonished his son, who was becoming active in progressive politics, not to openly endorse a challenger. "My present intention," he wrote to Theodore Jr., "is to make a couple of speeches for Taft, but not to go actively into the campaign."[32]
U.S. Steel prosecution
In November, Roosevelt returned to the political stage to testify in front of a congressional committee investigating his oversight of the 1907 partial merger of U.S. Steel and the
Nevertheless, the Department of Justice opened an antitrust case against U.S. Steel, with Attorney General
Procedure
The presidential nomination was decided by a simple majority vote of the delegates to the 1912 Republican National Convention. Unlike the Democratic Party of the time, the Republicans had no unit rule[d][e] or two-thirds majority requirement.
Delegate allocation
A total of 1,078 delegates were allocated for the convention.[1]
Roosevelt supporters criticized the allocation of a large amount of delegates to the South as essentially amounting to a system of
Selection process
The method of delegate selection in the various states was an early proxy contest between the progressives and the conservatives, with progressives favoring a direct primary process. Upon Roosevelt's entry into the race in late February 1912, his supporters lobbied for the adoption of direct primary laws in as many states as possible, believing that the existing convention system would be impassibly dominated by the conservatives.[2]
Despite the efforts of Taft supporters, primary elections were adopted by legislation in several states. In addition to the existing binding primary systems in place in California, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oregon, Wisconsin, and New Jersey, Roosevelt supporters successfully lobbied for primary legislation in Illinois, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Ohio, and South Dakota. Taft supporters were successful in blocking primary legislation in Michigan.[36]
In
Candidates
Nominee
Candidate | Most recent position | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | Running mate | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Howard Taft | President of the United States (1909–1913) |
Ohio | (Campaign) Secured nomination: June 22, 1912 |
766,326 (33.9%) |
[data missing] | James S. Sherman |
Withdrew during convention
Candidate | Most recent position | Home state | Campaign | Popular vote | Contests won | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Theodore Roosevelt | President of the United States (1901–1909) |
New York | (Campaign • Positions) Defeated at convention: June 22, 1912 (ran as Progressive) |
1,164,765 (51.5%) |
[data missing] | ||
Robert M. La Follette | U.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1906–1925) |
Wisconsin | 327,357 (14.5%) |
[data missing] | |||
Albert B. Cummins | U.S. Senator from Iowa (1908–1926) |
Iowa | — | [data missing] |
Schedule and results
Date (daily totals) |
Total pledged delegates |
Contest and total popular vote |
Delegates won and popular vote | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
William Taft | Theodore Roosevelt | Robert M. La Follette | Other | Reference | |||||||
January 23 | 2 | Oklahoma 4th convention |
2 118 (78.7%) |
32 (21.3%) |
— | [38][39] | |||||
February 6 | 4 | Florida convention |
[f] | [g] | [40][41] | ||||||
March 14 | ? | Oklahoma convention |
? | 16[h] | [42] | ||||||
March 19 | 10 | North Dakota primary |
0 1,876 |
4 23,669 |
6 34,123 |
[43] | |||||
March 25 | 2 | Michigan 12th convention |
2 | – | – | [44] | |||||
March 26 | 90 | New York primary[i] |
59 (66.43%) |
31 (33.57%) |
0 0% |
[43] | |||||
? | Colorado convention |
? ? |
? |
[45] | |||||||
? | Indiana convention |
? ? |
? |
[45] | |||||||
April 2 | 26 | Wisconsin primary |
7 47,514 |
0 628 |
19 133,354 |
0 643 |
[43] | ||||
April 9 | 58 | Illinois primary |
19 127,481 |
39 266,917 |
0 42,692 |
[43] | |||||
April 13 | 76 | Pennsylvania primary |
31 191,179 |
45 282,853 |
0 0 |
[43] | |||||
April 19 (27) |
17 | Nebraska primary |
3 13,341 |
10 45,795 |
4 16,785 |
0 2,036 |
[43] | ||||
10 | Oregon primary |
3 20,517 |
4 28,905 |
3 22,491 |
0 14 |
[43] | |||||
April 30 | 36 | Massachusetts primary |
18 86,722 |
18 83,099 |
0 2,058 |
0 99 |
[43] | ||||
May 5–28[j] | 40 | Texas conventions |
5[k] | 5[k] | — | – | [46] | ||||
May 6 | 16 | Maryland primary |
8 25,995 |
8 29,124 |
0 0 |
[43] | |||||
May 14 | 26 | California primary |
7 69,345 |
14 138,563 |
5 45,876 |
[43] | |||||
May 21 | 48 | Ohio primary |
20 118,362 |
28 165,809 |
0 15,570 |
[43] | |||||
May 28 | 28 | New Jersey primary |
12 44,034 |
16 61,297 |
0 3,464 |
[47] | |||||
June 4 | 11 | South Dakota primary |
3 19,960 |
6 38,106 |
2 10,944 |
[47] | |||||
Total 388 pledged delegates 2,311,036 votes |
Campaign
Pre-primary campaign
As formal steps toward the primaries and conventions began in late 1911, La Follette was the sole declared challenger to President Taft; though he had the support of most progressives and insurgents, few observers considered him likely to win, even in the event that Taft was forced from the race at the convention.[48]
On November 21, Roosevelt's name was officially entered into the Nebraska primary.[
As Roosevelt demurred, progressives were split between radicals, who backed La Follette to the hilt, and moderates, who hoped to draft Roosevelt and sought an opening to do so.
January: Delegate elections begin and LaFollette declines
On January 16, a "Roosevelt National Committee" was independently formed in Chicago; speculation became widespread that the former president would announce a campaign in late February, when he was scheduled to speak at the Ohio constitutional convention. He publicly stated that he would be willing to entertain a draft and would feel "in honor bound" if it came from the "plain people."[50]
Delegate selections began as early as January 23, when the district convention for Oklahoma's 4th congressional district devolved into anarchy; the local committee chair attempted a stampede for Roosevelt, complete with men in Rough Riders costumes, but was reminded that La Follette was Taft's only official challenger and repelled from the stage. After the convention voted 118–32 to endorse Taft over La Follette, the chairman went outside and detonated five hundred pounds of high explosives.[50]
On February 2, Roosevelt privately told Hiram Johnson that he would run. The same night, Roosevelt progressives got the opening they were looking for when La Follette delivered a speech lasting over two hours (with some portions being repeated) to the Periodical Publishers Association in Philadelphia. La Follette, who had recently recovered from ptomaine poisoning, was deprived of sleep, and was distraught over a life-threatening operation to his daughter, devolved into a harangue of the newspapermen. After the speech and a disastrous reception in the press, his support rapidly vanished.[50]
February: The South solid for Taft
The strategy of the Taft organization in the South, where they were assured of total control for the time being, was to hold conventions before Roosevelt could organize there, sometimes months before the usual time. The Taft campaign sought to quickly overpower Roosevelt-supporting party chairs, such as Cecil Lyons of Texas and Pearl Wright of Louisiana, and avoid the possibility that loyalty would evaporate if job-seekers came to believe that Taft could not be re-elected.[51] The Taft forces in the South were organized rapidly by William B. McKinley, with threats issued to state and local party leaders to return a Taft delegation or face removal from office.[51]
The Roosevelt organization, especially in the South, was ad hoc and poorly organized. In Oklahoma, for example, two competing Roosevelt campaign organs were established, each seeking to seize the novel authority of the insurgent campaign for their own. Eventually, the national Roosevelt campaign intervened to resolve the dispute. Similar local disputes elsewhere diverted the campaign's energy and focus during the early months.[52] To counter the Taft campaign, the Roosevelt forces sent a full-time staffer, Ormsby McHarg, to lobby Southern delegates. In Washington, pro-Roosevelt Senators blocked Taft's political appointments and opened a national investigation into the use of patronage in the South.[51]
On February 6, Florida Republicans held their state convention, which appeared to be organized solidly for Taft given his control of the party apparatus. After contested delegates were resolved in favor of the Taft forces, the Roosevelt men bolted to nominate a competing slate of Roosevelt delegates.[51][50] Thus, a tone was set for the Southern campaign; conventions would elect a Taft delegation and Roosevelt supporters would elect a competing slate of delegates.[51]
On February 10, the governors of Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, and West Virginia answered Roosevelt's call for a draft. Speaking at the Ohio convention on February 21, he called for recall of judicial decisions as a last resort, an indirect slight to Taft, a former federal judge from Ohio. "We should hold the judiciary in all respect, but it is both absurd and degrading to make a fetish of a judge or of any one else," he declared.[53] Amid furor and accusations of insanity from conservatives, legal scholars, and even some progressives, he formally accepted the draft petition in Boston on February 25.[53]
March 19: North Dakota
The first presidential preference primary was held in North Dakota on March 19. The North Dakota campaign was unique in that Roosevelt faced La Follette without Taft in the race. The state's progressive organization under Senator Asle Gronna committed to La Follette in 1911. The conservatives, led by L. B. Hanna, backed Roosevelt.[54]
Roosevelt attributed his loss to Democrats who voted for La Follette to embarrass his candidacy.[citation needed]
March 26: New York, Colorado, and Indiana
President Taft's first major victory came in New York's primary on March 26. Just before the vote, the
Both Roosevelt and former Governor Charles Evans Hughes had aggressively campaigned for a direct primary in 1910 but were unsuccessful, possibly in part because Taft appointed Hughes to the U.S. Supreme Court during the campaign. Republicans lost the New York election in dramatic fashion, and under Democratic Governor John Alden Dix in 1911, the state passed its first primary law. The Dix law did not satisfy progressives; the New York Legislative Voters Association said it could "scarcely be recognized by the name of direct primary." The legislature further amended the law in advance of the 1912 primary; the Citizens Union, a good government organization closely associated with Roosevelt during his time as governor, decried the amendments. "All the legislation enacted on the subject of primaries tended to make successful contests against the party machines even more difficult than under the unfair primary law enacted last year."[55]
The campaign for New York opened the night after the North Dakota primary, when Roosevelt spoke at Carnegie Hall. Noticing both William Barnes Jr. and Timothy L. Woodruff in the audience, Roosevelt framed his speech around the subject of boss rule. He received a standing ovation for declaring, "I prefer to govern myself, to do my own part, rather than have the government of a particular class."[56]
The primary was closed, meaning only voters who formally enrolled as members of the Republican Party could vote. In all cities of over 5,000 people, voters were required to enroll in advance, while same-day registration was permitted in smaller towns and villages. Polls were open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., except in New York City, where polls did not open until 3 p.m. Votes were collected by
Roosevelt supporters harshly criticized the conduct of the primary.[55] In New York City, the election board used a fourteen-foot-long ballot; at least one newspaper compared it to a hall runner for a city flat.[55] On some ballots, up to three feet of blank space separated the Roosevelt ticket from its emblem, leading some voters to tear off what the thought was waste paper and render their ballot unusable.[56] In at least 400 of the 1,069 election districts, the physical supply of ballots, tally sheets, or election officials were lacking such that no primary was held at all. On primary day, Roosevelt's New York campaign manager Charles Holland Duell telegraphed his complaint to Governor Dix, "An apter method of mocking the supposed right of the voter to signify his will at a party primary could not have been devised."[55]
The result was a landslide for Taft, with those able to vote turning out two-to-one for the President. In Roosevelt's native New York City, he won only a single delegate, who ran unopposed. Overall, he received seven delegates to Taft's eighty-three. Progressives won no party committee races at any level.[56] Taft also swept the Colorado and Indiana conventions held that same night.[56]
After the results came in, Roosevelt himself joined the criticism of the New York process, which he called "fraud."
April 9–19: Roosevelt surges
Roosevelt's fortunes began to change with the Illinois primary on April 9. In his first primary victory, Roosevelt won 61% of the vote to Taft 29% and La Follette 10%. Roosevelt won every county, though Taft won some Congressional Districts in Chicago.
In the two weeks following the Illinois primary, Roosevelt won three states. He defeated Taft by a 60-40% margin in Pennsylvania on April 13. Nebraska and Oregon voted on April 19, going to Roosevelt with 59% and 40% respectively.
April 30: Massachusetts
Taft ended the month with a 50–48% win in Massachusetts. However, due to the Massachusetts ballot offering a presidential preference separate from the delegate vote, Roosevelt won more delegates even though he placed second. By the end of the month, Roosevelt was leading in delegates chosen in primaries with 179 to 108 for Taft and 36 for La Follette. Due to the fact that just 14 states held primaries, Taft had 428 delegates overall while Roosevelt had 204 and La Follette had 36.
Post-primary maneuvering
A big turn of events occurred on June 17, 1912. The Chicago Tribune sent out a newspaper with a column on the Republican primary titled, "10 From South Desert Taft for Roosevelt". In this column the writer explains that five Mississippi delegates and five Georgia delegates announced that they would not be supporting Taft in this second presidential election, but instead would switch their support to Theodore Roosevelt. All ten of the delegates signed a statement that they were deserting the Taft movement and supporting Roosevelt. The Taft campaign marked up the southern states and their delegates in anticipation of a big southern win. This changed when the five Georgia delegates, Clark, Grier, J.H. Boone, J. C. Styles, J. Eugene Peterson, and S. S. Mincey switched to supporting Roosevelt along with the five Mississippi delegates Charles Banks, W.P. Locker, Perry W. Howard, Daniel W. Gerry, and Wesly Crayton.[59]
Theodore Roosevelt also attacked President Taft in the Chicago Tribune on June 17, 1912, with his own column. In the column Roosevelt wrote about the differences in delegates that Taft and he had. He stated that the delegates Taft had were from territories or states that had never cast a Republican electoral vote or were controlled by federal patronage. Roosevelt summed up Taft's delegates as, "one-eighth of his delegates represent a real sentiment for him and seven-eighths represent nothing whatever but the use of patronage in his interest in certain Democratic states". Roosevelt made it clear that Taft had turned the Republican Party for the worst and that he had no chance of winning the election.[60]
Five states voted in the final four weeks of the primary season, and Roosevelt won all five states. He won Maryland 53–47 over Taft. In California, Roosevelt received 55% to Taft's 27% and La Follette's 18%. The major shock of the primary season was Roosevelt's 55–40% defeat of Taft in his home state of Ohio on May 21. One week later, Roosevelt won New Jersey, 56–41%. The primary season wrapped up with South Dakota, where Roosevelt won with 55%.
Endorsements
This article is missing information about endorsements.(March 2022) |
- U.S. Executive Branch officials
James Rudolph Garfield, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior(switched endorsement to Roosevelt)[61]Gifford Pinchot, former Chief of the United States Forest Service(switched endorsement to Roosevelt)[61]
- U.S. Senators
- Jonathan Bourne Jr., U.S. Senator from Washington (switched endorsement to Roosevelt)[62]
- U.S. Representatives
George W. Norris, U.S. Representative from Nebraska(switched endorsement to Roosevelt)
- Journalists
Medill McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune(switched endorsement to Roosevelt)[61]
- Individuals
Amos Pinchot, attorney, activist, and brother of Gifford Pinchot(switched endorsement to Roosevelt)[61]
- U.S. Executive Branch officials
- James Rudolph Garfield, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior[61]
- Truman Newberry, former U.S. Secretary of the Navy[61]
- Gifford Pinchot, former Chief of the United States Forest Service[61]
- U.S. Senators
- Albert Beveridge, former U.S. Senator from Indiana[62]
- William Borah, U.S. Senator from Idaho[62]
- Jonathan Bourne Jr., U.S. Senator from Washington[62]
- Joseph L. Bristow, U.S. Senator from Kansas[62]
- Moses E. Clapp, U.S. Senator from Minnesota[62]
- Joseph M. Dixon, U.S. Senator from Montana[62]
- U.S. Representatives
- Victor Murdock, U.S. Representative from Kansas[62]
- George W. Norris, U.S. Representative from Nebraska
- Governors
- Robert P. Bass, Governor of New Hampshire[38]
- William E. Glasscock, Governor of West Virginia[38]
- Herbert S. Hadley, Governor of Missouri[63]
- Hiram Johnson, Governor of California[64]
- Francis E. McGovern, Governor of Wisconsin
- Chase Osborn, Governor of Michigan[38]
- Walter R. Stubbs, Governor of Kansas[38]
- Statewide officials
- Timothy Woodruff, former Lieutenant Governor of New York[65]
- Journalists
- Henry Justin Allen, publisher of the Manhattan Nationalist and Topeka State Journal[66]
- O.K. Davis, former reporter for The New York Times[61]
- Frank Knox, founding editor of the Manchester Leader[61]
- Medill McCormick, publisher of the Chicago Tribune[61]
- Boston Journal, and New York Press[61]
- William Allen White, editor of the Emporia Gazette[62]
- Individuals
- Pennsylvania Republican State Committee[67]
- Francis J. Heney, former prosecutor from San Francisco and Oregon[67]
- Amos Pinchot, attorney, activist, and brother of Gifford Pinchot[61]
- J.P. Morgan[68]
- Alexander Revell, millionaire furniture retailer[61]
- U.S. Senators
- W. Murray Crane, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts[67]
- Boies Penrose, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania[67]
- U.S. Representatives
- Augustus Peabody Gardner, U.S. Representative from Massachusetts[66]
- James Eli Watson, former U.S. Representative from Indiana[69]
- Governors
- Beryl F. Carroll, Governor of Iowa[70]
- Adolph Olson Eberhart, Governor of Minnesota[70]
- Phillips Lee Goldsborough, Governor of Maryland[70]
- Marion E. Hay, Governor of Washington[70]
- Ben Hooper, Governor of Tennessee[70]
- John Tener, Governor of Pennsylvania[70]
- William Spry, Governor of Utah[70]
- Simeon S. Pennewill, Governor of Delaware[70]
- Aram J. Pothier, Governor of Rhode Island[70]
- Statewide officials
- Warren Harding, former Lieutenant Governor of Ohio[71]
- Individuals
- William Barnes Jr., chairman of the New York Republican State Committee[72]
- U.S. Senators
- Albert Cummins, U.S. Senator from Iowa and favorite son
- Henry Cabot Lodge, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts[73]
Convention
388 delegates were selected through the primaries and Roosevelt won 281, Taft received 71 delegates, and La Follette received 36 delegates. However, Taft had a 566–466 margin, placing him over the 540 needed for nomination, with the delegations selected at state conventions. Roosevelt accused the Taft faction of having over 200 fraudulently selected delegates. However, the Republican National Committee ruled in favor of Taft for 233 of the delegate cases while 6 were in favor of Roosevelt. The committee reinvestigated 92 of the contested delegates and ruled in favor of Taft for all of them.[74][75]
See also
References
- ^ a b Chace 2004, p. 113.
- ^ a b c Morris 2010, p. 176.
- ^ Gould 1976, p. 33.
- ISBN 9781483380353. Retrieved 2016-02-19.
- ^ Gould 1976, p. 44.
- ^ Chace 2004, p. 28.
- ^ Goodwin 2013, p. 2.
- ^ Chace 2004, p. 17.
- ^ a b c Chace 2004, pp. 31–34.
- JSTOR 3633711
- ^ a b c d e Goodwin 2013, pp. 607–14.
- ^ Goodwin 2013, p. 606.
- ^ Goodwin 2013, pp. 607–09.
- ^ Chace 2004, p. 14.
- ^ a b c Chace 2004, pp. 14–17.
- ^ Wayne 2008.
- ^ Morris 2010, pp. 94–100.
- ^ a b c d e Chace 2004, pp. 55–61.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 101.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 103.
- ^ a b c d e f Morris 2010, pp. 106–09.
- ^ a b c Goodwin 2013, pp. 643–46.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 113.
- ^ a b c d Morris 2010, pp. 113–16.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 117.
- ^ Goodwin 2013, p. 650.
- ^ Chace 2004, p. 94.
- ^ Goodwin 2013, pp. 651–52.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 122.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 127.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, pp. 136–37.
- ^ a b c Morris 2010, pp. 143–45.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, pp. 149–52.
- ^ Mowry 1946, p. 241.
- ^ Black & Black 1992, p. 122.
- ^ a b c Chace 2004, pp. 109–110.
- ^ a b Gould 1976.
- ^ a b c d e Morris 2010, p. 164.
- ^ "Ed Perry Down and Out: Spectacular Politician Met Waterloo in Coalgate Convention--Taft Endorsed". The Choctaw Herald. 25 Jan 1912. p. 1. Retrieved 4 Jun 2023.
- ^ Mowry 1946, p. 226.
- ^ "Plenty of Work For National Committee: Republican Rump Convention in Florida is the Starter; Advantage is With Taft". The Indianapolis News. 7 Feb 1912. p. 3. Retrieved 4 Jun 2023.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 178.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Congressional Quarterly 1997, p. 149.
- ^ "Twelfth Michigan for Taft". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Ishpeming, Mi. 26 Mar 1912. p. 2. Retrieved 4 Jun 2023.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, p. 181.
- ^ Gould 1976, p. 45.
- ^ a b Congressional Quarterly 1997, p. 150.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, pp. 152–54.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 160.
- ^ a b c d Morris 2010, pp. 163–66.
- ^ a b c d e Mowry 1946, pp. 226–28.
- ^ Mowry 1946, pp. 226–27.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, pp. 168–70.
- ^ Mowry 1946, p. 231.
- ^ a b c d Feldman 1917, p. 495.
- ^ a b c d e f g Morris 2010, pp. 179–83.
- ^ Feldman 1917, pp. 496–97.
- ^ Mowry 1946, p. 229.
- ^ "10 FROM SOUTH DESERT TAFT FOR ROOSEVELT (June 17, 1912)." June 17, 1912 - 10 FROM SOUTH DESERT TAFT FOR ROOSEVELT | Chicago Tribune Archive. N.p., 17 June 1912. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
- ^ Roosevelt, Theodore. "Roosevelt Delegates, Taft Delegates, Stolen Delegates. (June 17, 1912)." June 17, 1912 - Roosevelt Delegates, Taft Delegates, Stolen Delegates. | Chicago Tribune Archive. N.p., 17 June 1912. Web. 21 Feb. 2017.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Morris 2010, p. 175.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Morris 2010, p. 173.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 199.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 165.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 207.
- ^ a b Morris 2010, p. 202.
- ^ a b c d Morris 2010, p. 192.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 187.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 200.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Review of Week's Political Game". The Bowling Green Daily Sentinel-Tribune. 4 Mar 1912. p. 1.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 209.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 180.
- ^ Morris 2010, p. 174.
- ^ a b c Nash 1959.
- ^ "TAFT 566 - ROOSEVELT 466. - Present Line-Up of Instructed and Pledged Delegates With All the Contests Decided" (PDF). New York Times. 1912-06-16. Retrieved 2016-02-24.
- ^ Murphy 1974.
Notes
- ^ At the convention, a large number of Roosevelt delegates abstained from voting. For the purposes of the roll call map, their votes are combined with those who cast their vote for Roosevelt.
- ^ a b At the end of the selection process, 254 delegates were in dispute between Roosevelt and Taft. These numbers reflect the undisputed totals.[3]
- ^ Roosevelt had been elected Vice President in 1900, become President in 1901 upon the assassination of William McKinley, and been re-elected to a full term of his own in 1904.
- ^ a.k.a. "winner-take-all" rule, requiring that all delegates vote in accordance with the majority of their state
- ^ The Democratic Party ultimately repealed their unit rule at the 1912 convention.
- ^ All four Florida delegates were contested between Roosevelt and Taft.
- ^ All four Florida delegates were contested between Roosevelt and Taft.
- ^ Roosevelt won ten statewide delegates and six district delegates elected simultaneously.
- ^ Primary held, but vote figures are not known.
- ^ The Texas precinct conventions were held on May 5, followed by county conventions on May 8 and district conventions at some intermediate date, culminating in a state convention on May 28. Delegates were elected at the district and state level.[37]
- ^ a b The remainder of the Texas delegates were contested between Roosevelt and Taft.
Works cited
- ISBN 0674941306.
- Evans, Gary (1997). Presidential Elections: 1789-1996. ISBN 1568020651.
Further reading
Books
- ISBN 0-7432-0394-1.
- ISBN 978-1-416-54786-0.
- Mowry, George E. (1946). "Chapter Eight: Old Friends are Friends No Longer". Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement. New York: Hill and Wang. pp. 220–55.
- Murphy, Paul (1974). Political Parties In American History, Volume 3, 1890-present. G. P. Putnam's Sons.
- Nash, Howard P. (1959). "Chapter Nine: Theodore Roosevelt and the Progressive Movement". Third Parties in American Politics. Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press. pp. 242–267.
- Wayne, Stephen (2008). Parties and Elections in America: The Electoral Process Fifth Edition. Rowman & Littlefield.
- Wilensky, Norman N. (1965). Conservatives in the Progressive Era: The Taft Republicans of 1912. Gainesville.
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Primary sources
- Davis, Oscar King (1925). Released for Publication: Some Inside Political History of Theodore Roosevelt and His Times, 1898–1918. Boston. pp. 292–313.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Roosevelt perspective) - Rosewater, Victor (1932). Backstage in 1912: The Inside Story of the Split Republican Convention. Philadelphia. pp. 80–185.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) (Taft perspective)
Candidate biographies
- Harbaugh, William Henry (1961). Power and Responsibility: The Life and Times of Theodore Roosevelt. New York. pp. 412–36.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - ISBN 978-0-375-50487-7.
- Pringle, Henry F. (1939). The Life and Times of William Howard Taft. Vol. II. New York. pp. 765–814.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Articles
- Feldman, H. (August 1917). "The Direct Primary in New York State". The American Political Science Review. 11 (3): 494–518. S2CID 147503477.
- JSTOR 30238426.
- Kraig, Robert Alexander (Fall 2000). "The 1912 Election and the Rhetorical Foundations of the Liberal State". Rhetoric and Public Affairs. 3 (3): 363–95. S2CID 143817140.
- S2CID 143733897.
- Pavord, Andrew C. (Summer 1996). "The Gamble for Power: Theodore Roosevelt's Decision to Run for the Presidency in 1912". Presidential Studies Quarterly. 26 (3, Reassessments of Presidents and First Ladies): 633–47. JSTOR 27551622.
- Strange, Douglas C. (November 1968). "The Making of a President—1912: The Northern Negroes' View". Negro History Bulletin. 31 (7): 14–23. JSTOR 24767265.