The 1912 election and the power of progressivism : a brief history with documents / Brett Flehinger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Flehinger, Brett.

Series:

Bedford series in history and culture

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Presidents--United States--Election--1912.

Presidents.

United States.

Progressivism (United States politics).

United States--Politics and government--1909-1913.

Politics and government.

Physical Description:

xv, 204 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm.

Place of Publication:

Boston, MA : Bedford/St. Martin's, [2003]

Summary:

Faced with the challenge of adapting America's political and social order to the rise of corporate capitalism, in 1912 four presidential candidates -- Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene Debs -- shaped Americans' thoughts about their public futures. Their positions would come to frame national conversation over the role of corporations in American life, determine the relation between the state and society that still controls our thinking about market regulation, and usher in a period of Progressive reform. Connecting the debates of 1912 to some of the most pressing issues of the Progressive Era, this volume presents selected sensational speeches, correspondence between these important figures and their allies and opponents, and 12 lively political cartoons. The documents are supported by an interpretive essay, a chronology, a bibliography, and a series of questions for student consideration, including ideas for a classroom debate.

Contents:

Part 1 Introduction: The Story of 1912: "A Year Supreme with Possibilities" 1

1 "Progressive": The Popular Label 3

Republican Chaos 5

The Trouble with Taft 6

"My Hat Is in the Ring": Roosevelt Returns 10

Democracy Redefined: The Republican Nomination 12

"Standing at Armageddon": Roosevelt and the Progressive Party 14

An Almost Certain Victory: The Democratic Convention 15

Socialism at High Tide: Eugene V. Debs and the Socialist Party 17

2 The Problem of the Progressive Era 21

From Greenbackers to Populists: The Response to Change 22

The Progressive Response 23

The Problem of Corporate Capitalism 24

Organized Efficiency: The Modern Corporation 26

Two Responses to Corporate Growth 28

A "Machine for Making Money": The Corporation and American Society 29

3 The Candidates Debate 34

The Procorporatists: Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Van Hise 34

The Anticorporatists: Robert La Follette, Louis Brandeis, and Woodrow Wilson 41

The Best of a Bad Lot: African American Options in 1912 47

Neither a "Flubdub" nor Second Rate: William Howard Taft 49

Socialism as Progressivism: Eugene V. Debs and the Socialist Party 53

Epilogue: The Debate Continued 57

Part 2 The Documents 63

4 The Procorporatists: Theodore Roosevelt and Charles Van Hise 65

1 The New Nationalism, August 31, 1910 / Theodore Roosevelt 65

2 Making a New Platform, September 10, 1910 / Detroit News 70

3 Letters to Theodore Roosevelt Jr., Benjamin Barr Lindsay, and Chase Salmon Osborn, August 22, 1911, December 5, 1911, and January 18, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 71

4 A Charter of Democracy, February 12, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 75

5 Letters, October 21, 1911, and October 27, 1911 / Charles McCarthy, Theodore Roosevelt 82

6 For Chairman of the Convention, June 18, 1912 / Chicago Daily Tribune 85

7 A Confession of Faith, August 6, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 86

8 The Senior Partner, September 8, 1912 / St. Louis Post Dispatch 94

9 Letters to Mary Ella Lyon Swift, Florence Kelley, and Jane Addams, March 7, 1911, January 9, 1912, and ca. August 8, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 95

10 Letter to Julian La Rose Harris, August 1, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 97

11 Letters to Senator Robert M. La Follette, October 30, 1911, and November 21, 1911 / Charles Van Hise 100

12 Letter to Charles R. Van Hise, June 4, 1912, and Charles R. Van Hise, from Concentration and Control, 1912 / Theodore Roosevelt 102

5 The Anticorporatists: Robert M. La Follette, Louis D. Brandeis, and Woodrow Wilson 106

13 Speech at Jamestown, North Dakota, March 14, 1912 / Robert M. La Follette 106

14 Speech at Bismarck, North Dakota, March 14, 1912 / Robert M. La Follette 108

15 Letter to Senator Jonathan Bourne, January 2, 1911 / Theodore Roosevelt 111

16 Letter to Blanche Morse, March 28, 1912 / Gilbert Roe 112

17 The Only Way, September 17, 1912, and Pay Day, September 7, 1912 / St. Louis Post Dispatch 114

18 Letter to Norman Hapgood, July 3, 1912 / Louis D. Brandeis 116

19 Letter to Alfred Brandeis, August 28, 1912 / Louis D. Brandeis 117

20 Correspondence, September 27, 1912, and September 30, 1912 / Woodrow Wilson, Louis D. Brandeis 118

21 Letter to Arthur Norman Holcombe, September 11, 1912 / Louis D. Brandeis 121

22 Trusts, Efficiency, and the New Party, September 14, 1912 / Louis D. Brandeis 122

23 Speech at Buffalo, New York, September 2, 1912 / Woodrow Wilson 124

24 Speech at Sioux City, Iowa, September 17, 1912 / Woodrow Wilson 127

25 Speech at Pueblo, Colorado, October 7, 1912 / Woodrow Wilson 130

26 The Biggest Monopolies, October 9, 1912 / St. Louis Post Dispatch 134

27 Diary, August 14, 1912 / Oswald Garrison Villard 135

28 Maud Malone Halts Wilson, October 20, 1912 / New York Times 136

29 The Time, the Place, and the Girl, June 25, 1912 / Chicago Daily Tribune 140

6 Neither a "Flubdub" nor Second Rate: William Howard Taft 141

30 Speech at Nashua, New Hampshire, March 19, 1912 / William Howard Taft 141

31 Speech at the American Academy of Political and Social Science, March 30, 1912 / William Howard Taft 145

32 Letters to Horace D. Taft and Charles F. Brooker, March 1, 1912, and March 5, 1912 / William Howard Taft 148

33 Speech at Elkton, Maryland, May 4, 1912 / William Howard Taft 151

34 He Eats 'Em Up-and Grows! September 19, 1910 / Cleveland Press 155

35 The Presidency, September 29, 1912 / St. Louis Post Dispatch 156

36 Progressive: The Popular Label, October 6, 1912 / Chicago Daily News 157

7 Socialism as Progressivism: Eugene V. Debs 158

37 Socialism Gives Only Cure for Trust Evils, November 25, 1911 / Eugene V. Debs 158

38 A Study of Competition, May 28, 1910 / Appeal to Reason 162

39 Acceptance Speech, Undated / Eugene V. Debs 163

40 Opening Speech of the Campaign, August 10, 1912 / Eugene V. Debs 167

41 Platform, May 25, 1912 / Socialist Party 170

42 Mr. Voter Beware..., November 2, 1912 / Appeal to Reason 173

43 The Woman Question, January 13, 1912, and What Socialism Offers, September 28, 1912 / Appeal to Reason 174

44 Letter to Eugene V. Debs, August 8, 1912 / Fred D. Warren 175

45 Eugene V. Debs Says Moose Party Stole Socialist Planks, August 15, 1912, and Appeal to Reason, The Acid Test, September 21, 1912 / Chicago World 177

A 1912 Election Chronology (1877-1930) 180.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 187-192) and index.

ISBN:

0312260296

OCLC:

51299443