Theodore Roosevelt Speaking Outside of the Chicago Convention Hall, August 3rd, 1904- Source: Wiki Commons
Effectively routed out of the major parties, devotees of social and industrial justice met that August to form a brand-new political force. Tens of thousands of individuals, men and women alike, joined together at the Chicago Coliseum with a newfound hope that the presidency could inspire a new generation to enact profound and fundamental change. Many of them shared the perspective of Governor La Follette in determining Theodore Roosevelt, not Chauncey Depew, the true successor to the Beveridge legacy. More so than mere inspiration by the war secretary, however, these convention go-ers sought to forge a permanent and independent third pillar of national politics apart from those restrained by the crooked bosses.
The mass delegation soon came to order under provisional Chairman Craig W. Wadsworth. A diplomat serving in Roosevelt's War Department and an enlistee of the Rough Riders, Wadsworth initiated the ceremonies with a brief recollection of the activities of the St. Louis convention. "The supreme, controlling influence of notorious bosses in both the Republican and Democratic parties have seen fit to cast aside the will of the people for their own self-interests. Both nominees serve the invisible government and abide by the rule of trusts." The diplomat drove into the ills of Depew and Olney, unhesitatingly lambasting their incorrigible resistance to prosecuting Northern Securities and their disregard of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Consolidation preyed on the laborer, Wadsworth proclaimed, and "in all industries their rise had led to our desolation." He put forward the idea that the growth of tobacco trusts, for instance, was directly leading to exponential rise in tobacco prices.
Following a protracted standing ovation, Wadsworth motioned for James R. Garfield, son of the former President Garfield and political advisor to Roosevelt, to begin calling for votes on the various platform planks submitted for approval. To be certain, this diverse audience of delegates were believers in active government and stern regulation, but they were far from radicals. The delegation approved of stipulations calling for a nationalized eight-hour working day law, the abolition of child labor, and a constitutional amendment protecting the rights of workers of organize. However, they disapproved two measures regarding wage laws and compensation for work-related injuries. By a hair, the delegation accepted a plank calling for women's suffrage, yet overwhelmingly rejected one that more broadly referred to "universal suffrage." As a whole, the platform could clearly be touted as a remarkable and progressive step, but it candidly failed to go as far as it could have.
"We trust in the foundational principles of the Union," declared Pennsylvania delegate Thomas Leonard, "of representative government and our sacred beliefs in life and liberty. Managers of the Republican and Democratic parties look to these principles with disdain. We look at them as the very spirit that makes America breathe. [...] Colonel Roosevelt will carry it forward." The standard bearer for this peculiar arrangement was already clear as day, yet an air of anticipation nonetheless circulated throughout the arena as it was brought to order. On the second day of the affair, Wadsworth announced the arrival of the gathering's presumed nominee. "Gentlemen of the Convention: The next President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt."
Roosevelt stepped up to the platform, escorted by the provisional committee, and began speaking. He addressed the delegation warmly, commending them for dedicating themselves to the "first National Convention of the Progressive Party," and declaring that the hour arrived for a realignment of American politics.
This new movement is a movement of truth, sincerity, and wisdom, a movement which proposes to put at the service of all our people the collective power of the people, through their Governmental agencies, alike in the nation and in the several states. Our fight is a fundamental fight against both of the old corrupt party machines, for both are under the dominion of the plunder league of the professional politicians who are controlled and sustained by the great beneficiaries of privilege and reaction. No better proof can be given than this of the fact that the fundamental concern of the privileged interests is to beat the new party.
Some of them would rather beat it with Mr. Depew; others would rather beat it with Mr. Olney; but the difference between Mr. Depew and Mr. Olney they consider as trivial, as a mere matter of personal preference. Their real fight is for either, as against the Progressives. They represent the allied Reactionaries of the country, and they are against the new party because to their unerring vision it is evident that the real danger to privilege comes from the new party, and from the new party alone. Having served from my post as Secretary of War, until my recent resignation, I know firsthand the inadequacies and miseries epitomized in this administration. Our aim, to secure government by and for the people, not government by and for the monopoly, is unanswerable in the present administration. Our aim is to control business, not to strangle it--and, above all, not to continue a policy of make-believe strangle toward big concerns that do evil, and constant menace toward both big and little concerns that do well. Our aim is to promote prosperity, and then see to its proper division.
The Progressive proposal is definite. It is practicable. We promise nothing that we cannot carry out. We promise nothing which will jeopardize honest business. We promise adequate control of all big business and the stern suppression of the evils connected with big business, and this promise we can absolutely keep. Our Government system should be so shaped that the public servant, when he cannot conscientiously carry out the wishes of the people, shall at their desire leave his office and not misrepresent them in office; and I hold that the public servant can by so doing, better than in any other way, serve both them and his conscience.
Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive Convention Speech, August 2nd, 1904
This speech, as delivered by the Rough Rider candidate, forever thrust the Progressive Party onto the national stage in a way that would have proven otherwise impossible. Roosevelt's careful maneuverability around the issues, addressing the deep-seated popular concerns of economic injustice while not leaning into socialist philosophy, seemed to go just far enough to satisfy everyone. He dedicated the bulk of his introductory message to the plight of trust-busting, but did momentarily focus on the need to modernize the state department, enact Beveridge's plan for a bipartisan tariff commission, and create new avenues for direct decision making by voters through state-wide primary elections.
On the third and final day of the convention, as the religious fervor of the delegation rose to its highest peak, the convention unanimously selected Theodore Roosevelt as their nominee. At the insistence of Roosevelt, and perhaps in contrast to the wishes of the committee to award La Follette for his efforts at the Republican Convention, the delegates approved William Howard Taft for vice president. Taft, a federal judge known for upholding the validity of the Sherman Antitrust Act and the rights of workers to take part in labor strikes, mildly supported his friend's break from the Republican Party yet wholeheartedly endorsed his fight for the presidency. Roosevelt hoped, especially with the congenial Taft on the ticket, to entice vacillating moderate Republican voters and, furthermore, exemplify the party's image as the true successor to the antiquated GOP.