To Be Progressive
What if Roosevelt secured a Progressive victory in 1912?
1912: Theodore Roosevelt / Hiram Johnson (Progressive) [1]
1916: Theodore Roosevelt / Hiram Johnson (Progressive) [2]
1918: Hiram Johnson/Vacant (Progressive) [3]
[1] The 1912 election was one of the most momentous of modern times as the Republican Party - astonishingly led by the incumbent President, William Taft - collapsed in the polls and allowed the Progressives (under Roosevelt) to sweep to victory; the Democrats too were weak after a fractious convention season, and the Progressives easily demolished Judson Harmon, their candidate, in the election. The triumph of the Progressive movement returned Roosevelt to the White House at a crucial time in European history, as the long-delicate balance of power threatened to dissolve completely into total war. Roosevelt remained convinced of a hawkish attitude and brought the United States into a hostile neutrality against the Central Powers virtually from the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.
[2] With several Republican (and some Democratic) House members switching their loyalties by running on the Progressive ticket at the 1914 House elections, the Roosevelt administration now held a solid progressive bloc to push for reforms. One of the major achievements was the introduction of women's suffrage, heavily pushed for by Progressive Congresswoman Jane Addams. This tended to be crucial for the re-election of Roosevelt in 1916, as the women's vote - though with a low turnout - mostly went to the Progressive ticket. In foreign policy, the government was divided between "hawks" (including Secretary of State Charles Hughes and the President himself), who wanted direct military involvement on the European theatre of war, and "doves" like Robert LaFollette and Hiram Johnson, who favoured the 'hostile neutrality' of the previous term. At the 1916 election, the Republicans were doomed, as Elihu Root's platform was virtually indistinguishable to that of the Roosevelt administration. Meanwhile, the Democrats' candidate Champ Clark favoured an isolationist approach and did well in the South and mid-West, thus preventing an overall majority of electors for Roosevelt. The election was thrown to the House, whose narrow Republican-Progressive majority then elected Roosevelt.
[3] Every Democratic politician in the country it seemed wanted to go up against Roosevelt in 1920, but they wouldn't get their chance. In February of 1918, Roosevelt's worsening health finally won out and the president died of a pulmonary embolism. While Roosevelt was never as popular in his second set of terms as he was in his first, his death still came as a shock to the nation. Johnson would quickly prove to a capable leader in his own right. He quickly set to work enacting several reforms, mainly an amendment allowing for fusion balloting (a similar reform to something he had passed in California as governor), which would be ratified by the states in 1921. He kept a tight grip on foreign policy and strictly continued Roosevelt's "hostile neutrality" policy, though the war in Europe was beginning to be a strain on the economy. He had proven himself a worthy (if not ideal) successor to Roosevelt, and would likely be a strong (though rather boring) candidate in 1920.
What if Roosevelt secured a Progressive victory in 1912?
1912: Theodore Roosevelt / Hiram Johnson (Progressive) [1]
1916: Theodore Roosevelt / Hiram Johnson (Progressive) [2]
1918: Hiram Johnson/Vacant (Progressive) [3]
[1] The 1912 election was one of the most momentous of modern times as the Republican Party - astonishingly led by the incumbent President, William Taft - collapsed in the polls and allowed the Progressives (under Roosevelt) to sweep to victory; the Democrats too were weak after a fractious convention season, and the Progressives easily demolished Judson Harmon, their candidate, in the election. The triumph of the Progressive movement returned Roosevelt to the White House at a crucial time in European history, as the long-delicate balance of power threatened to dissolve completely into total war. Roosevelt remained convinced of a hawkish attitude and brought the United States into a hostile neutrality against the Central Powers virtually from the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.
[2] With several Republican (and some Democratic) House members switching their loyalties by running on the Progressive ticket at the 1914 House elections, the Roosevelt administration now held a solid progressive bloc to push for reforms. One of the major achievements was the introduction of women's suffrage, heavily pushed for by Progressive Congresswoman Jane Addams. This tended to be crucial for the re-election of Roosevelt in 1916, as the women's vote - though with a low turnout - mostly went to the Progressive ticket. In foreign policy, the government was divided between "hawks" (including Secretary of State Charles Hughes and the President himself), who wanted direct military involvement on the European theatre of war, and "doves" like Robert LaFollette and Hiram Johnson, who favoured the 'hostile neutrality' of the previous term. At the 1916 election, the Republicans were doomed, as Elihu Root's platform was virtually indistinguishable to that of the Roosevelt administration. Meanwhile, the Democrats' candidate Champ Clark favoured an isolationist approach and did well in the South and mid-West, thus preventing an overall majority of electors for Roosevelt. The election was thrown to the House, whose narrow Republican-Progressive majority then elected Roosevelt.
[3] Every Democratic politician in the country it seemed wanted to go up against Roosevelt in 1920, but they wouldn't get their chance. In February of 1918, Roosevelt's worsening health finally won out and the president died of a pulmonary embolism. While Roosevelt was never as popular in his second set of terms as he was in his first, his death still came as a shock to the nation. Johnson would quickly prove to a capable leader in his own right. He quickly set to work enacting several reforms, mainly an amendment allowing for fusion balloting (a similar reform to something he had passed in California as governor), which would be ratified by the states in 1921. He kept a tight grip on foreign policy and strictly continued Roosevelt's "hostile neutrality" policy, though the war in Europe was beginning to be a strain on the economy. He had proven himself a worthy (if not ideal) successor to Roosevelt, and would likely be a strong (though rather boring) candidate in 1920.
