Enter the Teddy Bear
Part of the legacy of William Jennings Bryan was working with Progressive Republicans such as Teddy Roosevelt on a number of items including establishing a national parks system and forcing college football to adopt rules changes making the forward pass easier and therefore reducing chance of injury that the sport was becoming known for.
Bryan followed in the path of Weaver. He did not follow strict Democrat party rules. He forged alliances with Republicans. He formed what would be called progressives. They were for measures to send America into the next century. They were for the regulation of big business so that competition would exist to keep prices lower. They were for measures to protect workers from harsh conditions. They were for women’s rights and preserving parks in America for all to enjoy.
Sensing that his work was done and complete, Bryan did not run again for president in 1908. In fact, he quit politics all together. He traveled the world as a speaker and preacher. He spoke about the causes and themes that he supported. For the election of 1908, he supported his progressive colleague, Theodore Roosevelt.
1908 Election
Theodore Roosevelt was a natural choice. He was from New York, spent time as a rancher in Dakota, was a hero from the Boer War, was a proponent of progressive measures, and was a world traveler and adventurer. He was hugely popular.
Against Roosevelt, the Democrats had little hope. Their candidate Charles A. Towne was also from New York with ties to Minnesota. Towne only won the solid South. The result of the Electoral College was a crushing victory for Roosevelt, 338 to 138.
Roosevelt continued the progressive measures of Bryan. He was slightly more in favor of big business. Under Roosevelt, the US economy boomed as trade increased especially with Germany and China. To support this trade, Roosevelt developed a Navy that was on the level of the British. In 1910, the 18th amendment to the Constitution gave women the right to vote in all states. In 1911, Nevada was admitted into the Union as the 48th state.
In foreign affairs, Roosevelt cooperated with the British in such a way that even though the USA increased its naval strength, the British did not feel threatened or that a competition was underway. Roosevelt respected the British empire and its spheres of influence that were established. Roosevelt was however for free trade, protected trade, and against European Imperialism.
In Europe, the alliances of the empires become more polarized. The greatest rift is occurring among the Franco-Russian alliance against the Austro-German alliance. The Russians are ever supporting the Slavs in the Balkans against both the Austro-Germans and the Ottomans. There was mutual respect as the Russians supported Austro-Hungarian takeover of Bosnia and the Austro-Hungarians supported Russian control of the Bosporus.
With the background of mutual protection against both the Ottomans and the Austro-Hungarians, the Balkan League forms as an alliance of Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, and Greece. Pitted against the Balkan League was the Ottoman Empire. The first flashpoint was the independence movement in Albania 1911. The Balkan League used the Albanian independence movement as a backdrop to enter a war with the Ottoman empire for European territory in Thrace and Macedonia. The war was known as the First Balkan War erupted in the fall of 1812.
Second Term for Roosevelt
In the election of 1912, Roosevelt wins a second term against Woodrow Wilson from Virginia. The Democrats pick up Missouri, Franklin and Delaware to create a more solid South. Roosevelt picks up Nevada.
Roosevelt continues the progressive measures of finance and economy that has allowed the US to succeed but not at the expense of its workers.
But his time is spent more on foreign affairs.
He teams with the Britain to host the London Peace Conference in 1913. The result is the London Treaty between the Ottoman Empire and the Balkan League to bring to an end the Balkan War. The Ottomans gave up most of their processions in Europe and recognized the independence of Albania. Prior to this, the Ottomans had lost territory in Libya to the Italians. The peace in the Balkans was brief in that the victors of the Balkan war squabbled over the territory gained amongst themselves. Primarily, it was between Bulgaria and Serbia and Greece.
This second conflict broke out a month after the US-UK brokered peace in May 1913. It lasted the summer of 1913. Romania and the Ottomans joined in with Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece against the Bulgarians. The Bulgarians were simply overwhelmed as Romania and the Ottomans joined in. The resulting peace treaty revised the territory gained from the first Balkan War. It also brought Bulgaria into the alliance of the Germans and Austro-Hungarians and entrenched Serbia and Montenegro into the Russian sphere.
The British and Americans were opposed to the squabbling of the Balkan nations after the London Treaty. To this end, President Roosevelt convinces the British to join in joint naval exercises in the Mediterranean. They collect in the spring of 1914 and demonstrate in the summer of 1914.
With this greater fleet, the US presence in the Pacific is weakened some, but through the Roosevelt build up, the US Navy has the strongest presence in the Pacific with large bases located on Guam, Hawaii, and San Diego. Smaller bases are along the Pacific coast, Samoa, and the Philippines.
The tensions did not ease with peace in the Balkans. Austria-Hungary asserted its claims in Bosnia which put it against the Serbs. The Bulgarians were disgruntled with the Serbs as well. The Russians fully supported the Serbs against Austro-Hungarian encroachment. The French supported the Russians and the Germans supported the Austrians.
It was the Germans however, who fully prepared for any possible engagement. The Germans updated their war plans with the Austrians to include Serbia. The French front and the Schlieffen Plan were given top priority for offensive movement to remove the French from the war. After the French were removed from a massive and speedy offensive that would overwhelm the French army, the Russians would be the second theatre of war for action. Plans were made for what the offensive against the Russians would be. Finally, after the Russians were subdued, overwhelming force would be brought upon the Serbs.
For the possibility of a three front war, the Germans invested in Austria-Hungary to update the East-West railroad and North-South railroad networks to be able to transfer troops rapidly to the multiple fronts. Prussian and North German (Hanover, Saxony, Holstein, and Hessian) troops would comprise the armies on the Right and Center army groups. Bavarian and Austrian troops would be used on the left. Prussian troops would hold a defensive position in East Prussia against the Russians. Hungarian troops were positioned in Galicia and against the Serbs.
The Allies of France and Russia did not have any joint plans. The Russian plan would go on the offensive to secure its Polish and Lithuanian possessions as well as to capture Galicia. The French also planned to go on the offensive into the Alsace-Lorain region of Germany that was ceded after the 1870 Franco-Prussian War. The German defensive plans were to actually give way in Alsace-Lorain to lure the French forward as the Right Wing armies swept across to encircle first Paris and then the French army in Alsace-Lorain. The Germans made strong defensive positions Prussia and in Galicia.
The Germans also continue to strengthen their trading with the USA and keep good relations with the British not challenging them on the open seas.