The Rise of Progressivism

[Cathcon1]

Originally Posted by Archangel

Subscribed!

Thank you!

This is just a shameless bump since it sank to the fourth page. I don't know how much time I'll have over the week to work on World War I and/or the 1916 election.

[historybuff]

Maybe I can give you some ideas for this TL, cabinet posts, political/military events, and so on.

[Dean501]

Good TL. Ive just read this and seen that both our TL's have a 2nd Mexican American Wars.

[Cathcon1]

Originally Posted by historybuff

Maybe I can give you some ideas for this TL, cabinet posts, political/military events, and so on.

Thanks. I might need your help in finding candidates to field for a couple of elections to come, also with foreign events.

[Cathcon1]

The Election of 1916

With World War I raging and American moral high, 1915 ended and the nation entered election season. For President Roosevelt, this would be his third time running for re-election, and by that point he had become very skilled at the art. He was popular with the American people and it seemed they would be willing to give him another four years.
However, he was not without opponents as the Democratic Party and the Republican Party we still willing to give it another go. However, both parties were in dire trouble as the Republicans had been crushed in 1912 while the last time the Democrats had held the Presidency was twenty years ago. Despite that, both parties were gearing up for the 1916 election.

-The American President, Kathryn Moore

For the Democrats, there were four major candidates to emerge as the likely nominee. Altogether it was seen as a weak field and one that would bring forth an easily beatable nominee.

Woodrow Wilson of New Jersey

President of Princeton Unicerstiy 1902-1910
Governor of New Jersey 1911-1913, 1915-1917
The 1912 nominee, Wilson had already blow what was seen as a near sure chance of victory four years ealier. However, he was willing to run again and hoped that the party would accept him a second time.

James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark of Missouri

United States Congressman from Missouri's 9th Congressional District 1893-1895, 1897-1917
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The United States Speaker of the House, "Champ" Clark had been favored to win the nomination the previous election cycle. However, he had failed. However, it was likely that in 1916 he'd be able to accomplish that goal against a weak field. The main issue of Clark's campaign would be the United States' entrance into not only World War I but into the Second Mexican-American War both of which he claimed were un-necessary conflicts. This would appeal to the isolationist sentiment within America, however people wondered if it would be enough to give him victory.

Judson Harmon of Ohio

United States Attorney General 1895-1897
Governor of Ohio 1909-1913
Despite having retired from politics in 1912, after a "Draft Harmon" movement had developed baded in his home state of Ohio, the former Governor Jud Harmon decided that he'd give it one last run.

William F McCombs of New York

Democratic National Committee Chairman 1912-1916
Despite having very little experience in office, McCombs was the final candidate to announce his candidacy. He had originally been put in the office of Chairman of the DNC after Wilson's loss in 1912. Despite Wilson's loss, he endorsement had had enough influence to give McCombs victory. What he was runnning on mainly was "an agenda for victory". He made his case by claiming that with his leadership, the Democrats had managed to keep the reigns of power despite massive Progressive surges in the 1914 elections. Champ Clark remaining Speaker of the House, John Fitzgerald getting elected to the Senate, and Woodrow Wilson being re-election Governor in 1914 were examples of this claimed leadership.

These four candidates would become the four frontrunners to the nomination. All in all, the 1916 election was compiled of a weak field with the only strong and influential candidate being Clark. This would foretell things to come as both the Republicans and Democrats further detriorated.

-The End of an Era, the collapse of the two-party system, George C Lodge

[Cathcon1]

Well, I finally updated, short as it may be. Hopefully, I can put up the Republican candidates list and get to the nominations, etc.

[Cathcon1]

The 1916 Republican Nomination

For the Republicans, a slightly stronger field emerged. Had my grandfather decline the position of Secretary of State under President Roosevelt, there is no doubt in my mind that he could have been one of the front runners in either 1916 or 1920. However, he was not. Instead, the field was...

Charles W Fairbanks of Indiana

United States Senator from Indiana 1897-1905
Vice-President of the United States 1905-1909
The campaign of former Vice-President Fairbanks was the first sign of the power that Taft had gained over the party. Despite having been the Vice-President under Theordore Roosevelt, Fairbanks had not been a fridn of Roosevelt, with him endorsing Taft instead of Fairbanks in 1908, and Fairbanks endorsing Taft instead of Roosevelt in 1912. Fairbank's campaign was seen as a message of "revenge", both for himself, and for Taft.

Philander C Knox of Pennsylvania

United States Attorney General 1901-1904
United States Senator from Pennsylvania 1904-1909
United States Secretary of State 1909-1913
Another political ally of Taft and a man who had worked for Roosevelt when Roosevelt was a Republican, he had also decided to enter the race for his party's nomination to avenge his party's 1912 loss and Roosevelt's fleeing the party.

William Alden Smith of Michigan

Congressman from Michigan's 5th Congressional District 1895-1907
United States Senator from Michigan 1907-1919
It seemed that the 1912 field would be dominated by Mid-Westerners as the Senator from Michigan threw his hat into the ring. Smith was most famous for hearings held at the Waldorf-Austoria after the sinking of the luxury liner the Titanic in 1912.

Warren G Harding of Ohio

Lieutenant Governor of Ohio 1904-1906
United States Senator from Ohio 1915-1923
Another "Taftite", this one from Taft's own state, Harding would throw his hat into the ring as a member of the "class of 1914", Republicans who had been elected to Congress despite massive Progressive gains and Democratic strength during the election. Historically, he would be known for coining the term "the Founding Fathers" during one of his speeches to the 1916 Republican National Convention.

John W Weeks of Massachusetts

Congressman from Massachusetts' 12th Congressional District 1905-1913
Congressman from Massachusetts' 13th Congressional Distrcit 1913-1913
United States Senator from Massachusetts 1913-1919
Representing Massachusetts, Senator Weeks threw his hat in the ring. Once again, had my grandfather not accepted a position in the Roosevelt cabinet, I believe he would have taken Weeks' place, and possibly, just possibly, given the Republicans a leader to revive them. However, he did not.

The major candidates in the 1916 Republican field, five in all with various smalled candidates, would geographically be contained between Indiana and Massachusetts, not a large range of ground. It seemed that this too was foretelling the weakening of the Republicans and the Democrats as their numbers grew continually smaller.

-The End of an Era, the death of the two party system, George C Lodge

In my opinion, it was the Republicans' insistence on nominating such Far Right Conservatives that led to their eventual destruction. It marginalized a number of voters and, as we may see with the Conservative Party, it caused their demise.

Senator Nancy Landon (P-KS) on Progressivism, 1993

[historybuff]

Sounds to me like Roosevelt's got this one wrapped up.

[Cathcon1]

Does anyone have any information on the 1916 Republican Primaries? And if there's anything on the Democrats, that's be appreciated as well.

[Ganesha]

Sorry, nope.

[Archangel]

Looks like the rump Republicans risk becoming the moderate wing of the Conservative Party.

[Cathcon1]

The 1916 Presidential Election

With President Roosevelt's popularity, both parties-the Republicans and the Democrats were ready for defeat, though they didn't have to like it.
For the Republicans, the primaries had mostly been cordial affairs with very few personal jabs by the different candidates. At the convention, the delegates easily nominated former Vice-President Charles W Fairbanks, feeling that he would be the best man to go up against his own former running mate in the general election, and that he being the nominee would force TR to keep things civil. For Vice-President, political newbie Warren G Harding was nominated, thus setting a Conservative tone for the platform, especially with a large amount of the Progressives out of the way.
Republican Primary Map

Light Blue-Smith
Dark Red-Knox
Red-Fairbanks
Blue-Harding
Dark Blue-Weeks
Light Green-Ford*

*Commerce Secretary Henry Ford did not campaign, nor did he have a campaign. The campaign was formed by supporters of his in a "Draft Ford" movement.

The Democrats would also nominate an experienced hand as the nomination was handed to Speaker of the House James "Champ" Clark of Missouri. However, for them, the primary season was much more bloody with different candidates taking their areas of strength. In order to bring about the idea of 'an agenda for victory', the convention chose DNC Chairman William F McCombs for Vice-President. He would bring in a number of the Progressives and Wilson allies. However, that of course couldn't stop the losing of many Progressives and Liberals to, of course, the Progressive Party.

In the general election, the only trouble President Roosevelt had was a surprising amount of Republican strength in the Mid-West/Great Lakes area. Also, the Democrats as always were the party of the South. Despite that, President Roosevelt won with a large margin, larger than in 1912.

1. President Theodore Roosevelt (P-NY)/Vice-President Hiram Johnson (P-CA); 303 electoral votes
2. Speaker of the House James Beauchamp "Champ" Clark (D-MO)/Democratic National Committee Chairmon William F McCombs (D-NY); 189 electoral votes
3. Former Vice-President Charles W Fairbanks (R-IN)/Senator Warren G Harding (R-OH); 39 electoral votes

With that, President Roosevelt won re-election and it ensure that the Progressive revolution that he started four years ago would live on.

-The American President, Kathryn Moore

Campaign pins for the incumbent President

It seemed, at least for that election, that the Republicans could be rebuilding. Despite having failed to capture Utah, which had beeen their only state in 1912, the Republicans had captured both running mates' home state, adding up to thirty-nine delegates, a vast improvemetn over their performance four years ago when they won only four. It seemed that the Democrats had been the real losers in the election, winning nothing outside the "South" as was known, except a handful of South-Western states. However, the Republican Party was nowhere near recovery, and the Democrats continued shrinking. The true Roosevelt Revolution that is still being felt today in American politics, is rooted in the 1910's.

-The End of an Era; the collapse of the two party system, George C Lodge

President Roosevelt greeting supporters the day after the election

One notable thing about the 1916 election is not that TR won. No, everybody knew he would. It was that my father-in-law, John Fitzgerald, was elected to the Senate to the seat that Henry Cabot Lodge once held. I think that helped kick off this 'dynasty' thing that all of you are talking about today.

-Amost President; Interviews with Joseph Patrick Kennedy

[Blackwater_NiK]

This is excellent, keep it up man.

[Cathcon1]

Originally Posted by Blackwater_NiK

This is excellent, keep it up man.

Thanks. Updates won't be as frequent as I'd like, but hopefully I can take this up to modern day.

[historybuff]

Excellent, wonder how Roosevelt's gonna handle the Soviet Union.

[Cathcon1]

Chapter Four
You Say You Want a Revolution

By the time of President Roosevelt's re-election, World War I was becoming increasingly clear as to who the winner would be. With both Austria-Hungary and Germany surrounded by enemies to the East and the West, they were buckling and it was thought that by 1917 the war would be over. With that good news, President Roosevelt called for Congress to send additional troops to speed up the war effort.
Domestically, President Roosevelt was working towards his greatest triumph yet; the creation of an all encompassing system that would provide for health and medical costs of every American. Despite opposition, President Roosevelt worked with Congressional leaders to see passage. Despite his popularity, Roosevelt knew that to get certain people to sign on it would not be easy. An unlikely ally would be the Liberal New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson who was a Progressive like Roosevelt, but who had decided against joining the Progressive Party. Another ally would be businessman and philanthropist Herbert Hoover who Roosevelt US Food Administrator in 1916, and head of his new Progressive Policy Council in 1917. The Progressive Policy Council would act as a 'think tank' of Roosevelt allies, which included Senator Robert Lafollette of Wisconsin, Woodrow Wilson, and Labor Secretary Franklin D Roosevelt. Hoover would become of great importance to TR as time passed during his second term.
Finally, on June 2nd, 1917, World War I came to an end. The Central powers led by Austria-Hungary and Germany surrendered after having been beaten back by Allied Forces. In Switzerland, what became known as The Treaty of Bern, was signed on the seventh hour of the seventh day of the seventh month of 1917. It created a twenty year armistice that applied to all countries that were in the Central Powers, as well as obligations to pay for the reconstruction costs of countries that were hurt during the war. This did not sit well with the citizens of Germany and of Austria-Hungary, and many American isolationists predicted that one day all hell would break loose. However, for the time being, the world was at peace.

-the American President, Kathryn Moore

President Roosevelt drumming up support for his domestic agenda

When you look back on that era, it's surprising we all didn't see it coming. It was like one big Progressive plot. TR entered the war, stirred things up, and created a treaty that any sane man would know to be crazy. Because of that, the son of a bitch Hinler took power with his lap dog Hitler, and because of that, we had to go to war again. It was a repeating cycle, and hopefully one day someone will be wise enough to end it.

-Almost President, Interviews with Joseph Patrick Kennedy

As can be seen if one tracks the events in Europe in and after World War I, entry into that conflict was a debatably very foolish move. A large amount of anti-American sentiment came from that conflict and it influenced many policies and decision taken at the start of and during World War II as shall be seen later.

-TR and World War I, John Eisenhower

I think that had the Great War gone on longer, the motherland would've been in serious trouble. When one looks at the cost of war, near the end we were sending boys to war without bullets! I don't think the Russian people would've tolerated that any longer than they did. However, Russia did not die out, it did not break up, it did not go through some bloody revolution. Thank Kerensky that he was able to negotiate a transition out of the monarchy and into true Liberal Democracy by 1920. Otherwise, the non-existent God knows what could have happened.

-Atlas' Chains; A Russian History, Ayn Rand

After the end of World War I, President Roosevelt returned to domestic affairs. His so-called "vision" of a world where no man, woman, or child without a doctor and proper health would be acheived in January of 1918 with the passage of the All-American Health Act. Conservatives in the Senate protested vehemently over such a bill. The main point they made was the large amount of taxes that would have to be levvied not only on the rich, but on businesses as well. Senator John W Weeks, known for his Conservative economic policies protested and attempted a filibuster over such a bill. However, the act passed and was scheduled to go into effect in 1919.

-The American President, Kathryn Moore

[Cathcon1]

Parts of the above post will be edited and added to later.

[historybuff]

Interesting. Wonder what the world's gonna be like with no communist countries.

[Cathcon1]

Originally Posted by historybuff

Interesting. Wonder what the world's gonna be like with no communist countries.

It's not that Russia isn't communist, it's that there wasn't a bloody revolution. I'll explain it in a following update.

[Wendell]

Originally Posted by Cathcon1

It's not that Russia isn't communist, it's that there wasn't a bloody revolution. I'll explain it in a following update.

Still, the lack of a bloody revolution there could be quite significant politically.