Paint it Red: The Rise of the American Left (1908-1932)

[Pyro]

Paint it Red: The Rise of the American Left
Alternate History of the Left from 1908 to 1932*

[Check Out Crimson Banners Fly: A Re-Imagining of This Timeline!]

---Table of Contents---

Introduction
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve

Completed Election Results (Spoilers!)
Election of 1908
Election of 1912
Election of 1916
Election of 1920
Election of 1924
Election of 1928
Election of 1932


The Socialist Party National Convention: May 1920

Prologue: Party Crasher: The 1920 SNC

  May 12th, 1920. The day sped by as quick as a racehorse. The mainstream press had decried the party’s convention as “unpatriotic” and “a gathering of bloodthirsty reds”, yet the National Convention for the Socialist Party of America was the largest third party convention ever. It had surpassed the Progressive Convention of 1916 by over ten thousand attendees.
 
  The adoption of a radical platform had been in the works since the Palmer Schemes forced a new leadership election which was won by the once-minority revolutionary sect of Socialists. This new leadership had just voted to join the Communist International, a move criticized by the moderates in the SP. Further talk on this matter was planned for a minimum two-hour debate at the party convention where the platform would be set. The SP had gone a long way from only ten years prior when their initial gain of two seats in the House of Representatives began a train of forward momentum.

  Crowds formed outside of the convention eager to gain admittance when the hall filled on the first morning. Chicago police were present to keep watch of any dangerous activity, or so they stated. Red flags flew from nearby buildings as a show of solidarity with the party and the growing labor movement. The morning had opened with a Main Street March organized by Veterans for Democracy, a group started by veterans of the Great War which was openly affiliated with the SP.

  For a time, anti-left protesters attempted to alter press attention towards themselves, but they were ignored by party go-ers as Red Scare rabble. After all that had happened in the past year, many still supported the president's initiatives to provide a "secure America". Since the failure of Congress to pass the Sedition Act, semi-secret federal action against groups like the Socialist Party and even in the president's own Progressive Party was not uncommon.
 
  At 3:48pm the shots rang out. Three bullets fired from a Colt M1889. The first lethal bullet hit Joseph Cohen, a delegate from Pennsylvania. The second missed. The third struck the torso of party leader and founding member, Eugene V. Debs. The police immediately rushed the hall and began tackling anyone deemed “suspicious or complicit” in the assassination attempt. Debs was taken to a nearby hospital. He survived the attempt on his life, but would remain incapacitated for the entirety of his party’s convention and later confined to a wheelchair for the remainder of his life.

  The culprit, according to the official police report and the press follow-up, was anarchist Harold T. Franklin. He was identified with ownership of the weapon found in the convention hall and had been recognized as a vocal opponent of the Socialist Party by its leadership. However, some of the claimed facts were disconcerting. Franklin was found near the entrance to the Chicago Coliseum twenty seconds after the shots were fired, and did not appear nervous or rushed.

  As Franklin would have had to run from the main hall to the entrance through an enormous, panicked crowd in less than twenty seconds, there were those in the SP doubted the truth behind the purported facts. Regardless, the sitting president called Franklin a “traitor to democracy” in a follow-up address to the shooting.

  The New York Times was the first to report that Franklin was declared guilty of murder in a trial lasting less than ten days. He was hanged on June 5th. Some, even in radical circles, declared the death of Harold Franklin a victory for the working class. Others remarked on the eerie similarity between the attempted assassination of Debs and the successful killing of President McKinley. While the former president’s death effectively brought about the fall of the Old Guard Republicans, the rise of Theodore Roosevelt and the creation of his Progressive Party, there would be very little to gain for an anarchist to kill a socialist other than to shake the foundations of the SP.

[MadmanMotley]

Go on...

[Pyro]

New York Times Issue: June 1920


Introduction: A Day like Any Other: The Election of 1908

  Much had changed in America in the past decade. The world had gone through a tumultuous war, mass politics were shifting radically, and technology was developing at a rapid pace. An issue of the New York Times printed in June of 1920 reflected on times gone by and the immense political changes ushered in through this strange rise of third parties.

  The tragic death of President William McKinley skewed U.S. policy away from the staunch pro-business tact of the Gilded Age and toward a new, “progressive” era. Following decades of labor agitation, social and economic policies were finally beginning to tilt. The ongoing war between workers and capitalists continued as it had since the dawn of Capitalism, with dominant ideologies ranging from the Marxian dialectic to Carnegie’s pro-business ‘Gospel of Wealth’. American politics had, up to this point, only represented one small percentage of the whole population. With the rise of third parties and progressivism in the United States came new methods of perception. The Old Guard, however, as time will tell, would not let go so easily.

  President Roosevelt was nearing the end of his second term as president. Upon the end of McKinley’s administration, Roosevelt ran for president on his own in 1904. Having instituted new-fangled policies which benefited working and middle class individuals, in addition to major governmental reforms, it took little effort to win the electorate to his side.

  He won the election against Judge Alton Parker (D) with over 55% of the popular vote. A man of change and personality, it surprised few that Roosevelt became the first incumbent to win an election following the death of his predecessor. Regardless of Roosevelt’s popularity, however, Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs carried over 400,000 votes in 1904, roughly 3% of the electorate.

  Conservatism was far from dead. Even though Parker performed worse than any Democrat since Stephen A. Douglas in 1860, Congress and the Supreme Court was still dominated almost entirely by the right-wing business class. Although Bourbon-Democrats like President Cleveland were a relic of the past, conservatism was strong in both major parties. Other than the remnants of the old People’s Party, led by WJ Bryan, the majority of the Democrats were the old-guard such as John Sharp Williams (D-MS).

  1908 saw a resurgence of this conservatism, or at least the continuation of Republican dominance. After a long convention, the Republicans ended up nominating Senator Philander C. Knox (R-PA) instead of the Roosevelt-endorsed Secretary of War, William Taft. Knox was able to convince both Speaker Joseph Cannon (R-IL) and Charles E. Hughes (R-NY) to endorse him, leaving the convention at a stalemate until Taft dropped out. When the Democrats nominated their tried-and-failed candidate W.J. Bryan, Knox totally decimated him. However, late in his campaign Bryan made minor gains through pushing Republican disloyalty to Roosevelt's choice, Taft. This resulted in a closer-than-expected popular vote, but a victory for Knox nonetheless.

edit: img fix

[Pyro]

Philander Knox: 27th President of the United States

Chapter One: Betrayal of Values: The Presidency of Philander Knox

The Knox Cabinet

President                       Philander C. Knox
Vice President                James S. Sherman
Secretary of State          William H. Taft
Secretary of Treasury      Franklin MacVeagh
Secretary of War            Jacob M. Dickinson
Attorney General            George W. Wickersham
Postmaster General         Frank H. Hitchcock
Secretary of the Navy     George von L. Meyer
Secretary of the Interior  Richard A. Ballinger
Secretary of Agriculture   James Wilson
Secretary of Com & Lab   Charles Nagel


  When the torch was officially passed from Theodore Roosevelt to Philander Knox on the day of the inauguration, the former made it a point to be as amiable as possible to his successor. Knox was not Roosevelt’s chosen successor: that privilege had gone to W.H. Taft. However, Roosevelt believed that the new president was a reliable Republican who would not desecrate the Square Deal programs and thusly act as a ‘Center’ for the party.

  When Knox selected his cabinet, its members did not stray far from Knox’s conservative self. Vice President Sherman, an even stricter hardline conservative, stressed Knox to re-appoint Secretary of State Elihu Root to his position. Knox, however, had Congress approve his choice: his former opponent, William Howard Taft to the post. The other positions were filled in a timely manner.

  Knox had won his election on a basis of preserving the reforms offered by Roosevelt but maintaining a sense of conservatism he believed has been “lost” when McKinley passed away. In his inaugural Knox had stressed the goal of American exceptionalism: that as a beacon to the world, the United States had a solemn duty to enrich itself and live up to such a promise. The tariff issue, a divisive feature of politics and one unaddressed by Roosevelt, was raised by Knox, who stated that he would lower the tax on foreign goods.

  While in the past administration big business was scrutinized for the first time in many years, Knox stood firm in “the rule of the market”. When it came to foreign policy, Knox allowed Secretary Taft to take center stage. Taft said of his and Knox’s policy that it would reinvigorate the State Department as “It is organized on the basis of the needs of the government in 1800 instead of 1900.”

  Much to the detriment of his later career, President Knox lacked the magnetism of Roosevelt, and any sort of dedicated support drained away within the first year of his tenure. Progressives who expected a lesser-Roosevelt instead received another Grover Cleveland. Led by progressives and socialists, rallies were held in Washington urging President Knox to pursue Roosevelt’s anti-trust policies: especially once U.S. Steel absorbed a rather large Tennessee company. After two years of presiding in the Oval Office, only two antitrust suits were filed by the Justice Department.

  The Knox-Taft policies abroad was perhaps the greatest success of the Knox administration. Coordinating a concept called “Dollar Diplomacy”, the US would loan money out to Latin and South American countries for infrastructure improvement. Not only did this strengthen US influence, but it provided a trade boost to the Americas: notably Argentina. Senate Progressive Republicans attempted to act against Knox’s effort, but ultimately failed.

  Although the economy was generally doing well, Knox was thoroughly unpopular amongst the majority of the population. Older, more conservative Republicans thought Knox was “more Roosevelt” while Progressives believed he was yet another McKinley. When the Midterm elections came and went, the Republican establishment took a major hit in both the House as well as the Senate. When opinion polling demonstrated a Democratic newspapers printed headlines such as “Is the Era of the Republican Congress Nearing its End?” As it turned out, the fragmentation of the Republican Party was far worse than anyone had expected.

[Bakersfield Uber Alles]

I am intrigued.

[Pyro]

1910 Congressional Elections      

Senate
Republican: 47 (-13)
Democratic: 45 (+13)
Socialist: 0 (0)

House
Democratic: 235 (+63)
Republican: 158 (-61)
Socialist: 2 (+2)

         

  The Democrats were successfully able to take advantage of Republican division and present themselves as a unified, stable party. The lack of progressively minded Republicans running for office led to low turnout in the Northeast and Midwest. The Republicans were trounced and the Democrats took the House in one of the biggest midterm landslide elections in decades. With this result in tow, the possibility of a Democratic presidential victory in 1912 began circling the press.

  Republican Senators who were previously dubbed “invincible men”, including Chauncey Depew (R-NY), were trounced by Democratic challengers in landslide victories. President Knox avoided a publicity nightmare when his chosen successor, George T. Oliver (R-PA), managed to defeat his chief challenger, J. Henry Cochran, for the Senate seat. When the totals were counted, it was learned that the Republicans lost 13 Senate seats and 61 House seats, effectively handing the House to the opposition and evening the playing field in the Senate. The Socialist Party picked up two House seats in Wisconsin.

  Liberal Republican Hiram Johnson replaced the conservative Governor of California, James Gillett, in a sweeping victory over Democrat Theodore A. Bell. In New Hampshire, Henry B. Quinby was replaced with the more liberal Republican Robert P. Bass. Charles Evans Hughes, the popular Governor of New York, was chosen to succeed Secretary Wickersham as the Attorney General of the United States. Hughes’ successor, Horace White, was soundly defeated by the liberal reformist William Sulzer, who himself had just narrowly defeated John Alden Dix in a fierce primary battle.

  As the popularity of President Knox reached an all-time low, talk of a replacement reportedly began within the GOP establishment as early as the midterm elections. Knox made no hints whether or not he would be running for re-election. Compared with the boisterous Roosevelt, Knox was but a recluse. He disliked the openness of Roosevelt’s White House which he referred to as a “naïve and insecure” identity.

  Though he too disliked making public appearances, Secretary Taft ended up becoming the face of the Knox administration and was thusly criticized as such by the Democratic opposition. William Jennings Bryan, Alton B. Parker, and other leading figures referred to Knox’s legacy as “rigid” and “without backbone.”

  At a crossroads, President Knox chose to go full force with his conservative nature. He announced in a public address that he would no longer seek antitrust suits, believing his predecessor was in the wrong by pursuing this path. Knox also spoke harshly on the activity of labor, referring to striking workers as “indolent pests”. He announced that a new sector of government, eventually called the Chamber of Commerce, would act as a central chamber for all labor settlements and negotiations. Knox made it clear, however, that he himself, and the Chamber, would enthusiastically serve on the side of the businesses in question.

  For some of the most conservative GOP members, Knox became a marvel, but for the overall majority of the party, this action was viewed as unfair, even for the labor movement. The Governor of Ohio, Judson Harmon (D), made a speech following Knox’s remark. He stated, “This road taken by the president is not only foolish, but unconstitutional. Our government serves the people. If such a grand chamber should be created, it must act impartially.” Other Democrats gave similar addresses.

  It was not only Democrats who sharply disagreed with Knox’s policies: popular Republicans including former Vice President Charles Fairbanks spoke out against the president. The nail in the coffin was the disparaging remark by Senator Robert La Follette (R-WI), once a staunch supporter of Knox, that “as recent events have made crystal clear, President Knox is intent on demoralizing all Americans and handing our government to Wall Street.” This blow struck hard, and the possibility of a second term for Knox seemed slim to none when the New Year of 1912 came.

[Pyro]

British Ambassador to the United States: James Bryce

  The start of 1912 brought about one of the most significant international blunders involving the United States in recent history. Knox had Secretary Taft and other officials supervise a standard trade deal between the United States and Canada. In these terms, which were first set in motion by Roosevelt, the U.S. government would bend to minor Canadian tariffs in order to secure a shipping lane near Newfoundland.

  While such deals were considered trivial by previous administrators, Knox decided to study the deals with a sharper eye, and reportedly stated, “This is not right. In this hemisphere, the United States has the final say.” He ordered the tearing up of the trade deal and a total restructuring from scratch. Knox and Taft created a new pact, which would lower the tariffs proposed by British Canada and double the length of the proposed shipping lane.

  James Bryce, the British Ambassador, was appalled and called for an immediate meeting to negotiate the trade deal fairly. Thus, this trivial trade deal, which normally would have taken about a week to be settled, continued on through March. When they began, the negotiations were heated, and Bryce began to go on the offensive out of frustration. Knox would not back down, and the talks ended without a clear solution.

  The press jumped on this opportunity and, surprisingly, took the president's side. Headlines printed all over the U.S. called Britain "insatiable" and Canada a "mere dog on a leash". In one political cartoon, Bryce was depicted as a bulldog leashed to a headstone reading "George III". In the public eye, Bryce was the stubborn one, and the mainstream opinion of Britain would prove to sour over time.

  It was eventually decided that previous trade deals would be renewed, which satisfied Bryce, but Taft and the entire Knox administration was left unsatisfied. There would be no more negotiations with Britain under Knox. The president let it be known in an address he made in April, that “The British Isles have shown their unwillingness to cooperate with the United States in these past months of talks. We are left disappointed, indeed, but will not hold scorn to Ambassador Bryce or British Parliament.”

  However, this proved to set a precedent in Knox’ foreign policy, and a rift between the U.S. and Britain began to form. Again, this move was blasted by the Democrats, but this time, most Republicans appeared to agree with this new standard. Knox’s Attorney General, Charles Evans Hughes, called the president’s move “heroic”, a move to “stand up to our old European masters”. Although it did not affect much at the time, France, which was linked to Britain through entangling alliances, was unhappy with Knox’s move to sever old ties. Germany, on the other hand, was thrilled.

[Pyro]

Former President Roosevelt meets with Secretary Taft

Chapter Two: The Election of 1912: The National Elephant Falls

  By this point, “election fever” had gripped the nation tightly. Knox, though he did have a base of supporters, was dubbed by members of both parties as a “haphazard” and “hot-headed” man. Newspapers began exploring the possibility of Knox being a one-term president by the GOP establishment blocking his nomination at the planned June National Convention. By February, two, more minor Republicans had thrown their hat in the ring to compete for the Republican nomination: Elmer Jacob Burkett (R-NE) and Joseph B. Foraker (R-OH).

  On February 23rd, President Knox declared that he would be running for a second term. He made a number of prominent announcements in his declaration speech, including that in a proposed second term, Knox would seek the creation of new economic standards promoting business and would pursue new trade policies with South America. Conservative Republicans, though unsure of Knox’s stability, applauded the measures he sought to introduce into American government. Within the same week of his announcement, conservatives Elihu Root (R-NY) and Joseph G. Cannon (R-IL) endorsed the sitting president.

  Unable to contain himself any longer, on February 25th, Theodore Roosevelt confirmed suspicions by declaring that he would be challenging President Knox for the nomination of the Republican Party. “No man in my lifetime has been as inhuman and un-presidential as our current president. I must run for the common people, they need a voice.” Though the former president had initially pledged not to break George Washington’s precedent of two-term rule, Roosevelt simply could not stay away from public life. He had been cordial to Knox during his presidency but the two did not forge much of a friendship. Secretary Taft, who was friendly with Roosevelt as well as Knox, chose to remain silent at this time and not endorse a candidate.

  The nation immediately became enthralled with Roosevelt all over again. The entrance of Roosevelt exemplified the deep rift within the Republican Party as moderates and left-leaning members of the GOP began endorsing Roosevelt in droves. The most surprising of which was Senator Robert M. La Follette (R-WI) who stated that although he was initially planning to run on his own course to the White House, he felt he needed to endorse Roosevelt if it meant ridding Washington of Knox.

[Pyro]

Judson Harmon: 45th Governor of Ohio

  Going into February, the Democratic candidates began pouring in. Governor Simeon E. Baldwin (D-CT), was the first Democrat to sign up for the race to the nomination. Next came Representative John Nance Garner (D-TX), or “Cactus Jack”, who was steadily growing in popularity in his home state. Garner was known by his supporters as the most conservative Democrat in the House, matching the legacy of Benjamin Tillman (SC-D) in the Senate.

  William Jennings Bryan sent ripples through the Democratic establishment when he announced on February 27th that he would be running once more for the party’s nomination. “They tell me to sit down. They say, ‘You’ve lost, the race is over.’ I say, ‘You need to pay attention’! Now sitting is the nation’s least popular president since Franklin Pierce. We could not win against William McKinley, nor Roosevelt, but the people have had it with these Republicans. Knox will be toppled, and I am the man to do it.”

  Upon Bryan’s announcement, the party began to quake. One of the potential frontrunners to the nomination, Senator John W. Kern (D-IN), stated he refused to run against his old friend. John Garner gave a frustrated address, referring to Bryan as the “three time loser” who would hand the election to Roosevelt. “To Will Bryan I do say sit down!”

  With March came the announcement of the new frontrunner, Speaker Champ Clark (D-MO), that he would be running for the presidency. Clark stressed American Exceptionalism, inciting in his speech that the expansion of American bordered into Canada would not be off of the table. Another frontrunner, Judson Harmon, who made national headlines when he criticized Knox’s speech, began touring the Midwest immediately upon declaring his intention to become the Democratic nominee for president.

[Pyro]

The Des Moines Register: March 1912
Which candidate would you endorse for president?

Republican: Theodore Roosevelt: 54%
                Philander C. Knox: 44%
              Jacob Burkett: 2%
                Joseph Foraker: 2%

Democratic: Judson Harmon: 35%
                 Champ Clark: 29%
                 W.J. Bryan: 26%
                 John Garner: 10%

 
  It was during this week when the Des Moines Register began releasing its presidential polls in a new, experimental monthly report. Although highly scrutinized for its untested tactics, the poll served to prove what President Knox had feared: that Roosevelt was enormously more popular than he was. Knox became determined to win this election, and went on the attack. Embarking onto the streets of Philadelphia, he exclaimed that Roosevelt was an “exceptionally dangerous man” who is not worthy of the presidential seat.

  The poll also fueled Harmon’s campaign. Democratic bosses had been silently backing Clark’s campaign, and had supported him for the presidency since 1910. Clark was still viewed as the clear frontrunner, but Harmon gained a great deal of legitimacy when the poll was released. Once merely a ‘favorite son’ of Ohio, men like Senator James A. O’Gorman (D-NY) commented that a Harmon presidency would assure a much-needed “reduction in the power of the federal government” which had grown exponentially since Roosevelt. However, Harmon did not have much of a jubilant personality as Clark did.

  The Democratic field expanded when on March 4th House Majority Leader Oscar Underwood (D-AL) announced that he would be running for the presidency. Underwood was a rare-breed: a moderate Southern Democrat. The Alabama State Press speculated that Underwood had the potential to electorally, capture the necessary votes in the general election to win. His campaign reached mainstream press when Senator John Sharp Williams (D-MS) formally endorsed the Alabaman Representative.

  Eugene V. Debs expectantly announced his candidacy for president at about this time, and he had made it clear that his primary message during the campaign would be ending the stark income inequality in the United States and ushering in a new system which would not have such drastic meltdowns at unprecedented levels as the nation had just experienced in the recent economic panic. Debs, Hillquit, Hanford, and others including author Upton Sinclair worked tirelessly to persuade public opinion regarding their approval of capitalism as a functioning system.

  Debs’ only major opponent in this race was Victor L. Berger who, although he did not formally through his hat into the ring for the Socialist Party’s nomination, did represent the conservative wing of the party. He disliked attacking Debs’ personal beliefs, but did make a point to exclaim his own opinions as more moderate whenever possible.

[Türkisblau]

Do go on. This is really good.

[Pyro]

TR on the Campaign Trail in 1912

  The first round of serious, direct primaries were to begin in late March. Roosevelt was confident that the nation would prefer him to Knox, but Knox did not give his predecessor an inch. In the West, Bryan was still the leading contender, though that streak did not pass the Great Plains. Underwood and Garner split the South, Harmon had a firm grasp in the Midwest, and Clark had support everywhere in between. Just when the field appeared settled, however, a Democratic dark-horse by the name of Woodrow Wilson (D-NJ) threw his hat too, into the ring.

  Wilson, the sitting New Jersey Governor, was one of more progressive-leaning Democrats, and was viewed as un-electable throughout the South. Wilson tried to stress that he beat back his own party elite to pass progressive legislation in New Jersey, but the field was so crowded that the message fell on deaf ears. Bryan held scorn for Wilson, especially now that he threatened his demographic, and routinely would attack the governor as a “two-timer”. Wilson, routinely stunted by Bryan and Champ Clark’s attacks, found it difficult to break into the frontrunner status.

  Most of the candidates were touring the critical primary states in which each had his greatest chances. The new Des Moines Register poll was released on April 2nd, a mere week before the first primaries were scheduled to take place.

The Des Moines Register: April 1912
Which candidate would you endorse for president?

Republican: Theodore Roosevelt: 57%
                Philander C. Knox: 40%
                Jacob Burkett: 2%
                Joseph Foraker: 1%

Democratic: Judson Harmon: 29%
                 Champ Clark: 26%
                 W.J. Bryan: 22%
                 Oscar Underwood: 13%
                 Woodrow Wilson: 8%
                 John N. Garner: 2%

  The primaries began on April 4th in North Dakota, where both registered Democrats and registered Republicans voted to decide which path the state delegates should vote for. Though the majority of these primary elections were non-binding, the Republican Party seemed to be paying close attention to the race’s outcome: chiefly to demonstrate Roosevelt’s popularity over Knox.

  Roosevelt swept the Illinois primary with over 60% of the vote. Newspaper reported the following morning that Knox was widely perceived by voters as “overly aggressive” and “too conservative”. Knox ignored these reports and regarding the primaries only stated his disappointment in that each of the ten primary states were “Leftist strongholds”. Demonstrating just how out of touch he was, Knox went on to lose every single one of the primary contests over the next month and a half.

  It was rumored that some of the party bosses were considering putting another candidate, such as Elihu Root or Secretary Taft, in the fray to compete fairly with Roosevelt. It was clear that these party bosses would decide the election, regardless of the primary voters’ decision. Still, in the more moderate states, such as Nebraska and Maryland, Knox only lost by 2% and 4% respectively. Therefore, Knox did still have a core audience, though clearly not within the North.

  Knox was in full-campaign mode by May 1912. He was determined to continue his presidency. As he once said, “I believe have accomplished great works as this fine nation’s leader. I was elected as a conservative four years ago in a tremendous victory, defeating a raging liberal. The nature of these United States is careful conservatism and regardless of these silly state contests, the American people believe this too.”

  Roosevelt countered, “Knox wouldn’t understand what the people thought of him if he went and asked them himself.”

[NeverAgain]

Give em' hell Teddie!

[Pyro]

William J. Bryan at a Campaign Stop in 1912

  The Democrats had paid less attention to the primaries, but it would be a lie to state that the candidates cared nothing for the results. As such, even though the primaries would not indicate a leading candidate, it would demonstrate where certain candidates were strongest and how this plan could theoretically be used to defeat the royal Republicans. The Democrats, after all, had not won a presidential contest since 1892.

  North Dakota was first, won easily by Bryan, followed by New York which was taken by Clark. Wisconsin went, narrowly, to Harmon. Illinois was the first big contested state, and the expected victory, Judson Harmon, won with little effort. Clark came in a close second, followed by Wilson. Days later, Pennsylvania had its contest. Unlike Illinois, this was a battleground state, and the result was unclear going into the primary. The winner by two points was rather shocking: Woodrow Wilson.

  The state had long been pro-Roosevelt and progressive, but Clark was expected to win. Clark came in second. This served to boost Wilson’s legitimacy, and propelled him into the frontrunner status. Though it was a touch late to have an effect in this cycle, the primary would soon become hugely influential in determining leading candidates.

  Nebraska, the next contest in April, was won easily by Bryan, with Clark in second. Other states proved to be less exciting and much more predictable. Wilson won New Jersey, his home state. Underwood won Maryland, Clark won Massachusetts and California, Harmon won Ohio, and Bryan won South Dakota. The race was, by all means, tied. Once a two-man race, the contest was now a five-man race.

  May 20th saw John Garner formally drop out of the race. "It has been a tough fight, my friends, but it is now time to step aside and endorse the next President of the United States, Oscar Underwood. I wish Mr. Underwood all the best, and I hope to be standing beside him at the inauguration!" The House Majority Leader responded warmly, stating Garner would be a fine Vice President.

  As the five-man Democratic race heated up, Roosevelt found himself shielding incessant personal attacks from the Knox administration. Knox attacked Roosevelt’s conservationist policies, calling the former president “obsessed with shrubbery”. When Roosevelt stated that Knox was “thoughtless” in his degradation of his policies, Knox retorted by stating that he would work to repeal Roosevelt’s forestry and preservationist legislation if elected for a second term. As the next poll had shown, the nation was soundly rejecting the extremist Knox-ian policy.

The Des Moines Register: June 1912
Which candidate would you endorse for president?

Republican: Theodore Roosevelt: 62%
                Philander C. Knox: 36%
                Jacob Burkett: 1%
                Joseph Foraker: 1%

Democratic: Judson Harmon: 28%
                 Champ Clark: 25%
                 W.J. Bryan: 17%
                 Woodrow Wilson: 17%
                 Oscar Underwood: 13%

  Wilson had flown into a tied third place with Bryan, Roosevelt was up +26 points. The Republican Party was already well severed between the two branches, but the possibility that the Democrats could also break apart began to scare the Democratic establishment. On the prospect of a second People’s Party being formed in 1912, Judge and former Democratic nominee Alton B. Parker said, “Against a man as eccentric as Roosevelt, trust me, we need as much unity as possible.”

  The Democratic race was also getting quite personal by May and June of 1912. Clark attacked Harmon’s electability, Bryan stated Clark was too wealthy to be effective, Underwood said Bryan was a foolish dreamer, Wilson said Underwood would be the worst choice as he was a Southern Democrat.

[Pyro]

Inside View of the Chicago Coliseum, RNC

  The Republican National Convention finally began on June 18th. The power struggle was at its peak when the convention began in the Chicago Coliseum in Illinois. The crowd was enormous and half of the attendees were outward Roosevelt supporters. After the convention’s opening prayer, speeches were made in support of the two candidates, and although some of the speakers expressed gratitude towards Roosevelt, there were more outward endorsements for President Know. Without much time going by, the first roll call took off.

  When the calls began going off, it was evident that the states which held primaries were siding with the party bosses and not their constituency. Knox was widely supported in the South, and thereby had nearly one-third of delegates in his pocket from the start. Pennsylvania and New York did stand firm with Roosevelt, however, California and many other prominent states went with Knox. During the roll call proceedings, when it became evident that the party bosses were handing the nomination to Knox, Roosevelt and a great deal of his delegation walked out of the convention hall.

REPUBLICAN BALLOT		1st Call		1026 DELEGATES
Philander C. Knox		684
Theodore Roosevelt		189
Jacob Burkett		15
Joseph B. Foraker		5
ABSTAIN/BLANK		133

  It shook the entire convention hall: literally. Roosevelt understood what was happening, that his supporters would inevitably try to have him elected on a separate ticket, thus leading to an inevitable Democratic victory. Still, when he and his supporters would reconvene in the Chicago Auditorium Building in August, Roosevelt stated that if nominated, he would certainly accept such a nomination. Among those who followed Roosevelt were Governor Hiram Johnson (R-CA), Robert La Follette, Senator Albert Beveridge (R-IN), Senator William E. Borah (R-ID), and his personal friend William Howard Taft.

  Meanwhile, the Republican nominating convention continued as scheduled, making sure to blatantly ignore the storming out of the Roosevelt supporters. Knox had a surprising amount of supporters left in the chamber when he rose to speak. “Theodore Roosevelt will split this party. I will bring it back together in 1913.” He received thunderous applause on this notion. James Sherman stated he would not accept a second term as Vice President, and as such, numerous, more moderate, Republicans were slated on the ballot.

REPUBLICAN BALLOT		1st Call		1026 DELEGATES
Elihu Root		506
James G. Cannon		49
ABSTAIN/BLANK		471

  In the end, former Secretary Elihu Root was chosen as the vice presidential candidate, chiefly due to his namesake. One of Knox’s election strategies was to appeal to the Old Guard supporters: Americans who had voted for Garfield, Harrison and McKinley. Knox would most certainly be facing an Independently running Roosevelt. Therefore, TR continued his campaign strategy of painting Knox as ridiculously conservative and a relic of the past century. Immediately following the RNC, newspapers speculated on what a Democratic administration might look like.

[Pyro]

Inside of the Fifth Regiment Army, DNC

  Finally, the Democratic National Convention began on June 25th in Baltimore. There were five leading candidates and no one was quite sure who would be chosen as the nominee. State-wide party bosses each had their favorite sons, but they could not agree to a single candidate as the Republican Party bosses had. After the opening addresses, each of the candidates were nominated by their respective supporters. The roll call then began.

DEMOCRATIC BALLOT		1st Call		1088 DELEGATES
Champ Clark		340
Judson Harmon		201
Oscar Underwood		173
Woodrow Wilson		170
William J. Bryan		140
Simeon E. Baldwin		32
Thomas R. Marshall		21
OTHERS/BLANK		11

  The first call ended without any one candidate receiving anything near enough delegates to confirm the nomination. Clark topped the call with 340 votes, Harmon had second with 201, then Underwood, Wilson, and Bryan in that order. Clark, now confirmed the frontrunner of the convention, proudly greeted his supporters and began working to discourage Marshall’s and Baldwin’s supporters from their respective campaigns. Harmon had seemingly lost a chunk of his Midwestern support to Clark, and exhaustingly ran to figure out why. The campaigns of Wilson and Underwood contained themselves to passive observers. Bryan immediately began to corral his potential supporters, and after the 6th call, he floated into third.

DEMOCRATIC BALLOT		1st Call		2nd Call		3rd Call		4th Call		5th Call		6th Call		1088 DELEGATES
Champ Clark		340		354		342		364		344		330
Judson Harmon		201		202		206		206		209		198
William J. Bryan		140		138		142		137		147		174
Oscar Underwood		173		168		169		171		171		172
Woodrow Wilson		170		165		168		152		160		160
Simeon E. Baldwin		32		32		32		33		33		19
Thomas R. Marshall		21		21		21		21		21		31
OTHERS/BLANK		11		8		8		4		3		4

  Although Bryan was now in third place, it hardly affected his standing in the race. As the days went on and the calls continued on and on, the splitting of the Democrats deepened. A sense of fear gripped the convention that a candidate may never get elected, or worse, that it would be Bryan for a fourth time. On the 6th ballot, Thomas Marshall dropped out of the race and endorsed Clark. He was followed by Simeon Baldwin, who also threw his support behind Clark.

  Finally, on the 11th ballot, the Governor of New Jersey dropped out of the race. Wilson stated that relinquishing himself from the race would move the convention along and preserve the Democratic Party for a president to defeat Roosevelt. He did not explicitly endorse a candidate, and as such, they fled to various candidates. Wilson, who had a growing delegation of Southern supporters, did silently hope that Underwood would come out victorious: as this would nearly guarantee Democratic defeat and give him a chance in 1916.

  The 15th ballot had Clark with a leap into 400 votes, his highest yet. Underwood was gaining, and quickly became known as the “runner up” candidate to the nomination. Harmon’s chances were waning. Bryan was quickly disintegrating. It was then that Clark officially received the endorsement of Tammany Hall of New York, sending his campaign into a tailspin. Simultaneously, Harmon stated that he would “never, in a million years, consider voting for someone like Champ Clark.” This pushed a majority of party bosses to come together on June 30th to finally decide on a candidate.

DEMOCRATIC BALLOT		1st Call		10th Call		20th Call		30th Call		40th Call		41st Call		1088 DELEGATES
Oscar Underwood		173		178		273		412		623		627
Champ Clark		340		367		401		421		344		10
Judson Harmon		201		207		228		200		69		10
William J. Bryan		140		167		152		50		48		2
Woodrow Wilson		170		167		31		3		2		1
Simeon E. Baldwin		32		0		0		0		0		0
Thomas R. Marshall		21		0		0		0		0		0
OTHERS/BLANK		11		3		3		2		2		438

  Underwood won the nomination of the party on the 41st call. On the 40th ballot, when Underwood topped 600 votes, half of the delegates left the convention hall. For months, the Senate Majority Leader was dubbed “unelectable” and “more divisive than Bryan”. Harmon wrote that “When Underwood was elected – one of the strictest conservatives of the race – the Democratic Party was in real trouble.” Harmon, though angry, remained at the convention hall and watched as roughly four hundred delegates angrily stormed out.

  Bryan was the first to declare that “everyone detested by this party’s right-wing” ought to abandon this convention hall. It was a lonely voice at first, but eventually joined by Clark when he came to the conclusion that his campaign was being thwarted by a corrupt and inefficient party. As Clark stated to an enormous group of supporters outside of the convention hall, “Underwood and his men have seen fit to speak above the American people. We must do better than this. The future may be unclear to us now, but I promise you, if we endorse another conservative, the American people will surely regret it."

  In the convention hall, Underwood spoke to the fears of the American people and the conservative Democratic base. He spoke chiefly against “two of the most dangerous men this country has ever known: Theodore Roosevelt and Phil Knox.” He urged middle-of-the-road moderate reform and mediated legislation not favoring businesses nor labor. He was applauded by the delegates who supported him, and the echoes of the convention hall made it sound as if the entire delegation was still present.

  For Vice President, the party nominated, on the first ballot, John Nance Garner with 523 delegate votes. This ticket, dubbed by the press as the “Southernmost presidential ticket since the Civil War”, was indeed called unelectable by many, but a split vote in the Democratic field meant that this election was a total tossup.

[Pyro]

Official Portrait of Speaker Champ Clark

  Two weeks following the events in Baltimore, on July 15th, the Democrats who abandoned the DNC reconvened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to discuss a new plan and whether or not to nominate their own candidate. Clark, bitter at the Democratic bosses for skewing the nomination process, was the first to address the crowd. "Welcome. Tonight we will deliberate the best tactic to remedy the criminal action which took place on June 30th. I encourage colorful and friendly debate."

 It was agreed after hours of deliberation that, for the 1912 election, to nominate a candidate without the meddling of party bosses and smoke-filled rooms. This decision was reached with the assistance of Clark and Bryan who were able to alter the narrative of the DNC through using such language as "robbery" and "theft" to describe the nomination of Underwood. In reality, there were no laws broken at the convention, but the language was effective regardless.

  This assembly was dubbed the Liberal Party. The party platform was similar to the Democrats, but with provisions for more progressive causes, including women's suffrage, a pledge for isolationist policy, and a total restructuring of the banking system. Many of these stipulations would find themselves in future Democratic platforms, but in the 'Whirlwind of 1912', as the Philadelphia Inquirer first referred to it, the present was all that mattered.

  As for the nomination, what was initially expected to be yet another difficult and tight vote turned into a one-ballot deal. Woodrow Wilson yet again stated that he would not accept this nomination. Bryan let his name go in the ring, but at this point did not hold any expectations. Harmon was absent, and Underwood was now competition. Therefore, Clark became the clear favorite once more. The members of this new Liberal Party did believe that if not for boss intervention, that Clark would have received the nomination of the Democratic Party.

LIBERAL BALLOT		1st Call		800 DELEGATES
Champ Clark		519
William J. Bryan		234
William Sulzer		30
Woodrow Wilson		10
Theodore Roosevelt		5
OTHERS/ABSTAIN		2

  Champ Clark became the first ever presidential nominee of the Liberal Party of America. As for the vice presidential selection, it was certainly clear who the convention wanted. In a unanimous decision, one boosted by a name drop by Clark in his acceptance speech: Woodrow Wilson became the vice presidential nominee. It took lengthy concurrent meetings between the Speaker and the New Jersey Governor to reach an agreement on the matter, but Wilson eventually came to accept the momentum carried by this new party, and begrudgingly agreed to be its vice presidential candidate.

  Clark and Wilson made a widely reported "Gentleman's Agreement" with Underwood to not overtly attack his campaign, for the men truly did hold respect for one another. Although they disliked how he was nominated, they did not have too many personal disagreements. Alternatively, both Clark and Underwood worked to discredit Roosevelt and the Republicans for the next four months.

[Pyro]

Theodore Roosevelt Speaking on the Convention Floor, PNC

  On August 5th, the Progressive National Convention opened in Chicago. Attended by over two thousand delegates, this convention was certainly an oddity. The nominee was already clear as day, yet the air of anticipation was still prevalent going into the event. The party platform included a broad range of social and political reforms, unmatched by any other party. Although the platform called for social insurance, a minimum wage law, an eight hour workday and universal suffrage, the most significant plank called for an end to “the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics.”

  The one major controversy dealt with the platform portion on monopolies, where Roosevelt had the language modified from “trust-busting” to “federal supervision” of major corporations. La Follette was furious by this alteration, but decided against creating any major interruption because of it. Another plank which separated the Progressives from the other parties, was the addition of Roosevelt’s “New Nationalism” policy. As the former president stated, “social justice can only be achieved through a strong federal government.” Unlike the Democratic and Republican platforms, Roosevelt was determined to form a strong central government which could care for the common people. Of course, this note also included a significant call for an aggressive foreign policy.

PROGRESSIVE BALLOT	1st Call	2037 DELEGATES
Theodore Roosevelt	Unanimous

  Theodore Roosevelt was eager to begin his third presidential campaign, and he was confident that he would be the victor. It is likely that he was the only man running who thought this way. He spoke with much energy and enthusiasm in his acceptance speech, and after endorsing the party platform, he called for a fair and quick nomination of a vice president. Roosevelt's former vice president, Charles Fairbanks, had not left the Republican Party as he had, so there was a fairly open field. However, only two men stood up to the plate for the offer, and the decision was reached after just one call.

PROGRESSIVE BALLOT	1st Call	2037 DELEGATES
William Howard Taft	1498
Hiram Johnson	518
OTHERS/ABSTAIN	21

  In a motion meant to moderate the ticket and exemplify how all anti-Knox Republicans were welcome aboard the TR Train, the vice presidential slot was filled with William Howard Taft. Secretary Taft, who for the first two years had been the public face of Knox's administration, when the president began to go full-on conservative, Taft took a back seat. According to his later memoirs, Taft stated that Knox would often ignore his advice and, when it came to the Trade Deal Affair, was repeatedly spoken over by the president. Taft had already silently supported Roosevelt for the ticket in 1912, but when the party split broke out, he chose to make his choice public. His resignation was ordered by the president the following day, and he complied. Now, Taft was in direct competition with the president, and he knew exactly how to take him down.

  As for the Socialist Party, Eugene Debs captured the nomination with little effort. The party stressed its support of men and women of all labor fields, from rural to urban, from English speakers to Germans and Finns, from miners in West Virginia to rail conductors in the West. The conservative presence was indeed felt, and this coalition was led by Victor L. Berger, even after the nomination of Debs. Berger tried his hardest to prevent the SP’s endorsement of the radical Industrial Workers of the World, even though in the end, the party was able to pass a resolution favoring industrial unionism. More so, a leading figure in the IWW, “Big Bill” Haywood, won a seat on the party’s executive committee.

  Berger did, however, force the adoption of a conservative platform which offered minimal reforms similar to that of the Progressives, with the most radical plank being the abolition of the Senate. Debs, not wanting the SP to splinter as the two major parties already have, did not attend the convention. He allowed others in the radical half of the party do the talking for him. The prevention of the Socialist Party from splitting, Debs believed, would give the party an upper hand in this “election of party splits”.

  Debs would vigorously campaign on a tiny budget of $66k, concentrating in the urban sectors of the Eastern states. He would refer to Knox as a “caricature” and Roosevelt as a “fraud” and a “charlatan.” He understood that both the Progressive and Liberal parties were campaigning on similar issues as the Socialists, but stressed that they only offered empty promises, and they were all funded by the same millionaires.

[Kingpoleon]

What is Fairbanks up to?

[Pyro]

What is Fairbanks up to?

Fairbanks comes up again a little later. In 1912 he's against Knox's foreign policy but does not want to completely abandon the Republican Party as Roosevelt has, so he mostly stays out of the spotlight.

[Pyro]

John Flammang Schrank: Saloon Keeper

  Early fall seemed to go along without much action. The Des Moines Register released their presidential poll for the month of October, and it had shown little difference from what everyone had suspected. The poll had demonstrated what party bosses of every party had feared: that the upcoming election would be remarkably close.

The Des Moines Register: October 1912
Which candidate would you endorse for president?

Theodore Roosevelt: 29%
Champ Clark: 27%
Oscar Underwood: 20%
Philander Knox: 16%
Eugene V. Debs: 8%

  On October 14th, while campaigning in Milwaukee, a saloon keeper named John Flammang Schrank shot Theodore Roosevelt in the chest as he was on the road toward a major stop. The bullet had slowed after piercing Roosevelt’s glasses case and speech papers, and became lodged within his chest cavity, roughly an inch before his heart. The candidate went on to deliver his speech despite the bullet.

  The following X-Ray examiners and physicians decided it was safer to leave the bullet in place, though Roosevelt had to momentarily suspend his campaign. In graciousness, the other candidates did the same. Though the assassination attempt did win Roosevelt a great deal of sympathy, it took him off of the campaign trail: a detrimental action so close to the day of the election.

  October 30th saw the surprise death of Vice President James Sherman, leaving the post empty. Knox gave a short speech at the eulogy, but could not stop himself from stating without empathy that Sherman’s post would thereby be filled by Elihu Root, another “proper gentleman”, should he win. This move was intended to show his strength as a leader, but contemporary newspapers remarked that it came out rather cold.

  In the week leading to the election, a number of prominent politicians were asked who they were voting for. Most appeared disappointed in the party splitting, but they each chose sides. Judson Harmon stated “I cannot bring myself to vote for a man outside of my own party. I may not agree with the nominating process either, but it is the process we have and the one which works best.”

  Liberal Republicans including Governors Hiram Johnson and Franklin Murphy (R-NJ) campaigned alongside Roosevelt and urged their respective states to vote for the former president. Even some moderates began to doubt the ability of Knox to either be re-elected or properly serve the American people in a second term, and silently worked to get TR back in the White House.

[Pyro]

Anti-Republican Advert which ran on November 5th, 1912

  At last, the day of the election arrived, and for the first time in decades, no one was quite sure who the winner would be. New England took longer than usual to count up its votes, as did other areas of the country where late additions of the newer parties made the electoral process more time consuming. The handiwork of the Democratic Machine ensured that Champ Clark was at a disadvantage nationwide. In 15 states, Clark was not listed officially on the ballot. Underwood wanted a clean sweep, and if Clark was hindered, he would stand a chance.

  Maine had easily gone to Roosevelt, as did Vermont to Knox. Connecticut was a tight vote, and not until the late evening was it called for Clark. Massachusetts, first expected for Clark, eventually went to Roosevelt who had 30% of the vote to Clark’s 28% and Knox’s 27%. New Hampshire went to Clark. Rhode Island went to Knox in a fairly tight election.

  Underwood had swept the South. Although there were a sizable amount of liberal voters in states like Arkansas and Kentucky, due to the fact that Clark was not listed on state ballots, Underwood won with 50 to 70 percent of the vote in county districts. Delaware, which did not include Clark on the ballot, nonetheless had a huge write-in campaign for the Speaker where he lost by only 4% of the vote to Underwood.

  West Virginia was the only Southern state lost by the House Majority Leader, where by a 5% margin, Roosevelt came out on top. New Jersey had also gone to Roosevelt with 41%, compared to Clark's 36% and Underwood's 20%. Wilson had campaigned heavily in New Jersey for Clark, resulting in a second place finish for the Liberals. Pennsylvania, with 42% of the vote, went to Roosevelt.

  New York, the clearest swing state in this chaotic election, was the final state on the East Coast to find a reading. When the results did come in, it was decided that with 30% of the total vote, Clark was the winner. 29.5% of the state’s vote went to Roosevelt, 21% to Knox, and 11% of the vote went to Underwood, and over 5% for Debs.

[Pyro]

Oscar Underwood, 1912

  At this point in the election process, Underwood had a commanding lead with 168 electoral votes. However, as it was speculated, this was the end of the line for the House Majority Leader. The Midwest was entirely split. Michigan, Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois went to Roosevelt with a lead of greater than 10%. Missouri went to Underwood with about a 1% margin, again, due to the Democratic split. Indiana, like New York, was split between each of the candidates, resulting in another Roosevelt victory. Wisconsin, another close state, in another narrow vote, went to Clark, who won 33% of the vote to Knox’s 32% and Roosevelt’s 16%.

  In the West, Roosevelt was not listed as a ballot option in Oklahoma, meaning Clark and Debs won much more of the vote than they otherwise would have. Debs and the Socialist Party won their highest in the country: 18.5%. Knox had 36% and won the state when Clark spoiled the Democratic vote, winning 16% for himself, leaving Underwood 30%. Ohio was too close to call by the end of the night, and it would not be until the following morning when it was finally called.

  The total vote count thus far was a tie between Roosevelt and Underwood, with each at exactly 168 electoral votes. Clark had 69 and Knox 19.

[Pyro]

  
  As the night went on, the worry began that none of the candidates would reach the threshold of 266 votes. However, the Western half of the country was where Roosevelt had his strongest showing. Back in July, analysts predicted that the Democratic nominee would take the entirety of the West, but Clark and Underwood both had strong bases in states like Nevada and Washington. On the other side, Knox had pursued policies that totally alienated the Mountain regions.

  California and Washington went to Roosevelt with over 50% of the total vote, the only two non-Southern states that decided on a candidate so clearly. He won Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Colorado and Oregon with about 28 to 30% of the vote. Idaho was not decided until the following morning, when the nation learned that it had surprisingly chosen Roosevelt with 26% of the vote, with Knox as the runner up with 24.5%, Clark with 14% and Underwood with 20%.

  The Dakotas were both won by Roosevelt without much effort. He had pushed for new agrarian reforms in his Western campaign, and the evidence was becoming quite visible. Nebraska was won by two percentage points to Clark's second place, but he still managed to come out victorious. Oklahoma and New Mexico had gone to Knox, but these were the last states won by the incumbent president, giving him a grand total of 26 votes.

  The next shocker was Wyoming, initially considered an easy win for Knox. When all of the votes were counted, Knox had won 11,760 and Roosevelt 12,032 in one of the biggest upsets of the election, even though it had a measly three electoral votes. In total, throughout the West, there were more Democratic votes than Republican and Progressive combined, but the split had ruined the election for Underwood. Roosevelt now had 244 votes and Underwood was locked with 168.

  Newspapers printed on November 6th that the election had ended without a winner. Some went as far to declare that Underwood was the next president, as even though Roosevelt clearly carried the most electoral votes, he hadn’t reached the fateful 266 threshold to be confirmed. In such a case, the House of Representatives would decide the next president. As the House now had an overwhelmingly Democratic majority, they would choose Underwood, their party’s nominee. Then, the Senate, with its Republican leadership, would choose their Vice Presidential nominee Elihu Root. If this had occurred, the United States would have had a historically conservative, albeit bipartisan, government for four years.

  However, on the morning of November 6th at 6:21am, Ohio was finally called for Roosevelt. He had collected 267,000 votes, or 25%. The next runner up, Clark, had 265,000, then Knox with 259,000. Ohio’s 24 electoral votes were pledged to Roosevelt. He now had 268: two over the required point necessary to be confirmed. Teddy had won.

President-elect Theodore Roosevelt, November 6th, 1912

[Pyro]

The Election of 1912: Final Results

edit: imgfix