| 1912 presidential election | |
  Nominees Roosevelt and Johnson | |
| Convention | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | August 5, 1912 |
| City | Chicago, Illinois |
| Venue | Chicago Coliseum |
| Candidates | |
| Presidential nominee | Theodore Roosevelt of New York |
| Vice-presidential nominee | Hiram Johnson of California |
| Other candidates | none |
| Voting | |
| Total delegates | 2000+ |
| Votes needed for nomination | ? |
| Results (president) | Theodore Roosevelt (NY): 2000+ (100%) |
| Ballots | 1 |
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The 1912 Progressive National Convention was held in August 1912. Angered at the renomination of President William Howard Taft over their candidate at the 1912 Republican National Convention, supporters of former President Theodore Roosevelt convened in Chicago and endorsed the formation of a national progressive party. When formally launched later that summer, the new Progressive Party acclaimed Roosevelt as its presidential nominee and Governor Hiram Johnson of California as his vice presidential running mate. When questioned by reporters, Roosevelt said he felt as strong as a "bull moose". Henceforth known as the "Bull Moose Party", the Progressives promised to increase federal regulation and protect the welfare of ordinary people.
The party was funded by publisher Frank Munsey and its executive secretary George Walbridge Perkins, an employee of banker J. P. Morgan and International Harvester. Perkins blocked an antitrust plank, shocking reformers who thought of Roosevelt as a true trust-buster. The delegates to the convention sang the hymn "Onward, Christian Soldiers" as their anthem. In a famous acceptance speech, Roosevelt compared the coming presidential campaign to the Battle of Armageddon and stated that the Progressives were going to "battle for the Lord."
The August convention opened with great enthusiasm. Over 2,000 delegates attended, including many women. In 1912, neither the Republican candidate, President of the United States William Howard Taft, nor the Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson, had endorsed women's suffrage on the national level[1] and the famed suffragette and social worker Jane Addams gave a seconding speech for Roosevelt's nomination.
Although Roosevelt insisted on excluding African-American Republicans from the South (whom he regarded as a corrupt and ineffective element), he did include black delegates from all other parts of the country,[2] and he further alienated white southern supporters on the eve of the election by publicly dining with black people at a Rhode Island hotel.[3] Roosevelt said at the end of his speech " We stand at Armageddon, and we battle for the Lord."[4]
- ^ "Bull Moose years of Theodore Roosevelt by Theodore Roosevelt Association". Theodoreroosevelt.org. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ CQG, 1985, pp. 77–78[incomplete short citation]
- ^ Baum, B.; Harris, D. (2009). Racially Writing the Republic: Racists, Race Rebels, and Transformations of American Identity. Durham: Duke University Press. p. 188. ISBN 9780822344353.
- ^ "TR Center - First National Convention of the Progressive Party". www.theodorerooseveltcenter.org. Retrieved 2018-05-01.