The Election of 1904

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The Election of 1904

• By
• Sean Socha

2
The Political Scene In 1904

• Congress was dominated by the Republican party in
  both houses which was common in this period.
• The presidency was held by Theodore Roosevelt .
• Roosevelt was made the incumbent president
  courtesy of Leon Czologsz who assassinated
  president William McKinley.

3
Political Scene

• Being the incumbent president he was an obvious
  choice to be the Republican candidate.
• The progressive movement was very active during
  this period.

4
Political Scene

• During this era the Republican party was by far
  the most dominate party in the North and Western
  states.
• Democratic support was only strong in the South.
• The Republican party was considered the party of
  business can supported expanding foreign trade,
  keeping protective tariffs and supported the gold
  standard.

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Political Scene

• Although still considered the party of business
  many business leaders reluctantly supported
  Roosevelt although they disagreed with his
  progressive policies in the Square Deal.
• The Democratic party platform was
  anti-imperialism, free trade, direct elections of
  senators, deficit reduction, army reduction,
  enforcement of the eight hour work day and
  enforcing civil service laws.

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Republican Nomination

• The Republicans convened in Chicago from June
  21-24 1904 and selected Theodore Roosevelt by a
  large margin with Charles W. Fairbanks to be his
  running mate.
• Being incumbent and already popular he was an
  easy choice.
• However conservative elements of the Republican
  party did not support him viewing him as too
  radical.

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Republican Nomination

• Charles W. Fairbanks was chosen to appease the
  more conservative Republicans although Roosevelt
  wanted Robert R. Hitt.
• Primary elections did not exist at the time.
• There was no serious competition for the
  Republican nomination in 1904.

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Democratic Nomination

• Former President Grover Cleveland and former
  Democratic nomine William Jennings Bryan refused
  to run for president.
• The decision to pick a nomine contained far more
  struggle within the party than the Republican
  nomination.
• Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
  Alton B. Parker would be the victor.

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Democratic Nomination

• William Randolph Hearst was Parkers main
  opposition and threatened to win over the more
  liberal wing of the party.
• Fearing that Hearst had a chance of winning
  conservative Democrats rallied behind Parker.
• Parker needed to win at least two thirds of the
  delegates which he would barely do after winning
  679 votes.

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Democratic Nomination

• Henry G. Davis of West Virginal would be
  nominated for vice-president.
• Davis was 80 years old.
• Despite his age he was respected in his home
  state and party bosses supported his nomination
  in hope that it would swing West Virginia to the
  Democrats.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• Theodores father Theodore Roosevelt Sr. was a
  successful and wealthy businessman.
• As a child he was asthmatic and suffered various
  ailments.
• He gained a strong interest in zoology as a child
  and formed a make shift museum with animals he
  killed.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• As a child he was home schooled by his parents
  and tutors.
• He eventually went to Harvard and later Columbia
  Law School.
• He would drop out of law school to run for the
  New York Assembly in 1881 as a Republican and
  win.
• He left New York to retire on his ranch in the
  Dakota Territory.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• He gained a reputation as a cowboy while in
  Dakota
• After a severe winter wiped out his heard he
  returned to politics in New York.
• After returning to New York he failed to win the
  mayoral election and became president of the
  board of New York City Police Commissioners.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• His fascination with naval history and having
  written The Naval War of 1812 he was regarded as
  an ideal choice for Assistant Secretary of the
  Navy.
• He successfully prepared the Navy for the
  Spanish-American War.
• He resigned from his post to form a volunteer
  regiment later known as the Rough Riders

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Theodore Roosevelt

• His heroism and great leadership at San Juan hill
  during the war won him great respect and he would
  be posthumously be awarded the Medal of Honor
  for his actions.
• He now held celebrity status among the public.
• He would become governor of New York and shortly
  later be nominated as William McKinley's vice
  president.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• His long list of achievements, national fame and
  masculine persona made him an ideal candidate for
  president and he was popular among the common
  man.
• He was a progressive and opposed political
  machines.
• He was known as a trust-buster for breaking up
  monopolies.
• He also believe that Whites and African Americans
  should be judged strictly on his merits.

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Theodore Roosevelt

• His Square Deal policies which aimed at curbing
  the power of corporations and protecting
  consumers from unfair business practices were the
  highlight of his presidency.
• He was also the first president to advocate
  conservationism.
• He believed America had a right to intervene in
  foreign affairs.
• Pro labor unions.

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Alton B. Parker

• He was born in New York and attended Albany Law
  School.
• He served as a justice of the New York Supreme
  Court from 1885-97 and Chief Judge of the New
  York Court of appeals from 1898-04.
• In New York he was respected by Republicans and
  Democrats and they did not run candidates against
  him out of respect.

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Alton B. Parker

• He was considered a Bourbon Democrat who were
  the conservative faction of the party.
• He opposed protectionism.
• Supported the gold standard and labor unions.
• Opposed imperialism.
• Sought civil service reform to weaken the
  influence of political bosses.

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The General Campaign

• Although polls were not common at this time in
  history the Democratic party was well aware of
  Roosevelts immense popularity.
• The candidates were actually quite similar in
  many respects. Both thought labor unions had the
  same rights as individuals before the courts,
  supported fair treatment of Filipinos, wanted the
  gold standard, and were hated by the radical
  factions of their respective parties.

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The General Campaign

• Alton B. Parker used racism in his campaign
  strategy which unfortunately for him was only
  well received in the South.
• Roosevelts campaign focused on convincing people
  that his Square Deal policies needed to be
  continued.
• Despite the two candidates similarities on
  numerous issues Roosevelt's celebrity status,
  charisma, and masculinity made him the most
  popular candidate.

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The Election Outcome

• Roosevelt would go on to be the first person to
  assume the presidency as Vice President and
  manage to win a term in his own right.
• It was the largest popular vote margin victory at
  the time with 18.8.
• It marked the first time a Republican won
  Missouri since 1868.

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Outcome By State
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Outcome by County
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Impact

• The election marked the first time an incumbent
  who inherited the presidency as vice president
  became president.
• The progressive movement was able to move
  forward.
• Environmental protection was now a political
  issue.