Election Of 1912 Research Paper

Significance of the Election 1912

The Election of 1912 was an election that tore friends apart and showed the view of what people wanted for America. There were four candidates that took part in the race for the White House, at one point 2 candidates were part of the same party, and they were Theodore Roosevelt of the Progressive Party, Woodrow Wilson of the Democratic Party, Eugene Debs of the Socialist Party, and William Howard Taft of the Republican party. Roosevelt and Taft were friends until they realized that they were both running for the same spot. Some sharp words were shared between the two throughout their campaign and it eventually led to Taft pulling out of the race. With 3 candidates in the race there were some ideas that each person had and today we live by those ideas that became successful. The Election of 1912 was so significant to United States history because new campaign ideas were brought to the surface. Woodrow Wilson brought forward the New Freedom campaign. This focused on the working class voter and what they needed to make life a little bit easier. With this campaign, the eight hour work day was introduced, along with child labor laws, and workers compensation. His fellow competitor, Theodore Roosevelt, had his own campaign that was very similar to Wilson’s. …show more content…
When Roosevelt lost the nomination vote to William Howard Taft, he split the party to create the Progressive Party. Without him splitting the party there would only be three candidates running for president in 1912. This was an election that brought a third party candidate and former presidents together for the seat in the White House. With the formation of the Progressive Party, there was also the formation of the Progressive Era. This was the period of time that would form the United States of America to partially of what it is