Let the people rule : Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary

The Resource Let the people rule : Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary

Label

Let the people rule : Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary

Title remainder

Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary

Statement of responsibility

Geoffrey Cowan

Language

eng

Summary

The exhilarating story of the four-month campaign that changed American politics forever. In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge his close friend and handpicked successor, William Howard Taft, for the Republican Party nomination. To overcome the power of the incumbent, TR seized on the idea of presidential primaries, telling bosses everywhere to "Let the People Rule." The cheers and jeers of rowdy supporters and detractors echo from Geoffrey Cowan's pages as he explores TR's fight-to-the-finish battle to win popular support. After sweeping nine out of thirteen primaries, he felt entitled to the nomination. But the party bosses proved too powerful, leading Roosevelt to walk out of the convention and create a new political party of his own. Using a trove of newly discovered documents, Cowan takes readers inside the colorful, dramatic, and often mean-spirited campaign, describing the political machinations and intrigue and painting indelible portraits of its larger-than-life characters. But Cowan also exposes the more unsavory parts of TR's campaign: seamy backroom deals, bribes made in TR's name during the Republican Convention, and then the shocking political calculation that led TR to ban any black delegates from the Deep South from his new "Bull Moose Party."

Biography type

contains biographical information

Cataloging source

DLC

Dewey number

324.973/0904

Illustrations

illustrations

Index

index present

LC call number

E765

LC item number

.C69 2016

Literary form

non fiction

Nature of contents

bibliography

Context

Context of Let the people rule : Theodore Roosevelt and the birth of the presidential primary

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