Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics

by Michael Wolraich

"As Michael Wolraich argues in his sharp, streamlined new book, Unreasonable Men, it was 'the greatest period of political change in American history.'" -Washington Post, 50 Notable Works of Nonfiction

At the turn of the twentieth century, the Republican Party stood at the brink of an internal civil war. After a devastating financial crisis, furious voters sent a new breed of politician to Washington. These young Republican firebrands, led by "Fighting Bob" La Follette of Wisconsin, vowed to overthrow the party leaders and purge Wall Street's corrupting influence from Washington. Their opponents called them "radicals," and "fanatics." They called themselves Progressives.

President Theodore Roosevelt disapproved of La Follette's confrontational methods. Fearful of splitting the party, he compromised with the conservative House Speaker, "Uncle Joe" Cannon, to pass modest reforms. But as La Follette's crusade gathered momentum, the country polarized, and the middle ground melted away. Three years after the end of his presidency, Roosevelt embraced La Follette's militant tactics and went to war against the Republican establishment, bringing him face to face with his handpicked successor, William Taft. Their epic battle shattered the Republican Party and permanently realigned the electorate, dividing the country into two camps: Progressive and Conservative.

Unreasonable Men takes us into the heart of the epic power struggle that created the progressive movement and defined modern American politics. Recounting the fateful clash between the pragmatic Roosevelt and the radical La Follette, Wolraich's riveting narrative reveals how a few Republican insurgents broke the conservative chokehold on Congress and initiated the greatest period of political change in America's history.

Genres: History, Politics, American History, Nonfiction, Biography, Presidents, Book Club

310 pages, Hardcover

First published July 22, 2014

Reviews

[Jeffrey Keeten · Rating 4 out of 5]

”Here is the thing you must bear in mind,” Roosevelt retorted indignantly, “I do not represent public opinion: I represent the public. There is a wide difference between the two, between the real interests of the public and the public’s opinion of those interests.”


The Standpatters were relieved to discover that Teddy’s Big Stick talk was mostly just a lot of swinging and missing.

Theodore Roosevelt made a promise, hand raised, that he would not run for another term after he won election in a landslide, in his own right, in 1904. It wasn’t long before he was wishing he could cut off that offending hand of promise and run anyway. He liked being president. He was an ebullient, bellicose, expansive personality who couldn’t stop talking and flashing those large brilliant white chompers that could be interpreted as a friendly gesture or as a menacing, clownish show of aggression.

”Theodore Roosevelt tended to dominate whatever he participated in. His children joked that when he went to a wedding, he thought he was the bride, and when he went to a funeral, he thought he was the corpse.”

The Republican party didn’t really know what to do with Roosevelt. He was a problem from the beginning because of his charge ahead attitude, but also because he was so popular with their constituency. To satisfy his ambition, and to get him out of the way they put him on the ticket with William McKinley. When McKinley is assassinated “The Problem” is elevated to the highest position in the land. If you believe in fate or destiny than Roosevelt’s rise to the presidency is certainly a good example of predestination.

The Stalwarts who were also called the Standpatters dominated congress. As their name implies they were perfectly happy with the state of affairs and were not interested in phrases containing words like change or progression. They girded their loins expecting a fight with the progressive talking Roosevelt.

”But the blows they anticipated never arrived. For all his talk of big sticks, Roosevelt proved more agreeable than they’d anticipated. ‘With the first year of administration the uneasiness was relieved,’ Cannon reflected. ‘Roosevelt, business found, had a bark that was considerably worse than his bite, although often his bark was annoying enough.’”

They could afford to allow him to rail against the establishment all he wanted as long as he didn’t do anything about it.


The public found Taft’s smile almost as endearing as Teddy’s.

William Howard Taft was Roosevelt’s chosen successor. The Problem With Taft, which became a constant refrain during his administration, is that he wasn’t Roosevelt. He didn’t even want to be President. He had his eye on the Supreme Court even before he was President. His main strength during his administration was bringing antitrust suits against monopolies. The billionaires like J. P. Morgan found monopolies to be very profitable. ”They offered economies of scale and avoided the chaos of ‘ruinous competition’.”

I do have to give a tentative nod to Morgan for shoring up the banks with his own money and strong arming others to help as well during the Panic of 1907. The US was short of cash, the stock market went to pieces, there was a run on banks for what limited cash there was available, and if not for Morgan and his friends the United States would have seen some really dark days.

Roosevelt decided to escape to Africa to let Taft find his political legs, and give himself a much needed vacation. A vacation for Roosevelt generally involved shooting as many animals as he could track down. He shot nine Rhinoceros of a nearly extinct (then...now extinct) breed of the species on this one trip. How many Rhinos does one need to shoot to prove one’s manhood? It would make me a little queasy to build a mental mound of all the animals Roosevelt shot in his lifetime. To balance the scales he did expand the National Parks service exponentially as President. If he had not done this certainly a lot more natural wonders of this country would be bristling with oil wells, be littered with scrap heaps left over from strip mining, and be grazed to desert conditions.

See even when I want to talk about Taft I end up talking about Roosevelt.

Roosevelt returns to America still chafing over his promise not to run for president again. While he is struggling with how to break his promise to the American people a man from Wisconsin by the name of Robert Marion “Fighting Bob” La Follette has been starting to make waves not only in congress, but also within the Republican party. He is credited with being the first to use the term PROGRESSIVE. The press loves him, for a while, he is a quote machine and he is a natural at stirring a crowd into a frenzy not unlike his fellow Republican Roosevelt. There were a lot of changes that still need to happen in this country leading up to 1912, so there was plenty of issues to rouse the public to action.

--Women still need the right to vote. By 1912 only three states allowed women to vote: Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado. The West was quickest to adopt the suffrage movement for several good reasons beyond it just being the right thing to do. The most interesting reason was that they were short on women. They wanted to attract more women from the East to the West. A much more creative way to steal women than gunnysacking them and running for the hills.

--Child labor laws still needed to be addressed. Albert Beveridge from Indiana thought it might take five years to fix this problem. It took thirty. States that wanted to address this problem could not unless other states around them also agreed to adopt the laws. If they set child labor laws without compliance from their neighboring states industry would simply move across the state line.

--The railroads were steadily raises prices because they were controlled by a handful of billionaires. It was proving to be a hardship for people who needed to use that mode of travel.

--A set work week for labor. ”He (Roosevelt) believed the industrialist had brought enmity upon themselves by ignoring and mistreating the workers. The only way to protect the rich from the violent impulses of the mob was for the government to gently correct society’s imbalances.”

Talk about meaty (The Jungle (1906) by Upton Sinclair forced President Roosevelt to investigate the meat packing industry.) issues for a much needed progressive movement. Roosevelt had some of these ideas in his head, but it was La Follette who brought most of them to the forefront of the public consciousness and gave the issues urgency. With his old friend and now most despised enemy, Taft, allied with the Standpatters it only made sense for Roosevelt to embrace the fever and excitement surrounding the Progressive movement. When he loses the nomination for the Republican party he forms his own Bull Moose party; and in the process, tears the Republican party to shreds.


Fighting Joe relegated to the bench after Roosevelt enters the race.

La Follette is the man on the outside looking in. His quest to achieve the Presidency is shattered by the popularity of Theodore Roosevelt. On the other side of the aisle it takes 46 ballot initiatives for Woodrow Wilson to win the Democratic Nomination for President. By splitting the Republican party vote Roosevelt assured Wilson of victory.

The Progressive movement of the Republican Party splintered the party. The people who stayed were the stalwart conservatives. Democrats embraced many of the Progressive ideas and suddenly the old Standpatters were finding it difficult to quell the uprisings. Unfortunately it took until after another Roosevelt is elected president before most of the progressive changes that insure most of us a certain standard of living were enacted. This book was a fascinating read that crystallized a lot of scattered thoughts I had about this era in American politics.


”Uncle” Joe Cannon

The dominance of the Speaker of the House Joe Cannon (1903-1911) starts to erode as more and more of these progressives are sent to Washington demanding that the power be shared. I’m sure he had many of the same gaseous looks on his face as does our current Speaker as he deals with the recalcitrant Tea Baggers. There are certainly parallels with the politics of the early 20th century with the politics of the early 21st century. It is interesting to me that the Republican party splintered to the left in the early 1900s and has splintered to the right in the early 2000s. Either way it is going to be very difficult for them to nominate a moderate enough candidate that satisfies the base and can attract enough votes from the middle to win a presidential election. In talking with some of the fervent members of the far right they are content with holding congress and feel if they can do that they don’t care who is president.

There is some logic to their thinking, but Presidents build parties and the natives become restless if your only goal is to block not to enact. It only makes sense to me that the Republican party will have to splinter again in the near future forming a party with a more moderate agenda. This new movement, a matter of when rather than if, would also provide a home to all those Republican leaning politicians that want to have aims beyond just obstructionism. As always I will be watching from the sidelines saying...here we go again.

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unreasonable Men covers the rise of progressive politics at the turn of the century from the end of Teddy Roosevelt's tenure as President, during Taft's tenure and through the election of Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt often butted heads with the likes of "Fighting Bob" La Follotte who led the progressive movement. This was an era of a decisive split among Republicans that certainly echo's today's political environment. So much can be compared to the 2016 election season.

Wolraich does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into the times and understanding the political climate of the Taft era when the unreasonable man tries to adapt the world to himself rather than adapt to the world. Definitely worth the read for anyone interested in politics today.

I received this book gratis from the History Book Club and our friends at St.Martin's Press

[Hana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointing. My biggest gripe was stylistic. Wolraich divides each chapter into days, headed by the date and followed by chatty descriptions of the characters and actions and even the weather. I felt as if I was looking at the storyboards for a made-for-TV docudrama. History suffering from attention deficit disorder.

Still, this was a timely read and left me wanting to learn more about Robert 'Fighting Bob' LaFollette and the Progressive movement that rocked the Republican party in the first two decades of the 20th century. The narrative gained momentum around the halfway mark and I particularly appreciated the section on tariffs, a case study on how government and insider lobbyists colluded to rig a complex web of import duties in ways that benefited a handful of wealthy and well-connected businessmen. The parallels to contemporary US trade and tax policies are striking.

[Kressel Housman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the birth of the Progressive Movement a little over a century ago, but I kept seeing parallels to today the whole way through. The two main subjects, Senator Bob La Follette and President Teddy Roosevelt, compare to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton on many levels. In personality, Hillary is nothing like the exuberant TR, but much to my surprise, the trustbuster who had the guts to tell off Czar Nicholas was actually a self-proclaimed pragmatist prone to compromise to “get things passed.” Senator La Follette, the real founder of the Progressive Movement, criticized him vehemently for settling for half measures and being too much in bed with the banks. Sound familiar? As it turns out, Bernie is an admirer of La Follette and has spoken at the annual convention that commemorates him, The Fighting Bob Fest.

The book also has quite a bit about Taft. Though it is not supportive of his policies, decisions, or lack thereof, it’s a sympathetic portrayal of him as a person. I went into this book with a pretty high opinion of TR, but now that’s been tarnished by the way he treated people, and Taft in particular. Perhaps TR compares more to Bill than to Hillary.

There are also two dramatic scenes that take place where you’d least expect it: on the floor of Congress. One was a relay filibuster led by La Follette, which his opponents ended in a really underhanded way. I won’t spoil it in case you want to read the book, but it was one sleazy move. Later, a quiet Congressman whose name I don’t even remember made his own sneaky move by raising a question about procedural rules. It sounded so dull and inconsequential, it was allowed into debate, but the end result was that it unseated the anti-Progressive Speaker of the House in an embarrassing upset.

I’ll admit that not every passage of the book held my full attention. Like most history books, it had a few dull spots. But there was enough human detail to keep the pages turning, and the Progressive Era is one that every American should learn about. So hats off to Fighting Bob La Follette, and good luck to Bernie’s movement. The fight can never be just about the candidate winning the office. If a movement is worth its salt, then it’s really about winning legislation to help the Amercian public.

I received a copy of this book from the History Book Club.

[Bryan Alexander · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very useful book for my research into the Progressive Era. Unreasonable Men focuses on the rise of the progressive movement as it emerged from state and federal elected officials, most notably the fracturing of the Republican party.

Wolraich does a good job of following key players. Teddy Roosevelt looms large, but Robert La Follette is equally compelling as an effective insurgent. "Uncle" Joe Cannon is their foil, the book's leading conservative, or "stand patter". Presidents Taft and Wilson complete the narrative arc.

I appreciated the legislative details, which, though dry, are crucial for this period.

It's a decent book, formally. As a narrative historian, Wolraich is sensitive to chronology. He nails down every section by date, and follows a linear path, with a few useful flashbacks. He tries hard to offer personality details - no great effort when it comes to TR, but also colorful for the conservatives and La Follette, not to mention the sad figure of Taft.

However, this is entirely political history. There's very little about the society or culture of the times, making it hard to understand how the rest of America beyond the political class responded to these developments. Progressivism as a popular movement doesn't really play a role.

Weirdly, Prohibition doesn't show up. I'm not an American historian, but I'm coming to realize this is a huge blind spot in historiography.

Also absent is foreign policy.

So: a nicely focused book. Very useful for what it sets out to do.

[Biblio Files (takingadayoff) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Woolraich has packed a lot of themes into this book about Roosevelt and Progressivism. He shows how events of a hundred years ago are quite similar to politics today.

The big theme is the growth of Progressive Republican politicians in the first two decades of the 20th century. As Roosevelt was running for re-election in 1904, Progressives were considered radical in much the same way the Tea Party is today. By the time Roosevelt decided to run as a third-party candidate in 1912, the Progressive Movement was mainstream. TR's "pragmatism" had given way to progressivism, but the Democrats were espousing pretty much the same causes, and voters were ready for some new blood so Wilson was able to defeat the incumbent President Taft and the ex-president Roosevelt by running on a platform almost identical to Roosevelt's.

Just as interesting as the politicians of the time are the reporters. Lincoln Steffens and a few of his colleagues were breaking new ground in journalism by reporting impartially, as opposed to reporting with an open bias. This dedication to the truth rather than to a party caused some politicians a great deal of consternation. Roosevelt called it "muckraking" and he meant it as no compliment.

A shadow theme might be that political compromise results in watered down and toothless law, whereas rigid ideology often results in gridlock. Not a hopeful lesson to take, but it's difficult to avoid. Still, it's fun to read about all these larger-than-life characters, and make comparisons to today's Washington politics.

[Grady · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can tell you're reading a good narrative history when, despite knowing in broad terms how the story turns out, you find your heart pounding as you read. Author Michael Wolraich draws that kind of tension out of a story of political campaigns and legislative maneuvering between Progressive Republicans (Sen. Bob La Follette and, ultimately, former President Teddy Roosevelt) and Standpatter Republicans (above all, Sen. Nelson Aldritch), between 1904 and 1913. Wolraich provides enough context and detail to understand the major policy issues, but the story really focuses on the repeated clashes between the main characters. One of the pleasures of the book is the series of cynical epigraphs, at the start of each chapter, by 'Uncle Joe' Cannon, the Speaker of the House, who had no use for the idealism of the various Progressives and was shameless in his use of his authority to dominate the legislative agenda. These epigraphs serve as an excellent ground and counterpoint to the passionate rhetoric of justice, fairness, and wisdom invoked by the other major figures in the book.

I'm grateful to have received an early reader's copy of this book.

[Jill H. · Rating 4 out of 5]

TBA

[Audrey Mckay]

I really enjoyed this, it’s just as much the retelling of La Follette’s political career and that of the Legislative Branch during these years than Teddy’s Bull Moose Party - but if you enjoy congressional bickering, consequences and getting into the weeds the of House and Senate this will be a fun read.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is essentially a history of progressives and conservatives in conflict from 1904 to 1912. It is framed in a popular style--each section opens with a narrative vignette before it gets to policy disputes. And mixed in with the policy is a whole lot about personalities.

And the personalities are gigantic. The "B-team" are progressives like Beveridge and Dolliver, journalists like Lincoln Steffens, and leaders of the conservative wing like Aldrich and Cannon get a fair share of time. But the big three are Taft, Roosevelt and La Follette.

Roosevelt is interesting, and in this account not necessarily in the way he thought he was. He was a man who talked a loudly about "speaking softly" and his big stick was more for show than swinging. As president he would use the bully pulpit in style but settle for a compromise--often effective, sometimes tepid. But behind the scenes he was not a politician and loathed people who fought harder than he did.

La Follette was one of them. His strategy when faced with an obstacle seemed to be to run into as fast as he could, and when he bounced off it to assume it was probably weakened and try again. Because he embodied the spirit of the time, though, he was surprisingly effective. He railed against the rich and corrupt, the backroom deals, the political machines. In the pre-internet age he would literally read shipping rate schedules in his speeches to let people know how they were being treated by railroads. He would go to rallies for Republicans in Wisconsin and his hosts would sneak out the back as he got the crowd outraged about their votes on bills.

If La Follette was a man of the time, Taft was the one left behind. A loyal functionary who thought the way to get ahead was to do deals with "responsible" leaders like Aldrich and Cannon, he leaned on them even as La Follette and his allies finally succeeded in breaking their power. Taft is sincere and humane, conservative in temperament more than in policy. But because he had no power base except the conservatives it didn't matter. He failed to accomplish much but what he tried alienated the reformers completely.

The presidential election of 1912 saw an end to this era. Roosevelt, smarting from the personal affronts as much as the political, decided he was a radical progressive as well and opposed Taft for the presidency; La Follette made on of his few bad mis-steps, melting down in frustration as he was shunted aside by the re-invented Roosevelt. Woodrow Wilson won the election and the progressive era of the Republicans basically ended.

A good book all around. Doubly recommended for anyone in a mood to take a break from current politics and read and see the moneyed interests actually lose a few rounds.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Superb, Often Compelling, History of the rise of Progressive Politics in the Age of Theodore Roosevelt

Political journalist Michael Wolraich's "Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics" is an important political history of the United States during the first decade of the 20th Century and the importance of Theodore Roosevelt in shaping its subsequent course, especially from the perspective of progressive politics. In many respects, the second term of the Roosevelt administration, and his successor, William H. Taft's, are reminiscent of recent American history, especially during the Clinton administration, with Clinton eventually joining forces with the House Republican opposition to pass meaningful reforms in welfare, banking, etc. that may be remembered as a period as productive as that which occurred in the Executive Branch (President) and Congress during Roosevelt's second administration. Wolraich has done an especially fine job in comparing and contrasting Roosevelt's pragmatism with regards to promoting a more progressive agenda, with the radicalism of young Progressive Republican firebrands like Governor, then Senator, Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette of Wisconsin. He illustrates how these political battles between conservatives and progressives within the Republican Party, not only forced Roosevelt, and then, Taft, to choose opposing sides, but shaped the course of American politics for most of the 20th Century, with the Republican Party emerging as a far more conservative party, and the Democrats, joined by dissenting Progressive Republicans, emerging as one which embraced the Progressive ideals stated by LaFollette and others. "Unreasonable Men" is an important work of American political historical scholarship, and yet, remains accessible to anyone with more than a passing knowledge of America's political history from 1900 to the present.

[John Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

So this is book number 5 of 40 for the year.

I have a good friend who works in marketing for a publishing house and I think he would appreciate my first comment about reading Unreasonable Men: Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics which is that in the narrative Theodore Roosevelt is really a supporting actor in the events of the book but his name being a trigger point for a purchase leads to his picture on the cover. This is not to say that the book is not one of the best I have read about how Congress and the Executive Branch function or fail to function like this past week.

Much like Master of the Senate by Robert Caro Unreasonable Men is an examination of how the House and the Senate create and mold legislation and how the Executive branch has to make deals with the devil to get any progress made. The book spends most of it’s time examining the rise of progressive Wisconsin icon Robert La Follette in the Senate and old guard Speaker of the House Joe Cannon attempting to prevent the progressive agenda from moving forward.

The book also shows the fall of Speaker Cannon from his failure to see his own party changing from within as a result of more open primaries. The current Speaker may want to read this section after the events of this past week.

Michael Worraich does an excellent job on building onto the progressive events and early 20th century creation of the progressive movement that were rallied in Dorris Kurns Goodwin’s The Bully Pulpit which I would recommend reading before this book because of it sets up the time period for the reader. Worraich’s narrative and story telling is excellent and had a pace that makes it a quick read. I highly recommend it to those who wish to understand how Congress works.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

A timely book on the birth of national progressive politics told from an Eastern slant and an eagle's perspective. It's told in timeline fashion with occasional flashbacks to explain bits of history like tariffs. It works well for this subject, you can see the radical changes that ten years made, not unlike other revolutions, what was unthinkable at the beginning was considered the norm at the end. Direct elections of senators, women's suffrage, anti-trust, rail and corporate legislation, partial dismantling of machine politics, a big ball of fun!

One of the main points of the book is how differing political and negotiation styles benefited or hurt each of the main figures that Wolraich covers, La Follette and Roosevelt. La Follette accepted no compromises, if his legislation didn't pass he wrapped an albatross around the neck of those who voted against it. On the other hand, Teddy was very short term oriented and took what he could get and was not really very progressive until his final presidential run. Even then one has to wonder if he was just riding the wave and was secretly still the New York patroon bringing the word from on high to the riff-raff.

The book also covers how both the senate and house were run in that time and how the leaders and controllers of both were eventually thrown out on their ears, great reading!

Teddy loses a lot of his reformist gloss in this book compared to earlier biographies I've read, but then he's always attracted a lot of hero worship. As a side note, the conservative Taft busted more trusts than Teddy, a bit of a shocker.

This book has many parallels with our current times, a possibly hopeful read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Michael Wolraich’s Unreasonable Men is a fast and enjoyable read that chronicles the events in US political history between 1904 and 1913 that launched the progressive movement.

Highly relevant to today’s political environment, the author touches on early 20th century public anxieties over issues including corporate greed, income inequality, Wall Street manipulation, and environmental degradation. Voters had a sense that political and economic frameworks were manipulated to benefit a few powerful men at the expense of the majority of the country.

The book focuses on two presidents – Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft – and three members of Congress – Robert LaFollette, Joseph Cannon, and Nelson Aldrich. Written in concise and clear language, Wolraich effectively conveys what made these men tick – their personality traits, their strengths, their interests, and their influencers. Throughout the book, the serendipity of politics is on display. Decisions are made that don’t turn out as planned, and suddenly a brilliant political career is over. And yet, despite giant egos and subservience to corporate leaders, some important legislation came to life.

Wolraich is an excellent storyteller, and does a wonderful job informing readers about messy political processes including conflicts, alliances, and competing interests. The book is not an in-depth examination of the issues but rather highlights the key triggers and people behind legislative and regulatory outcomes. Highly recommended for a quick dive into the politics and players of the Gilded Era.

I received a free copy of the book as a member of an online discussion for the History Book Club.

[Jordan Stivers · Rating 4 out of 5]

The 20th century begins and the American people are infuriated with their government after the Panic of 1907. The ruling Republican party, with President Teddy Roosevelt at the helm, cannot stem the tide of national outrage as a new group of progressive politicians come to Washington led by "Fighting Bob" La Follette. This is where Wolraich starts us off in his fascinating, well-researched tale of a country demanding change and the men who step up to answer (or try to stop) the call. In some ways, the historical figures in the book get swept up in a storm that they cannot control, constantly battling the opposing parties and each other for the New American vision they hold as individuals.

Wolraich does a great job at juggling complicated historical information with descriptive characterization and stylistic writing. I liked the sub-dating within the chapters because I like to know the order in which things happen. It is a useful book for those researching the time period and for those looking for an interesting read of the times. For those curious about the politicized word ‘progressive’ and to see a political arena fraught with conflict and questioning like the current 2016 president election, this is a book for you. I would recommend to both heavy and light historical readers.

Note: I received this book for free through the History Book Club on Goodreads and our friends at St. Martin’s Press.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unreasonable Men is about the rise of the Progressive Movement in the early 20th century that inspired voters nationwide and resulted in a historic political realignment that ushered in massive reforms. It is one of my favorite political eras in American history.

Wrapped in this story is the contrasting styles of Republican Senator Bob La Follette (WI) and President Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt pursued legislation that could be achieved in the current political environment, whereas La Follette worked to change the political environment by promoting legislation that could be achieved in the future. I’ve long considered “Fighting” Bob La Follette one of my political heroes, but I’ve always been a little bit fuzzy about the differing roles of La Follette, Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson in leading the Progressive Movement. This book helped to clarify that history for me.

In 1904, Roosevelt was elected President (after already serving a term following McKinley’s assassination). That same year, Bob La Follette was re-elected Governor of Wisconsin on a promise to establish direct primary elections, which would undermine the power of political party bosses who usually selected the candidates. In getting re-elected, La Follette routed the corrupt party bosses who despised his reform agenda.

This was the Gilded Age when the railroads were all-powerful and bought off the party bosses. In 1905, Governor La Follette passed railroad reforms in Wisconsin before moving on to become a Senator the following year. His fellow Senators, as well as President Roosevelt, considered him too radical and ostracized him. President Roosevelt, however, also committed to railroad rate reform and the fight split both the Republican and Democratic parties. The split created strange bedfellows and presaged the coming political realignment. A watered down version of railroad rate reform passed, as did meat packing industry reforms, and then La Follette spent the summer on a nationwide speaking tour denouncing the Congressional obstructionists to reform.

In 1907, there was a financial crisis due to a shortage of currency caused by so much money going to rebuild San Francisco after the great fire, England restricting gold shipments to the U.S., and the crash of United Copper which set off a market panic. J.P. Morgan stepped in to rescue the financial system, but the crisis still resulted in a severe but short lived recession that further radicalized Americans against the Robber Barons.

In 1908, Roosevelt’s final year in office, he called for the regulation of the stock market, expanded anti-trust laws, worker’s injury compensation, and stronger powers to regulate railroad rates. That same year, Senator La Follette tried to filibuster a currency reform bill that he felt was too weak and geared toward monied interests. As part of this effort, he gave a famous speech called Money Power in which he first coined the phrase “Progressive Movement.” The filibuster ultimately failed but it gained a lot of public sympathy.

Tariffs were another major topic for reform. They were set through a process of special interest lobbying and corruption. La Follette launched an effort to reform the process, but William Taft, having succeeded Roosevelt as President in 1909, sided with those in the Senate who wanted to maintain the status quo. Progressives in Congress, however, were finally beginning to beat back conservatives and were able to win last minute improvements to the Tariff legislation.
The fight over Tariffs did result almost accidentally in a Constitutional Amendment allowing for income taxes (conservatives intended it as a compromise that they didn’t think would ever make it through the amendment process).

President Taft fired Gifford Pinchot – Roosevelt’s close friend and advisor – for insubordination which helped to turn Roosevelt against him and further shifted public support against Taft. Roosevelt, having returned from a year in Africa, made a famous speech at Osawatomie, Kansas, in 1910 fully embracing comprehensive and “radical” progressive reform, including worker’s compensation, child labor laws, direct Senate elections, voter referendums and recalls, a minimum wage, maximum workweeks, income and inheritance taxes, environmental conservation and campaign donation disclosures (much of it labeled socialism by conservatives... some things don’t change).

In the election of 1910, the progressives in both parties routed the conservatives and took control of Congress. Woodrow Wilson was elected Governor of New Jersey and quickly became a political star siding with the progressive movement.

In 1912, La Follette ran for the Republican Presidential nomination against the now very unpopular Taft, but was undercut by the very popular Roosevelt, who announced that he wanted the nomination as well. La Follette had a public melt down that ended his Presidential prospects. Roosevelt had the popular support for the nomination but the party bosses manipulated the process in favor of Taft, which prompted Roosevelt and his supporters to leave the party and form the National Progressive Party, popularly known as the Bull Moose party. While campaigning in Milwaukee, Roosevelt was famously shot by an assassin. His thick, folded speech in his pocket slowed the bullet and he went ahead and delivered his long speech (despite the hole in the pages) with a bullet lodged in his chest. With Roosevelt running in a third party, this split the Republican vote (not that Taft had much support among voters) and handed the election to Woodrow Wilson, who won in a landslide together with other Democrats (Roosevelt came in a distant second). Roosevelt rejoined the Republican party in 1916, but the Republican party would never again be the home of the progressive movement.

Wilson went on to pass historic reforms, including an income tax, the creation of the Federal Reserve, stronger anti-trust laws, direct elections of Senators and women’s suffrage (which La Follette first endorsed and campaigned on, followed by Roosevelt). The Democratic party became the home of the Progressive Movement, as later solidified by FDR.

[Helga Cohen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was during a dynamic period of time during the birth of the Progressive movement. William La Follette started this movement with his group of insurgents. Theodore Roosevelt was a dynamic person and president during it's beginnings and involved with it after he left the presidency. Taft became President through the help of Roosevelt and this book has alot about him and his policies. His only progressive move was trust-busting. Other than that, he was conservative and aligned with them through out his presidency.

I have sympathy for Taft as he fell into the position of President and never really had his heart in it. He was too easily swayed by the conservatives to make his own way and create his own legacy. In this this book, I also learned more about Woodrow Wilson and found out he was more than just a professor and it was interesting reading how he won the election of 1912 and pushed the progressive policies of LaFollette and Roosevelt. He was president during the greatest political revolution since the civil war.

[Robyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

First, I have to confess that I received a copy from the publisher to participate in the History Book Club group read. However, I read the whole book on my kindle. Receiving a copy of the book has no bearing on my review.

This is an era in history with which I had almost no familiarity before we read the book. It's amazing how much changed during this time period! This book is particularly timely as we are leading into the 2016 election. It's amazing how many similarities between candidates, platforms and issues between then and now. I appreciated very much hearing "what happens next" in the epilogue.

I really enjoyed this book. It brought a time in history that I was not at all familiar with to life for me. The characters were vivid and interesting and the story - although some readers knew almost the whole thing - was told in a fresh way that really held the attention of the entire group. Reading it as part of a group added so much to my understanding of the history. I appreciate being able to discuss what I was reading with others.

I definitely recommend this book!

[Jack · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book on the beginnings of the Progressive Party. I find myself amazed on how much I still do not understand about American history. I also noted how many of the topics seem to still be out there for discussion amongst the politicians of today. The book describes how much of our laws and constitutional amendments came into being. I also was very interested to find out that JP Morgan bailed out the Federal Government when we ran out of money. Wish he could do that again by the way. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in American political history.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book along with the History Book Club here on Goodreads. Wolraich has meticulously researched this important window of our country's history. It is a well written book, however, some parts were tedious reading. Covering the presidential terms of Theodore Roosevelt and Taft and briefly touching on Wilson's term, this book explains how many of today's laws, freedoms and political parties evolved.

[Bryan Craig · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great read to see a change in a political party. Well written

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

My, how things have...not changed at all.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Bob La Follette of Wisconsin and their contemporaries are the focus as the early progressive movement brings major shifts to American politics and the parties. Woodrow Wilson, after the Republican party fractures, wins the Presidential election of 1912, despite his only almost non-existent electoral experience.

My rating was a toss-up bewtween a 3 and 4, but I learned enough, and picked up some shareable quotes, so a 4 it is. Two of Roosevelt's quotes:

“I do not represent public opinion: I represent the public. There is a wide difference between the two, between the real interests of the public and the public’s opinion of those interests.”

“It is only the quack who will tell you that he has a cure for everything"

[Sara G · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fascinating look at the beginning of progressivism in the U.S. I've always thought of TR as a progressive for his time, but this book takes a more nuanced approach to his legacy and we learn how Bob La Follette of Wisconsin is the real progressive forefather. There is a lot here about taxation, tariffs, and the other major issues of the day so it might be dense reading if you're not really interested in financial policy, but I really liked it. Also, it seems like everyone feels the same way about Taft. To quote Louis Brandeis, "It's very difficult for me to understand why a man who is so good as Chief Justice ... could have been so bad as President."

[David Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this was an excellent book on the origins and fathers of the progressive movement. Mostly centers around Teddy Roosevelts first elected term as President and continues through the Taft presidency to the election of Woodrow Wilson. Such a fascinating time in our history - with parallels to today with lobbyists holding too much sway in the crafting of legislation. Much of it centers on the love hate relationship between Bob La Follette - who would not accept compromise - and Roosevelt - who as President felt compromise was the best he could do to get something done. Highly recommend.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

It brings the history to life and generates interest. Woolrich captures the personalities of the political titans while adding dimension and context to the history in such a way that it might very well reveal important truths about our own times by virtue of long range cause and effect. The assassination attempt was well rendered.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Theodore Roosevelt that I thought I knew was the trust-busting, Bull Moose rebel – a liberal reformer with the interests of the people foremost on his mind. In Unreasonable Men, Theodore Roosevelt and the Republican Rebels Who Created Progressive Politics, my mythical Teddy (a myth I believe others have shared) is forcibly upended.

Wolraich gives us Roosevelt as a wary aristocrat. He is sharp and largely fair-minded, yes, but he is undeniably part of the elite and is unapologetically wary of the mob. Roosevelt did not see the wisdom of crowds. He saw the wisdom of leading crowds. He did not consider himself a man of people. He saw himself as among the best society had to offer and saw his involvement in politics as something of a duty owed to the dimmer lights among him. He was also, in many cases, smarter and better equipped than the elite around him. Just as, during the financial crisis, President Obama stood between Wall Street and people with their pitchforks out, Roosevelt did fairly often find himself in the position of trying to save rail road, steel and financial tycoons from the inevitable results of their own excesses. In many ways, Obama has walked a middle-line the way Roosevelt did for most of his career – saving the mob from its appetites and the elites from theirs. This is one of the reasons why the book is so important now.

With high-minded self-regard, Roosevelt missed the birth of progressive populism. Robert La Follette, a Senator from Wisconsin, led an insurgency within the Republican party, against the “stand patters,” a group of conservatives led by Nelson Aldrich in the Senate. Roosevelt tried to navigate the dispute without ever giving too much to either side and the result was, as the journalist Lincoln Steffens (for awhile a Roosevelt confidante) described: “[Roosevelt’s] record of victories is long and splendid, but incomplete. He leaves the enemy in possession of the field.”

Well, that sounds like a familiar summary.

Not only was Roosevelt’s legislative record incomplete but he ceded much of the political battlefield as well. La Follette was a real barnstormer. In an era where many people did not even know how their representatives voted on key legislation, La Follette took this knowledge right to the people. He supported primary elections to reduce the power of party bosses and he backed challengers to stand patter Republican incumbents, even when prospects for victory were dim. Roosevelt and the Republican establishment seemed not to realize that a viable political movement was gaining traction.

Well, that sounds familiar, too.

In The New York Times earlier this week, New York Senator Charles Schumer, who heads the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee and is thus as much a party stalwart as he is a Senate stalwart, complains that the primary system should be changed so that the types of candidates from the left and right who have defeated incumbents like Joe Lieberman and Eric Cantor will not be able to mount effective challenges. It is not fair, Schumer says, that the minority of voters who choose to participate in primaries should be able to decide who goes to Washington and who doesn’t. He even supports open primaries so that voters from the other party can step in to help turn back extremist challengers.

There is a lot wrong, philosophically, with what Schumer is arguing. Participatory democracy tends to reward those who participate so the argument that a “minority” of voters directs the primary process seems shallow. Maybe there’s a reason that incumbents can’t get out the vote.

There we get to something more important, and to the heart of Wolraich’s book – the Tea Party insurgency is the modern analogue to La Follette and the progressives, even if the Tea Party’s goals are opposite, its tactics and even messaging are familiar to anyone who has read Unreasonable Men. In the face of that, Schumer would monkey with the rules around primary elections as if gaming the system to stop the insurgency is an effective counter to a group of people who, like it or not, are out there winning the hearts and minds of the voters who matter. They are getting their people to the polls. They are telling their story. They are building something that will serve them decades from now while Schumer ruminates publicly about primary elections (sounding as if he could use a challenger from the left to get his attention).

Wolraich has told us about this before. His first book, Blowing Smoke is about how the conservative movement built itself up over decades, eating small defeats while building the foundations of a cultural juggernaut. The unreasonable men of the progressive movement did the same thing. Now, the Tea Party is doing it.

Read the book, it’s history as current events. Very rewarding.

[Rob S · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unreasonable Men is largely the story of three individuals: President Theodore Roosevelt, President William Howard Taft, "Fighting Bob" La Follette, and two playing the role of supporting cast: Joe Cannon and Nelson Aldrich. These five men were the figures that influenced and in some cases decided the politics over the course of an almost twenty year period.

The Cast:

Theodore Roosevelt : President of the United States after the death of President McKinley, Roosevelt wins reelection in 1904. Roosevelt's Administration is defined by a "Square Deal" for all Americans and he is at odds with the Republican leadership (Speaker Joe Cannon among others) because of his politics. Roosevelt for all of his talk about a "Big Stick" actually was pragmatic about what he could pass from a Congress that didn't hold his views in high esteem. He held the philosophy of being able to get half a loaf of bread as opposed to no bread at all. He decided to not run for an unprecedented third term, saying after being reelection in 1908 that he would not run "under no circumstances". Of course, circumstances and people change...

Robert "Fighting Bob" La Follette : La Follette was not the type of individual to accept half loafs, preferring nothing instead of giving up his principles. La Follette held several positions in Wisconsin before becoming a United States Senator. He gained the ire of party leaders by speaking out against anyone who opposed his views, including fellow Republicans. La Follette was a true progressive, and held Presidential ambitions of his own.

William Howard Taft : Roosevelt's heir, Taft was elected in a similar landslide to office in 1908. However, Taft would quickly find himself at odds with progressives over his views and not being the "Roosevelt man" that was expected of him. He even dismissed most of Roosevelt's cabinet after saying he would do the opposite. Taft reads what is said about him and finds it completely unfair how he's being treated. Then, he and Roosevelt's friend breaks down and all bets are off...

Joe Cannon : Speaker of the House of Representatives and a conservative Democrat, Cannon is "The System". He fought with Roosevelt when he was President and now finds himself facing off against La Follette. These new "progressives" alongside the Democrats look to limit Cannon's almost unlimited power as Speaker. Of course, Cannon didn't get to this position by luck and isn't going down without a fight...

Nelson Aldrich : Aldrich is the leader of the "Big Four" in the Senate and a conservative Democrat by nature. While the position didn't exist at the time, he'd likely would have been Majority Leader. Aldrich actually came from my home state of Rhode Island, and ironically has his biggest legacy on things he actually opposed. Aldrich also stands against Roosevelt and La Follette.

The book deserves credit for giving La Follette his due, but the title itself is a bit misleading considering Roosevelt's conversion to progressivism only happened in 1910. La Follette, who ended up feuding with Roosevelt actually held doubts about Roosevelt's views. Roosevelt did lead The Bull Moose Party, but he also eventually led them back into the Republican party.

I would have liked to see more about the other "Republican Rebels" in the title that led to the creation of Progressive Politics. La Follette gets his due and others get a smaller role, but largely they are eclipsed by the "supernova" that is Roosevelt. In fact, if anything, Wolraich may give Roosevelt too much credit.

Otherwise, Unreasonable Men is an enjoyable read about a fascinating time in American politics.

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Full Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in order to take part in an online discussion with the History Book Club group on Goodreads. However, the views expressed below are mine and do not reflect those of the author, the publisher, Goodreads, or the History Book Club.)

A lot has been written about the Progressive era in American history, which typically spans the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, and Woodrow Wilson. However, non of them have been as holistic in its approach than this one. Others have just been biographies of one or two of the big figures from this era, particularly Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson. This book presents a history of the Progressive era from the election of Bob La Follette to the U.S. Senate in 1904 to the election of 1912. In Mr. Woolraich's capable hands, many lesser known figures from this era such as Sen. Nelson Aldrich and House Speaker Joseph Cannon, a major figure from this era, Sen. La Follette, is reappraised, and another figure, Pres. Theodore Roosevelt, is cast in much more critical light than usual. In short, it is a political history of the country that shows how Progressive ideals overthrew the conservative ideals of the Republican party over eight years and transformed the country. Many landmark laws, such as the Clayton Anti-Trust Act and the Federal Reserve Act, would not have been possible without this political revolution and certainly none of the Progressive laws of the New Deal and the Great Society would've been possible without it either. Thus, not only is it a great history of the period, but it also has clear parallels to our current politics, particularly Sen. Bernie Sanders' run for the presidency. The only downside to this history is that it never quite settles on who is the major figure of this period. Certainly Sen. La Follette pioneered many of the issues of the Progressive era, but he isn't nearly as featured in this book as I thought he was going to be. Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Taft take up a large chunk of the narrative, but Mr. Wolraich is critical of many of their leadership qualities throughout. However, this is a rather small complaint compared to how good this book is. I would recommend this book as an introductory text for people unfamiliar with the period, but I think it would also be of great benefit to those who know more about the period too.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unreasonable Men was a very interesting look into the political structure of the United States during the years prior to World War 1. A great deal of the focus of the book was that of Theodore Roosevelt as President and his approach to achieving legislation he found important. In the early portion of the book, Roosevelt had to deal with a very strong faction of "Stand patters". It was quite challenging to get any legislation through without first having the blessing of the powers in this faction. Roosevelt was very savvy about this and was willing to compromise on smaller issues in order to accomplish some of his agenda. At the other side of the spectrum from the Stand patters would be Senator Bob Follette. His agenda was progressive and compromise was not a part of his vernacular. While he and Roosevelt saw eye to eye on many issues, their ways to go about obtaining their goals was quite different. As we move on in the book, we proceed from Roosevelt to his hand picked successor William Howard Taft. While Taft and Roosevelt may have seemed similar at first, it became apparent over the course of Taft's administration that they saw things quite differently and as Follette's progressives gained more and more support, Taft choose to stay with the Stand patters. Roosevelt couldn't stand on the sidelines any further and made a return to politics. Although now firmly invested in the progressive platform, he and Follette could still not coexist and it let to a third party run for Roosevelt and loss of the election to the Democratic Woodrow Wilson.

I really enjoyed this book as other than Roosevelt, most of the politicians from this era were unfamiliar to me. I always find it amazing how similar different eras can be to our modern one. We feel like we've never seem something before but it's happened repeatedly throughout history.

I'd like to thank the History Book Club and St. Martin's Press for providing me a free copy of the book. It was an enjoyable journey.