Let the People Rule: Theodore Roosevelt and the Birth of the Presidential Primary

by Geoffrey Cowan

“Cowan has brought to life a fascinating part of TR’s story usually left out of the history books. He tells it with verve and suspense, warts and all, his insights deepened by his own impressive background as a democracy activist.”―Adam Hochschild, author of To End All Wars Let the People Rule tells 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.” In this utterly compelling work, Cowan illuminates lessons of the past that have great resonance for American politics today. 8 pages of illustrations

Genres: History, Politics, Nonfiction, Presidents, American History, Biography, Biography Memoir

424 pages, Hardcover

First published January 11, 2016

Reviews

[Bfisher · Rating 4 out of 5]

The author was very influential in the development of the modern primary system through the report of the commission he founded (The Commission on the Democratic Selection of Democratic Nominees). The report was delivered at the divisive Democratic convention in Chicago in 1968, and ushered in the modern primary process whereby party nominations are effectively determined during the primary season, and the summer nominating convention is a coronation.

The book covers the Republican nomination process in the 1912 presidential election, which inaugurated the modern presidential primary.

There are startling parallels here between 1912 and the current primary season.

[John Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 9 of 40 for 2016

Well since this primary season was so incredibly odd and frustrating why not go back to the beginning of the primary experience and learn how it all started with an election year even more crazy then this one. Added bonus TR is involved so I was all over the chance to spend sometime with the Colonel.

The election of 1912 was the second time that the primaries were a factor in the election of the parties selection of their nominees, the first was the election of 1896 and you can read Karl Rove's great book "The Triumph of William McKinley" to learn more.

This time around in 1912 the primaries became a battleground in the GOP due to the split between the progressive wing of the GOP and their unlikely standard bearer TR and the conservative wing lead by TR's selected successor and friend William Howard Taft.

Geffory Cowan does a great job providing the background of this clash of personalities and the resulting primary season chaos that was created by TR and Taft clashing for the nomination. At 295 pages its a quick read that provides an example of another time where the GOP was split in half by the events of the time.

As we know Wilson would end up winning the election and the Presidency in 1912 but primarily because the Republican part was split between TR and the Bull Moose Party and the GOP.

[Wesley Roth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was fortunate to get my hands on an advanced copy of Geoffrey Cowan's "Let the People Rule" (set to be published 1/11/16), which tells the story of Theodore Roosevelt and his push for a presidential primary in 1912. For political junkies, this is a great read, which brings you alongside TR and his boundless energy as he pursues "letting the people rule" by pushing for direct presidential primaries. Cowan does a great job telling the story of the TR and Taft campaigns in those four vital months. The ugly disenfranchisement of African Americans by TR as he led his short-lived Bull Moose Party is presented and explained in detail, and the reader shakes his head in bewilderment with the lack of leadership TR made in this instance which probably killed his chances. If African Americans were allowed to join and lead in Roosevelt's Bull Moose Party, would he have won? Maybe. Some parts of the book get bogged down in minute detail with the minor characters in each campaign, but TR and Taft remain the focus for the most part. An important contribution to campaign history in the early 20th century.

[Kenneth Barber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the beginnings of the use of the primary system in national elections. The idea was a reform called for by many progressives to take power from the hands of the political machines in presidential elections. The idea was slow to catch but then came the election of 1912. Theodore Roosevelt decides to challenge his hand picked successor as president, William Howard Taft. Roosevelt had not been a supporter of primaries until he challenged Taft. Taft had control of all the party apparatus so Roosevelt decided to embrace the primary system with the slogan let the people rule.
The book then follows the struggle for the Republican nomination. It's a good political study that details the struggle to win the nomination. When Roosevelt 's efforts falls short he bolts the Republican Party to form the Progressive Party, better known as the Bull Moose Party.

[Mara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that if you pick this up wanting a book about the battle between Taft and Roosevelt for the 1912 Republican presidential nomination, you'll be satisfied. If you pick it up because you're interested in the "Birth of the presidential primary" angle, you may be a little disappointed. There definitely is discussion of primaries but it's not as detailed or as frequent as you might expect from the book's title. The history of the wrangling for the nomination is definitely fascinating, though, as is the section about Roosevelt's shameful treatment of some of his black Southern supporters after he formed his own party.

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

For any Teddy Roosevelt worshippers out there, "the Colonel" had his blemishes. For all of his accomplishments, he was ultimately infatuated with power and went to great lengths to achieve it, even to the point of compromising his principles. In hindsight, it's galling that he disenfranchised blacks from the GOP in a failed attempt to garner support in the deep south to win the presidency. Yet, when the GOP went hard-right after his failed bid, he reacted with a cogent metaphor, "The dog returns to its vomit." Rings true today, too.

[David R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

On the one hand, this is a solid narrative of the 1912 nomination fight between Taft and Roosevelt (although Cowan, surely unintentionally, exposes Roosevelt as a monumental egotist). On the other, this really isn't about the rise of primaries and it's weak in theory and application. Cowan gives only tantalizing thoughts about the role of primaries since and doesn't solve the question of whether this electoral innovation did better than the old conventions. I wanted more.

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fine book -- detailed, fast-paced, and smart. The subtitle and overall framing are somewhat misleading because it's not really a book about the birth of the primaries as much as it's about TR's bolt from the GOP in 1912. Primaries certainly play a key role there, but the backroom intrigue within the party makes for juicier reading.

[Riff · Rating 5 out of 5]

A history of the 1912 election & Theodore Roosevelt's crusade for full direct primary elections of party candidates (as we ~mostly~ do now, or at least the Dems do, GOP mostly) written by one of the most important leaders in getting that dream to reality after the 1968 debacle at the Democratic convention. In 1912 only some states apportioned convention delegates by popular vote in that state. This is a story of Roosevelt's campaign for Republican delegates (a contest he overwhelming won) & a future nationwide primary election, how the Republican party still denied him the nomination (keeping Bill Taft), why they did so (Roosevelt's radicalism, especially his views - radical today even! - on constitutional reform of the Supreme Court), & Roosevelt's bolt from the party to form the still radical Progressive "Bully Moose" Party.

Also a bit of an exploration of Roosevelt's flaws, in particular his overwhelming desire for power. In this case, Roosevelt abandoning his principles when he deserted southern black progressives from the Progressive convention in a foolish & unbecoming attempt to court southern Tillman-esque (my term) populists & maybe win back the presidency. To be fair to Roosevelt this doesn't seem to have been his idea, rather others convinced him, & it appears to be a cynical (though wrongheaded) political move rather than one inspired by pure racism, but it still is galling and depressing. It really is sad - the Progressive Party platform in 1912* was probably the most radical political platform of any major party since maybe 1860, & much of it remains radical even today, but imagine how much more inspirational it would be had the southern convention delegates been majority black as would have occurred otherwise.

Wish it would have spent more time on the history of direct primaries after 1912, but all together very good.

*For example: limits on campaign contributions (x), women's right to vote (✓), A NATIONALIZED HEALTH SERVICE!!! (x), social security (✓), direct election of senators (✓), easier to amend US construction (x), referendums of congressional law (x) & Supreme Court decisions / "judicial recall" (x), national primaries (✓), federal securities commission (✓, mostly, arguably not powerful enough), et cetera. Just in case it isn't obvious, (x) is for something we still don't have over 100 years later & (✓) is for something which was subsequently achieved.

[Robert S · Rating 2 out of 5]

Let the People Rule arrives at what can be considered an apt time in the history of the presidential primary. Both major parties recently saw raw battles for their respective nominations that will play a role in shaping each party for decades to come.

This book serves to examine the birth of the modern idea for letting people in each state pick who they would like to see as the nominee as opposed to men in a cigar filled back room.

This idea is explored using (at the time former) President Theodore Roosevelt versus President William Howard Taft in 1912.

There has been what can be considered a glut of books on Theodore Roosevelt in recent years and many of them have gone into indepth coverage of his rivalry with Taft. So its unfortunate that the book would spend significant amounts of space on a rivalry that has been extensively covered elsewhere as opposed to the finer details of the primary.

If you haven't read other books on the subject, this may be worth a pickup for you. However, if you have read a number of other books on the topic then you may want to look elsewhere.

[Joseph J. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A national figure enters the Presidential fray inveighing against establishment politics. He seeks to disenfranchise a sizable portion of the electorate on race-he needs the votes of the Southern states. He has a son quick to comment in his father's support, in words more outrageous than his old man. The candidate attracts outrageous supporters; a dozen raw eggs followed by a bottle of champagne anyone? We're not talking current events here, but the 1912 run of former President Theodore Roosevelt. We are reminded that political crusades "for the people" and against the powers that be often contain their own devious angles and suppression of the very "people" which they claim to represent. These pages remind us that Teddy Roosevelt was a politician who craved power, and would steamroll the lest powerful to attain that end. The least powerful here, Southern black voters (men) as Jim Crow rule gathered momentum. And Teddy's political ruthlessness is backed by some pretty ugly viewpoints; at least Ted Jr. lived long enough to reverse his bigotry on 1912 and champion civil rights. Our national heroes are no saints, and indeed were not always admirable-as in this book.

[Krista · Rating 2 out of 5]

This could have been such an interesting book; the cast of characters, the soap-opera story-line, the era...

As it is, it is an informative, if repetitive book. I did not come out of it feeling like I knew more about the people OR the process, which is a shame after reading 300 pages.

I did come out of it realizing that for all our gnashing of teeth in this current election cycle that the world has gone to hell, the world has gone to hell before. And will go to hell again.

Consider this description of Roosevelt as he was considering launching his campaign; "To the group's amazement, he [Roosevelt] could not explain how is proposed recall of judicial decisions would work in practice. Much as he was enthralled by his personality, Arthur Hill, Roosevelt's prospective young lieutenant, was stunned by the new candidate's intellectual incoherence; 'He is entirely incoherent in his thought and that is one reason why he is such an excellent representative of American feeling,' Hill told his mother in one of a series of insightful and self-deprecating letters. 'We ought to be led by an enthusiast and a man of vigor, and Roosevelt is all of that. But as for his thought, I do not think it is worth thinking about except as far as it reveals his personality. The best he does is to read good books and imperfectly understand their contents.'"

Sound familiar?

The history of presidential nominations can be divided into four distinct periods; King Caucus - nomination of candidates by members of Congress (1792-1828), Pure Convention System (1832-1908), Mixed System (created by the rise of the primaries) (1912-1968), Dominant Primary System (1972-present)

The primary system that began in 1912 was driven by that hero of the people, Theodore Roosevelt. He had already been president once. He hand-picked his successor, Taft. But then grew disillusioned with how Taft was running the country and decided to throw his "hat in the ring" and try to wrest the Republican nomination from Taft through grassroots populism; "Let the People Rule."

But as much as one would like to think the primaries actually give the people the right to rule, they don't. Nor did Roosevelt, who used the system, really believe that the people should have the right to rule. He didn't. But his grassroots popularity made a primary system the best way for him to become a contender. So he fought for it, not because he believed in it but because it believed in him. Cowan writes, "The man who embraced democracy as his core campaign theme and had done so much to open up the political system, had been a skeptic if not an opponent of presidential primaries and suffrage for women only weeks before he embraced them; and he had pleaded for the support of southern blacks in the Republican party only weeks before he excluded them from his own new party. Looking at the way he conducted his campaign led me to wonder what, if anything, TR would not have done--and what any serious candidate today would not do--in order to be elected president."

Roosevelt knew how to game the system. Consider this; "Taft had made some good arguments and delivered some good lines, but fundamentally he had the temperament of a judge, not a fighter. Roosevelt was a warrior dressed for battle. He did not need to answer arguments directly; his strategy was to hit and hit hard; to regain the initiative. He created a level of political frenzy that subsumed the issues. And people believed what they wanted to believe."

Roosevelt was a politican, it the purest form of the word. Back before Taft was his mortal enemy in the 1912 primaries, Roosevelt had helped get Taft elected; "[Roosevelt] warned Taft not to be photographed playing golf. he did not want Taft to look too elite, too far removed from the lives of people he hoped to lead. 'It's true that I myself play tennis,' he told journalist Mark Sullivan, his chosen messenger. 'But you never saw a photograph of me playing tennis. I'm careful about that. Photographs on horseback, yes; tennis, no. And golf is fatal."

But this man of the people was far from that in actuality. His letters reflect the class and race-based views prominent in his time. "Every real proponent of democracy, Roosevelt said, 'acts and always must act on the perfectly sound (although unacknowledged, and often hotly contested) belief that only certain people are fit for democracy.'"

Only certain people are fit for democracy. In California, the Chinese and the Japanese are not fit. In the south, the Blacks aren't fit.

Except he needed the black vote in the south during the Republican primary. Because they would vote for him. So he fought for their seat at the table. But, then, when he failed in his bid for the Republican nomination and started his own party, he needed the white establishment. So the very men he had fought for were now excluded.

But "Political Expediency!" doesn't make for a good campaign slogan.

But Roosevelt could talk a good talk. Consider this excerpt from the speech he made when finally announcing his candidacy; "It would be well if our people would study the history of a sister republic. All the woes of France for a century and a quarter have been due to the folly of her people in splitting into the two camps of unreasonable conservatism and unreasonable radicalism...may we profit by the experiences of our brother republicans across the water, and go forward steadily, avoiding all wild extremes."

But reasonable doesn't usually win votes. Roosevelt switched timbre from reasonable to riled depending on his audience. He knew how to fire the people way up. But Taft did things like this; "When someone in the crowd shouted that 'Roosevelt is a liar,' Taft stopped him. 'That isn't in my vocabulary,' he said. 'My experience on the bench has taught me the value of words and one of the most unsafe things to do is to go further than the facts.'"

Reasonableness doesn't rile the people. Reactiveness does.

So the problem with democracy is people? Maybe...

[Bargain Sleuth Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

I took a History of Wisconsin class in college 30 years ago and had to read a fair amount about Fightin' Bob LaFollette but don't remember much. I've also read a lot about Teddy Roosevelt and his doomed 3rd party run to try and gain back the presidency. The battle between Taft and Roosevelt for the Republican nomination is interesting, but I didn't think I learned anything new about the race. This book sheds a little more light on the birth of the presidential primary and how the Progressives threw aside Fightin' Bob for TR to battle Taft and thereby split the vote, guaranteeing victory for Woodrow Wilson.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good read to get in the mood for the upcoming 2020 primary season. It is a good look at the real politics behind presidential nominations specifically in this case in the 1912 election. I enjoyed the read and it raises some interesting questions that we are also wrestling with in our upcoming race as far as whether pragmatism or idealism should be the goal. I would have liked more narrative story even if it increased the page account because some of the book seemed like a little bit of a laundry list of people and primaries.

[Michael Lewyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even before reading this book, I knew the basic story of the Taft-Roosevelt nomination battle: Roosevelt won most of the primaries but Taft won the nomination because he had more support from party officials (especially in the South where most delegates were federal workers appointed by Taft).

But this book adds a lot of detail to that picture. In particular, Cowan explains why Roosevelt was so polarizing. Roosevelt made one ill-conceived speech, suggesting that bad judicial decisions be overturned by popular vote. As a result, many of Roosevelt's former supporters were horrified. (However, Cowan doesn't explain why Roosevelt didn't or couldn't walk back this idea).

Also, Cowan explains in some detail why Roosevelt ran. Taft's conservatism wasn't the only issue: in fact, Taft was arguably more progressive on some issues (such as race and antitrust litigation). In late 1911 Taft seemed so weak that Roosevelt feared that Taft might lose to Sen. Robert La Follette (who was more progressive than either, and who Roosevelt hated).

I also learned that even though Taft was nominated, the contest was pretty close: he was nominated with only 21 votes to spare, so if Taft had lost one or two more primaries the result might have been different. And if Roosevelt's supporters had been willing to back a compromise candidate, a united GOP might have won in November.

[Alena Xuan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a TR fan.
But this book just doesn’t do it. It starts by talking about who TR was and why the presidential primary mattered to him and then it got REALLY boring and in the weeds.
It wasn’t until the last couple chapters that it returned to its glory and dove into TR’s stance on diversity votes, which is what makes him such an interesting person (IMO).
This ended up being a rather boring narration instead of an epic story.

[Brooks Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book - writer portrays the story as a dramatic unfolding of events during the battle for the republican nomination of 1912. The book reads like a well told story. Good historical and political insights to the rise of the modern presidential primary - something we take for granted nowadays that wasn’t always the case.

[Julieann · Rating 5 out of 5]

The life of Teddy Roosevelt is interesting, regardless of what part you're reading about.
Given the controversy about the Electoral College and the Primary System as it operated last November, this was fascinating.

[Marcus Latham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read on one of the final chapters of TR’s life. Reformer and politician, both sides explored using 1912 presidential nominating campaign between TR and Taft

[Diana Schrader · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well documented but somewhat cumbersome to slog through.

[Amy Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone who knows me knows I love Theodore Roosevelt. Exciting, driven, full of life, and definitely flawed, I have read more books about him than maybe anyone else. Except maybe Abraham Lincoln. Anyway, I was interested in reading a book about the time I never really understood, when he ran for President for a 3rd term. And with the 2016 election looming, I was even more intrigued about how the primary system came about.
All that said, if none of that stuff sounds good to you, do NOT read this book. It is very detailed and descriptive about each and every primary that year. And the step by step, almost minute by minute coverage of the 1912 Republican convention almost put me off the book.
BUT I continued reading. Mainly because I needed to find a reason to forgive TR for the stand he took on a couple of issues. I have always given him license to make decisions I didn't agree with, but this book brought to light some things I never knew and really wish I didn't. Dadgum it, TR.
I will be thinking about this book for a long time. So, it deserves 4 stars.

[Jim Gallen · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Let The People Rule” is the fascinating tale of the contest for the 1912 Republican nomination between President William Howard Taft and his mentor and predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. What made 1912 unique, besides the anomaly of having two presidents running against each other, is the breath of personalities involved and the rise of the presidential primary that year.

The story is familiar to many but the details brought out in this book were enlightening to me and will be to others also. Many of us know that, after encouraging and supporting Taft, TR went off to Africa and withdrew from the political scene. Upon emerging from the Dark regions of the continent, TR was met by friends, prominently Gifford Pinchot, who told him that Taft had abandoned Progressive principles and Roosevelt must take the White House back.

TR was not the only one dissatisfied with Taft’s policies. Wisconsin progressive senator Robert LaFollette’s early candidacy demonstrated Taft’s vulnerability and opened the door for Roosevelt to mount a real threat to the President’s re-nomination. Out of this LaFollette became a bitter enemy of Roosevelt, Roosevelt’s friends and allies were split, with some like Frank Knox supporting him and others, including Henry Cabot Lodge sticking with Taft.

Mistakes were made along the way. LaFollette’s disgraceful performance before the Publisher’s Association and TR’s Columbus speech in which he proposed that judicial decisions be subject to popular vote cost each man crucial support.

Primary elections had been a Progressive initiative at the state and local level. 1912 was the year that extended them to the national stage. As the campaign progressed, TR, at first skeptical, demanded them in state after state, more for political advantage than principle. Roosevelt won more primaries and gained more delegates through them that did Taft, facts that may, as he claimed, show that he was the people’s choice but may also reflect that the states that weremore progressive, and therefore more inclined toward TR, were more likely to adopt the primaries.

I found several tidbits of history on these pages. The suggestion that a Democratic nomination of Speaker Champ Clark, who got the majority but not two-thirds of the delegate votes, may have enabled TR to win the presidency on the Bull Moose ticket is one I had not heard before. I was amused to read that, right as Theodore Roosevelt re-entered the political arena, his wife, Edith, left on a tour of South America. That Taft’s alleged close relations with Catholics was an issue came as a surprise to me. For the first time, a president actively campaigned for the nomination in a cause that became increasingly bitter and desperate on both sides. Race played a significant part in the drama as both camps struggled for Black support in the South that had its share of delegates but very few Republican voters. Ironically, Roosevelt, who promoted Black involvement at the Republican Convention determined that Blacks would be admitted to Northern delegations to the Progressive Convention, but not in Southern delegations. This showed TR at his political depth as he courted Black votes in the North, but only white votes in the South.

The primary system was in its infancy in 1912, and infants are not strong. Much power remained in the hands of party professionals and they tipped the balance to Taft, a decision that drove many into the new Progressive Party that split the vote and gave the election to Woodrow Wilson.

At this writing, in July 2016, the presidential primary has come a long way. The 1912 scheme that was strong enough to take Roosevelt to the convention but too weak to overcome the entrenched operatives, had grown, on the Republican side, to a wave that could not be stopped. For better or worse, it appears that the Democratic system retains more control in the hands of party leaders as was the case in 1912.

Author Geoffrey Cowan, who was instrumental in promoting the influence of primaries in and after 1968, has crafted an entrancing history. He has skillfully woven major and minor players into a story that captures the reader’s attention and holds it to the end. This is a work to read, ponder, and put aside until you are ready to pick it up again.

[Robert Melnyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting book about the beginnings of the presidential primary system. I knew that in 1912 Theodore Roosevelt failed to get the Republican nomination for president, and decided to run as a third party candidate, creating the Bull Moose Party. But the details of how it all came to pass are fascinating, and I did not understand how it all stemmed from the beginnings of the presidential primary system we have today. Along the lines of "the more things change the more they remain the same", there was a section in the book that talked about how TR was winning the most number of primaries, and that he seemed to have the support of a large plurality of delegates, but it was looking as if the Republican establishment was going to undermine him at the convention and give the nomination to Taft. It talked about how if that happened how angry the people would be that the nomination was being stolen from the one with the most votes. Does this sound somewhat familiar to the 2016 Republican race? Anyway, if you are into presidential politics and presidential history, this is definitely an interesting read.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

America's presidential primary system started as a progressive reform that Theodore Roosevelt adopted in order to improve his chances of unseating incumbent William Howard Taft. While Roosevelt did well in the 12 primaries that existed at the time, it wasn't enough to knock off Taft.

Geoffrey Cowan's book gets much more into the weeds of the 1912 Republican race than I thought it would. Also, toward the end, Cowan pivots from primaries to Roosevelt's refusal to allow African-Americans from the Deep South to join his 3rd party run.

After their hesitant start in 1912, primaries didn't become the principal way to earn the nomination until 1972. The first primary was in North Dakota. (New Hampshire didn't adopt a primary until 1916).

Has America ever found a good way to nominate a president? Probably not.

[Billhotto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Account of the Republican presidential nomination fight in 1912, the first time that state primaries were used in a presidential campaign, Theodore Roosevelt won nine of the thirteen primaries but President William Howard Taft won the nomination at the convention. The bitterness during the campaign rivaled anything today, Roosevelt went on to run a third party campaign. Party bosses knew the Republicans would lose in November, but preferred that to giving up control. A century later almost all delegates are selected in primaries, but has anything really changed? Cowan shows how, in forming his "Bull Moose" party, Roosevelt made the decision to exclude African-American delegates from the South.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh my, politics is dirty business! After T Roosevelt served 7 1/2 years in the White House he literally turned over the reins to Taft. He traveled to Africa and Europe right after leaving office and when he returned to the US a year later he just wasn't ready to "retire." Friends kept urging him to run for President. Finally he did. His decision led to some of the first primaries that were held, women's suffrage also was settled and repression of people based on the color of their skin was given extra fuel by the Bull Moose party plank of a "lily-white" political party for the South. An interesting book to read during the 2016 primaries and makes me look forward to what I think will be interesting National Political Conventions.

[Joanne]

While premise of the book is to explain how our political system started using primaries, which it does, it also highlights the disenfranchisement of blacks and women in American politics. Approximately a century ago, the Republicans were battling to determine who would be the candidate, William Howard Taft or Theodore Roosevelt. So much detail, and I wish there had been more. Roosevelt was appalled at the Taft administration but almost no detail about why. Guess I'll have to read another book.

But if you wonder why Black Americans are angry, or women are fighting so hard for representation, here is a good book to read.

[Jeffrey Blake · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting, albeit rather wonky, look at the 1912 Republican campaign that ushered in the age of direct political primaries for both parties in America. The story is filled with political irony. First in Roosevelt, never a fan of direct elections, proving to be the ultimate political force in the call for direct democracy, and second, in his insistence on the disenfranchisement of blacks, particularly those most loyal to him, in the deep south for political expedience, as he kicks off his new Bull Moose Party.

[Kurtbg · Rating 3 out of 5]

TR stepped down after one term and was almost heroic in doing so to ensure democracy.
But, he couldn't stay away (much like Churchill.) Still young enough and full of energy (and probably need for national attention) he stepped back in the ring to challenge his groomed VP, Taft, who TR supported when he stepped down.

As it stood, it looked liked TR couldn't win as things were. So, what do you do when you can't win the game? You change the rules. In this case it was to support the expansion of state primaries which would be more receptive to political stumping.

TR lost. The primaries stayed.

[Chris Csergei · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good look at the republican contest for the presidential election of 1912. It was filled with good detail and the author was fair to all sides. It's explanation of how the progressive party was born out of the convention and the steps that many took to prepare for that eventually was better than any I have read.
It was a little repetitive at times, and some of the ordering of the material could have been better, but it was worth the read.