PROGRESSIVE PARTY, The. In the half century following the Civil War four serious disagreements threatened to break up the political homogeneity of the Republican party. In the order of their occurrence these were the Liberal Republican movement of 1872, the Mugwump party of 1884, the silver issue of 1890 and the progressive movement of 1912. The last named was by far the most serious and took its rise in the nineties, being at first largely an agrarian movement in the Middle West. Many prominent members of the Republican party felt that their party in the State and national legislatures was dominated to a dan gerous degree by the great corporations, in cluding the railroad companies. The progres sive spirit first took concrete form in the ener getic protests voiced by Western Republicans against the tariff legislation enacted by their party in 1890, 1897 and in 1909. The Populists and Democrats secured several seats in Kansas and Minnesota upsetting for the first time the solid array of Republican States. Friction was constant within the old party and in 1910 the strength of the new movement was apparent in Congress when the Progressives secured the election of the Congressional Committee on Rules by the House itself and discarded the old method of appointment of the committee by speaker. The elections of 1910 showed the older Republicans of the ((stand trata type that they might no longer treat the Progressives as a factious, troublesome and uninflnential minor ity. The Progressives, foremost among whom were La Follette of Wisconsin, Cummings of Iowa, Dolliver of Iowa and Beveridge of In diana were now most aggressive and their in fluence was felt by both Democrats and Repub licans alike. When the presidential campaign of 1912 approached the movement had acquired such momentum and strength that its leaders thought seriously of wresting the control of the Republican party from its old-time leaders, of dictating its platform and running the party machinery generally. No leader of sufficient strength as a presidential possibility having been developed within the ranks of the Pro Republicans, the majority declared for Theodore Roosevelt, ex-President of the United States. Delegates instructed to vote for the
latter as Presidential candidate were sent to the Chicago Convention of 18-22 June 1912. The supporters of President Taft, however, by controlling the National Committee, were en abled to pass upon all contested seats in the convention, with the result that the majority of the Progressive delegates were unseated and the remainder, led by Roosevelt, withdrew. The call for an independent convention signed by the ablest of the Progressives was soon sent forth, and on 5 August Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Hiram Johnson of California were unanimausly chosen as candidates for the Presidency and Vice-Presidency respectively.
The objects of the Progressive party, as set forth in the incorporation papers issued at Al bany, N. Y., on 31 July 1912, are as follows : To promote by educational means and political action, social and industrial justice and political liberty in the State and Nation ; to advocate such legislation and administration as will se cure to the people the effective control of all of the agencies of their government; to pro mote such legislation as is demanded by the modern industrial revolution, and which will secure a better and more equitable diffusion of prosperity; and to take such political action as will result in the election to public office of candidates who are in accord with the policies and objects of the organization; and further, to unite in a common movement all associations and organizations formed for like purposes throughout the State of New York and the United States of America.'" The preamble of the platform of the Progressive party states that ((The conscience of the people in a time of grave National problems has called into being a new party, born of the Nation's awakened sense of justice' The Platform.— The main recommendations of the platform are as follows: Preferential primaries for Presidential can didates; direct primaries for nomination of State and national officers; direct election of United States senators; the short ballot; the initiative, referendum and recall.