ELECTION (1900)

(See WILLIAM MCKINLEY.)

ELECTION (1904)

Theodore Roosevelt's Political Party: Republican Party

Theodore Roosevelt's Opponent(s):
Alton B. Parker-			                         Democratic Party
Eugene V. Debs-			                             Socialist Party

Election Facts:
The Republicans
        President Roosevelt was favored to win the presidential nomination.  But some Republicans opposed him.  They formed a "Dump Roosevelt" movement.  They wanted to nominate Mark Hanna, but he died early in 1904.  (Hanna was a U.S. senator from Ohio.)

        Roosevelt was nominated unanimously.  He won 994 votes.  Charles W. Fairbanks was nominated for vice president.

The Democrats
        Alton B. Parker was favored to win the presidential nomination.  He did not campaign for the nomination.  But he was supported by the powerful Tammany Hall machine in New York.  (Parker was a New York lawyer.  He had been chief justice of the New York Court of Appeals.)

        Parker was nominated with a nearly unanimous vote.  Henry G. Davis was nominated for vice president.  (Davis was an 81-year-old former U.S. senator from Virginia.)

	       At the convention, Parker alienated many Democrats with his acceptance speech.  He advocated keeping the gold standard for the U.S. dollar.  (Former president GROVER CLEVELAND still liked the gold standard.  He had supported Parker for the nomination.)  Most liberal Democrats opposed the gold standard.  William Jennings Bryan was still their leader.  He had been the party's nominee in 1896 and in 1900.

The Socialists
        The Socialists nominated Eugene V. Debs for president.  Their party platform advocated better working conditions for laborers.  It also promised a progressive income tax and public ownership of crucial industries.

The General Election Campaign
        In the fall campaign, President Roosevelt promised voters a "Square Deal."  But he rarely left the White House.  He invented the strategy that would later become known as the "Rose Garden Strategy."  That is, he campaigned mostly by working hard at being president.  He wanted voters to identify him with his office.  He made it appear that any attack on him was an attack on the presidency itself.

        Parker also did not openly shop for votes.  He campaigned from his home.  For the most part, he held meetings.  Other Democrats campaigned around the country on his behalf.

The Election Results
        Roosevelt defeated Parker by more than 2.5 million votes.  He won 336 electoral votes and carried 32 states.  Parker won 140 electoral votes and carried 13 states.  Debs won 402,714 popular votes.  He did not win any electoral votes.

ELECTION (1912)

(See WOODROW WILSON.)

THEODORE ROOSEVELT'S VICE PRESIDENT(S)

FIRST ADMINISTRATION (1901-1905):

(Vacant.  See WILLIAM MCKINLEY.)

SECOND ADMINISTRATION (1905-1909):

Charles Warren Fairbanks, Indiana
Vice President (1905-1909)

Birth-		        1852
Death-         1918
Profession-	  Lawyer
Offices-	      U.S. Senator (1897-1905).

Other Facts-
        Fairbanks was a conservative.  He was never comfortable with Roosevelt.  In the 1912 presidential election, he supported WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT over Roosevelt.  In 1916, Fairbanks was renominated for vice president.  He ran on the losing Republican ticket with Charles Evans Hughes.  The city of Fairbanks, Alaska is named for Charles Fairbanks.