The Election of 1908
The election of 1908 began with voters wondering if Theodore Roosevelt planned to run for re-election. He had completed most of William McKinley's second term after McKinley's assassination in September of 1901, and he had won the 1904 election at the head of his party's ticket. After that election, Roosevelt promised not to seek what was essentially a third term, but Roosevelt was a popular incumbent, and some speculated that he might change his mind about this. However Roosevelt kept this promise. Unlike most incumbents however, he became active in the selection of his successor and worked to persuade the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft, his close friend and Secretary of War for the position.
Having lost the 1904 election badly with a conservative candidate, the Democratic Party turned to two-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, who had been defeated in 1896 and 1900 by Republican William McKinley. Despite his two previous defeats, Bryan remained extremely popular among the more liberal and populist elements of the Democratic Party.
In 1908 the Republican nomination introduced the presidential primary. The intention of the primary was to nominate candidates not put up by large well funded party machines and to give the people a voice in the selection of their candidates. The first state to hold a presidential primary to select delegates to a national convention was Florida in 1904, when Democratic Party voters held a primary there. In 1908, the only two Republican contenders running nationwide campaigns for the presidential nomination were Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Governor Joseph B. Foraker, both of Ohio. In the nomination contest, four states held primaries to select national convention delegates. In Ohio, the state Republican Party held a primary on February 11. Taft won a resounding victory there. Three other states holding primaries were split. California chose a slate of delegates that supported Taft; Wisconsin elected a slate that supported Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr., and Pennsylvania elected a slate that supported its Senator Philander C. Knox.
The 1908 Republican Convention was held in Chicago between June 16 and 19. William Howard Taft scored a huge victory on the first ballot with 702 votes to 68 for Knox, his nearest rival. Five other candidates received votes including President Roosevelt, who received three votes.
The 1908 Democratic Convention was held in Denver between July 7 and 10. William Jennings Bryan quickly won the overwhelming support of his party on the first ballot with 888.5 votes. His closest rival received 59.5 votes. John W. Kern of Indiana was unanimously declared the candidate for vice-president.
Publisher William Randolph Hearst decided to run on the ticket of a third party called the Independence Party. He later withdrew after the party performed poorly in New York elections, but he continued to support that third party, hoping that the Independence ticket would draw votes from Bryan. Hearst disliked Bryan failing to support Hearst in his bid for the Presidency in 1904.
The Free Silver issue was decided in the previous election of 1896, so Bryan campaigned on a progressive platform attacking "government by privilege." His campaign slogan was "Shall the People Rule?" Taft watered down Bryan's liberal support by accepting some of his reformist ideas along with Roosevelt's progressive policies. This blurred the distinctions between the parties. Republicans also used the slogan "Vote for Taft now, you can vote for Bryan anytime", a reference to Bryan's two failed previous presidential campaigns.
Businessmen continued to support the Republican Party, and Bryan failed to secure the support of labor. As a result, Bryan ended up with the worst of his three defeats in the national popular vote. He lost almost all the northern states to Taft and losy the popular vote by 8 percentage points. This would be Bryan's last campaign for the presidency, although he would remain a popular figure within the Democratic Party.
Oklahoma had joined the Union less than a year before and there were now 46 states in the Union. Taft received 7,678,335 popular votes (51.57%) and 321 electoral votes, compared to 6,408,979 votes (43.04%) and 162 electoral votes for Bryan. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs finished third with 420,852 popular votes (2.83%) and no electoral votes. In his third attempt at the presidency, Bryan had support in every section of the country, and in every state. But the Democratic Party was the minority party, and would not retake the White House for another four years.
Having lost the 1904 election badly with a conservative candidate, the Democratic Party turned to two-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, who had been defeated in 1896 and 1900 by Republican William McKinley. Despite his two previous defeats, Bryan remained extremely popular among the more liberal and populist elements of the Democratic Party.
In 1908 the Republican nomination introduced the presidential primary. The intention of the primary was to nominate candidates not put up by large well funded party machines and to give the people a voice in the selection of their candidates. The first state to hold a presidential primary to select delegates to a national convention was Florida in 1904, when Democratic Party voters held a primary there. In 1908, the only two Republican contenders running nationwide campaigns for the presidential nomination were Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Governor Joseph B. Foraker, both of Ohio. In the nomination contest, four states held primaries to select national convention delegates. In Ohio, the state Republican Party held a primary on February 11. Taft won a resounding victory there. Three other states holding primaries were split. California chose a slate of delegates that supported Taft; Wisconsin elected a slate that supported Wisconsin Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr., and Pennsylvania elected a slate that supported its Senator Philander C. Knox.
The 1908 Republican Convention was held in Chicago between June 16 and 19. William Howard Taft scored a huge victory on the first ballot with 702 votes to 68 for Knox, his nearest rival. Five other candidates received votes including President Roosevelt, who received three votes.
The 1908 Democratic Convention was held in Denver between July 7 and 10. William Jennings Bryan quickly won the overwhelming support of his party on the first ballot with 888.5 votes. His closest rival received 59.5 votes. John W. Kern of Indiana was unanimously declared the candidate for vice-president.
Publisher William Randolph Hearst decided to run on the ticket of a third party called the Independence Party. He later withdrew after the party performed poorly in New York elections, but he continued to support that third party, hoping that the Independence ticket would draw votes from Bryan. Hearst disliked Bryan failing to support Hearst in his bid for the Presidency in 1904.
The Free Silver issue was decided in the previous election of 1896, so Bryan campaigned on a progressive platform attacking "government by privilege." His campaign slogan was "Shall the People Rule?" Taft watered down Bryan's liberal support by accepting some of his reformist ideas along with Roosevelt's progressive policies. This blurred the distinctions between the parties. Republicans also used the slogan "Vote for Taft now, you can vote for Bryan anytime", a reference to Bryan's two failed previous presidential campaigns.
Businessmen continued to support the Republican Party, and Bryan failed to secure the support of labor. As a result, Bryan ended up with the worst of his three defeats in the national popular vote. He lost almost all the northern states to Taft and losy the popular vote by 8 percentage points. This would be Bryan's last campaign for the presidency, although he would remain a popular figure within the Democratic Party.
Oklahoma had joined the Union less than a year before and there were now 46 states in the Union. Taft received 7,678,335 popular votes (51.57%) and 321 electoral votes, compared to 6,408,979 votes (43.04%) and 162 electoral votes for Bryan. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs finished third with 420,852 popular votes (2.83%) and no electoral votes. In his third attempt at the presidency, Bryan had support in every section of the country, and in every state. But the Democratic Party was the minority party, and would not retake the White House for another four years.