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Editor says, what if Teddy Roosevelt won his 3rd term? muses Robbie Taylor. Please note that the opinions expressed in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of the author(s).
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In 1919, on this day America's only three-term President Theodore Roosevelt died in Oyster Bay, New York. He was sixty years old.
Three-term President Roosevelt passes awayHe became the longest-serving president in the nation's history. But inevitably, his final election victory in 1912 was a matter of controversy and high drama. He was nominated for the presidency by the Bull Moose (Progressive) Party. "This bull moose shall roar his way back into the White House," he said in his acceptance speech.
The Progressives campaigned vigorously for him, but he seemed to be a long shot until October 12th. An insane gentleman by the name of William Shrenk attempted to assassinate him, declaring that "Any man looking for a third term ought to be shot". Schrenk missed Roosevelt, but the attempt transformed the former president into something akin to a martyr for the progressive cause.
People flocked to his speeches in the fall, and in November, he narrowly edged out the Democrat, Woodrow Wilson, to win what was actually only his second full term in the White House. Perhaps Roosevelt's greatest legacy was the rise of the Progressive Party and the diminishment of the Republicans. Although old money himself, Roosevelt's Progressives supported the rights of unions, as well as several reigns on big businesses and trusts during his time in the White House. In 1916, although the Progressives wished to nominate him again, he declined and supported instead his Vice-President, Hiram Johnson, who barely won the office after a campaign blitz from the old Bull Moose lifted his fortunes.
Entry posted by Alternate Historian Robbie Taylor
© Alternate Historian, 2004-.Story Tags
Permalinks: Post, Day. Browse Thread: Politicians Source: Wikipedia Labels: Theodore Roosevelt, Presidency, Election, Bull Moose, Election.
~ Looks like somebody's been reading "What If? 2". :D
~ Would he have got us into WWI earlier? I'm not sure---before 1914 he was on good terms with the Kaiser. Without needing to use our neutrality as a club to hit Wilson with, he might have decided that it was better to stay out, and said that Americans going into war zones did so at their own risk.
~ I like this one, ver interesting possibility
~ A lifetime presidency was considered, and rejected, by the Framers in our history; the objection was that it made the president an elected monarch. In my fictional AH, I imagine the president is elected by Congress and subject to impeachment, maintaining a balance of powers though not a separation as (theoretically) complete as in our USA.
~ Teddy seemed to have a way of bringing things like natural history, and the environment to our attention in lasting ways -- as with national parks. So, I think there were other things that a longer serving TR could have given the U.S., and beyond.
~ What happens to Franklin Roosevelt? There might have been even stronger pressure to limit presidents (especially ones with *that name*) to two terms.
~ With Progressives on top, we might see a very different scope for labor relations in the 1920s and 1930s.
© Today in Alternate History, 2013-. All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
