Influential Politicians
Preceding the election of 1912, at the head of the Progressive Party stood President Theodore Roosevelt and his Vice President candidate H.W. Johnson. President Roosevelt had already been elected for two terms under the Republican Party (1900-1908), however this time he chose to run under the newly formed Progressive (Bull Moose) Party. The Progressive Party had several main goals underlined in the Platform of the Progressive Party. The Platform states: "The people are the masters of their Constitution, to fulfill its purposes and to safeguard it from those who, by perversion of its intent, would convert it into an instrument of injustice." The party called for many political reforms. Regarding political corruption, they advocated limits on campaign contributions, publication Congressional records, and required registration of lobbyists. Additionally, the Progressives supported a direct democratic government, they entreated states to allow citizens the right to vote on laws and congressional representatives. In the end, the Progressive Party did not gain power and was soon dismantled. Despite this fallback, the progressive idealism set a new precedent for other political parties, and led to many changes and reforms in the U.S. government.