Bull Moose on the Stump; The 1912 Campaign Speeches of Theodore Roosevelt
Lawrence, Kansas: University Press of Kansas, 2008. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. xi, [1], 220 pages. Illustrations. Footnotes. DJ has minor sticker residue at back. Includes Editor's Preface; Introduction: The Bull Moose on the Stump; and Index. Chapters include Starting Out in New England; The Second New England Tour; Campaigning in the Middle West; The Pacific Northwest and the Pacific Coast; Returning to Oyster Bay; The Second Western Tour; and The End of the Campaign. Publisher's ephemera from the University Press of Kansas Press has been laid in. Historian Lewis L. Gould has specialized in the history of American politics. His books have often focused on the American presidency, as well as First Ladies of the White House. In many cases Gould's books have contradicted conventional wisdom to offer a fresh historical viewpoint on his subject. In addition to books with more narrow focuses, such as 1968 and his analyses of individual presidents like McKinley and Roosevelt, Gould has written broad histories of American politics. In The Modern American Presidency, for example, the historian covers the administrations of William McKinley through George W. Bush. His main thesis in tracing the evolution of the presidential office is that the head of state's responsibilities have become so broad over the years that it is nearly impossible for any one person to carry out the leadership role effectively, especially as the president has become more of a national symbol of the country. Gould also criticizes the cult of celebrity that has caused presidents to spend increasingly large amounts of time and energy campaigning for reelection, rather than focusing on their executive responsibilities. This first full edition of Theodore Roosevelt's campaign speeches takes readers on the stump from New England to California, collecting thirty-five texts largely overlooked since they were first delivered. They offer a more nuanced picture of his third-party candidacy than has ever existed, providing a companion to Lewis Gould's Four Hats in the Ring, and shedding new light on both the Progressive movement and the dynamics of an extraordinary campaign that changed American politics forever.
As standard bearer of the Progressive Party in 1912, Theodore Roosevelt played to enthusiastic crowds wherever he traveled. When he was targeted by an assassin while campaigning for president, a bullet passed through the speech in his breast pocket-pages that he then held aloft while assuring the crowd "It takes more than that to kill a Bull Moose . . . and you cannot escape listening to this speech!" T
Culled from nation-wide newspaper archives, these speeches show TR at his most radical. He echoes the missionary spirit of the Progressives as they challenged partisan orthodoxy, advocating for "the plain people, for their right to rule, and for their duty to secure for themselves and for others social and industrial justice." All over the country, he speaks out on government regulation of business, social justice, the role of the president, the place of reform in national politics, and of course his differences with Woodrow Wilson.
Given the wide availability of Wilson's speeches, having Roosevelt's available makes the study of the 1912 campaign more meaningful-not only the debate between the New Nationalism and the New Freedom but also differences on such issues as tariffs and campaign contributions. These texts also reveal how Roosevelt massaged Wilson's words to serve his own polemical purposes. "We do not propose to do anything that will interfere with prosperity," proclaimed Roosevelt, "but we want it passed around"; and these speeches show that, even in a new century, his words are as relevant as ever. Condition: Very good / Very good.
Keywords: Theodore Roosevelt, Progressive Party, Woodrow Wilson, Bull Moose, Boies Penrose, William Howard Taft
ISBN: 9780700616060
[Book #80550]
Price: $75.00