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Narrator: IN JUNE 1912, THE REPUBLICANS MET IN CHICAGO.
WITH MORE THAN 250 DELEGATES IN DISPUTE
THEY WERE HEADED FOR ONE OF THE ROWDIEST SHOWDOWNS
IN THE HISTORY OF AMERICAN POLITICS.
Gable: THERE WERE NEAR-RIOT CONDITIONS
ON THE FLOOR OF THE REPUBLICAN CONVENTION.
THEY HAD PUT BARBED WIRE AROUND THE SPEAKER'S PLATFORM
IN ORDER TO PROTECT THE CHAIRMAN FROM BEING RUSHED.
Narrator: TAFT SUPPORTERS WERE CONFIDENT OF VICTORY
BUT ROOSEVELT CAME READY TO FIGHT.
"THEY WILL HAVE TO STEAL THE DELEGATES OUTRIGHT
TO PREVENT MY NOMINATION," ROOSEVELT TOLD A REPORTER.
THE GALLERIES CHANTED, "WE WANT TEDDY, WE WANT TEDDY!"
BUT IN THE END, TAFT'S GRIP ON THE PARTY MACHINERY HELD FIRM.
PARTY BOSSES AWARDED ROOSEVELT ONLY 19 OF THE DISPUTED SEATS.
Cooper: IT'S A STEAL.
IT'S AN ABSOLUTE STEAL.
IT INFURIATES THE ROOSEVELT SUPPORTERS.
Narrator: ROOSEVELT DELEGATES CRIED, "SWINDLER, ROBBER, THIEF."
FISTFIGHTS BROKE OUT ON THE FLOOR
BUT TAFT WAS NOMINATED ON THE FIRST BALLOT.
CHANTING "THOU SHALT NOT STEAL"
ROOSEVELT'S 344 DELEGATES ROSE AS ONE
AND MARCHED FROM THE HALL.
THAT NIGHT, THE ANGRY DELEGATES FORMED A NEW PARTY
THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY, AND PLEDGED TO SUPPORT ROOSEVELT
WHO WAS NOW BURNING WITH INDIGNATION.
Cooper: HE IS WILLING TO BOLT THE PARTY.
HE'S ALWAYS BEEN A PARTY REGULAR UP TO THIS POINT.
THE WHOLE NOTION OF EVER LEAVING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY--
I MEAN, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS LIKE A RELIGION FOR HIM.
Blum: MOVED BY PERSONAL AMBITION, MOVED BY PRIDE
HE WAS CRACKING THE REPUBLICAN PARTY WIDE OPEN
THUS CRIPPLING THE INSTITUTION
TO WHICH HE HAD GIVEN HIS POLITICAL LIFE.
Chorus: ♪♪♪♪ ONWARD, CHRISTIAN SOLDIER♪
♪♪♪♪ MARCHING AS TO WAR... ♪♪
Narrator: IN AUGUST, ROOSEVELT RETURNED
TO THE VERY HALL HE HAD WALKED OUT OF FIVE WEEKS BEFORE
TO ADDRESS THE FIRST CONVENTION OF THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY
A GATHERING OF CRUSADERS.
"OUR CAUSE IS BASED
ON THE ETERNAL PRINCIPLES OF RIGHTEOUSNESS"
HE TOLD AN AUDIENCE WILD WITH DELIRIUM.
"WE STAND AT ARMAGEDDON, AND WE BATTLE FOR THE LORD."
Blum: HE HAD ALWAYS STOOD AT ARMAGEDDON.
HE HAD ALWAYS BATTLED FOR THE LORD.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS WERE HIS PLATFORM ALMOST FROM YOUTH
AND ALL THAT MORAL FERVOR WAS INSTILLED INTO THE PARTY.
INDEED, THE DELEGATES AS THEIR MARCHING SONG SANG
"ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDIERS."
Narrator: ROOSEVELT'S PROGRESSIVES ENDORSED
A SWEEPING CHARTER FOR REFORM:
VOTES FOR WOMEN, A MINIMUM WAGE, ABOLITION OF CHILD LABOR
UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE, OLD-AGE PENSIONS.
Blum: HE CAME OUT FOR A SOCIAL WELFARE PROGRAM FAR MORE ADVANCED
THAN ANYTHING THE NATION WAS GOING TO KNOW UNTIL THE 1930s.
Harbaugh: HERE IS THE INCEPTION, YOU MIGHT SAY, OF SOCIAL SECURITY
EVEN OF MEDICARE, IN THAT... IN THAT PLATFORM.
Narrator: "I FEEL AS STRONG AS A BULL MOOSE," ROOSEVELT SAID
AND GAVE HIS PROGRESSIVE PARTY ITS NICKNAME
THE BULL MOOSE PARTY.
HE HAD THE CHANCE TO BE PRESIDENT ONE MORE TIME.
BUT THE DEMOCRATS HAD CHOSEN AS THEIR CANDIDATE
ANOTHER ABLE REFORMER
THE GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY, WOODROW WILSON.
THE BEST ADVERSARY THEODORE ROOSEVELT EVER HAD.
HE'S COOL TO ROOSEVELT'S HOT;
HE'S RESTRAINED TO ROOSEVELT'S EXPANSIVE.
IF YOU COULD COMPARE THEM TO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS
I THINK THE WAY THAT THEY PERFORM IS WILSON'S A VIOLIN
AND ROOSEVELT'S KIND OF LIKE A UKULELE.
Narrator: RESERVED AND SCHOLARLY, WILSON WAS WELL AWARE
THAT HE DID NOT CAMPAIGN WITH ROOSEVELT'S STYLE OR SPIRIT.
"ROOSEVELT APPEALS TO THEIR IMAGINATION," WILSON SAID.
"WHOM THEY HAVE SEEN AND SHOUTED THEMSELVES HOARSE OVER
"AND VOTED FOR, MILLIONS STRONG.
WE SHALL SEE WHAT WILL HAPPEN."
Blum: WHEN WOODROW WILSON WAS NOMINATED
THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAD PICKED
A RELATIVELY PROGRESSIVE CANDIDATE.
SO THE CONTEST WAS NOT GOING TO BE
PROGRESSIVISM AGAINST CONSERVATISM.
IT WAS GOING TO BE WHAT KIND OF PROGRESSIVISM?
Narrator: THE CANDIDATES DIFFERED SHARPLY OVER THE TRUSTS.
WILSON WANTED TO BREAK THEM UP.
ROOSEVELT WANTED TO REGULATE THEM.
PRESIDENT TAFT BECAME IDENTIFIED
WITH THE OLD GUARD CONSERVATIVE VIEW
THAT BUSINESS SHOULD BE FREE FROM GOVERNMENT INTERFERENCE.
BUT IT WAS NEVER A REAL THREE-WAY RACE.
TAFT BARELY PUT UP A FIGHT.
"THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE COUNTRY
WHO DON'T LIKE ME," HE SAID.
Cooper: HE STAYS IN THE RACE, FRANKLY
BECAUSE HE KNOWS HE HASN'T GOT A CHANCE
BUT HE WANTS TO SPOIL IT FOR ROOSEVELT.
HE WANTS TO MAKE SURE ROOSEVELT DOESN'T WIN.
Narrator: THE REAL STRUGGLE WAS BETWEEN ROOSEVELT AND WILSON
AND WILSON WAS THE ODDS-ON FAVORITE.
EVEN ROOSEVELT HIMSELF RECOGNIZED
THAT HE WAS IN A LOSING FIGHT.
HE HAD THE SUPPORT OF REPUBLICAN PROGRESSIVES
BUT THEY WERE VASTLY OUTNUMBERED
BY THE DEMOCRATIC REFORMERS WHO FAVORED WILSON.
HE QUIETLY TOLD A FRIEND
"I WOULD HAVE HAD A SPORTING CHANCE
IF THE DEMOCRATS HAD PUT UP A REACTIONARY CANDIDATE."
HE KNOWS HE CAN'T WIN.
HE KNOWS THIS IS NOT GOING TO COME OFF.
BUT HE BELIEVES, FOR THE SAKE OF HIS IDEAS
FOR THE SAKE OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE FOLLOWING HIM
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT HE NEEDS TO DO.
HE DOES SOMETHING HOPELESS.
I MEAN, HE DOES SOMETHING REALLY HOPELESS.
Harbaugh: THERE WAS NO POSSIBILITY WHATEVER
THAT THE PROGRESSIVE PARTY COULD ACTUALLY WIN THE ELECTION.
IT'S SIMPLY INCONCEIVABLE THAT ON ITS FIRST RUN
A THIRD PARTY SHOULD HAVE POLLED ENOUGH VOTES.
ROOSEVELT WOULD HAVE BEEN MUCH BETTER ADVISED
TO HAVE SAT OUT 1912, AND THEN RUN
BEHIND A CONSOLIDATED REPUBLICAN PARTY IN 1916.
HE FELT THAT HE HAD NO ALTERNATIVE;
THAT IT HAD BECOME HIS OBLIGATION
TO RUN AS A PROGRESSIVE.
( crowd cheering )
Blum: ROOSEVELT CHARACTERISTICALLY GAVE IT THE GOOD TRY.
HE CAMPAIGNED WITH ARDOR, WITH ENTHUSIASM
AND ALL OVER THE COUNTRY THAT HE COULD REACH
AND CAMPAIGNED ON THIS REMARKABLY REFORMIST PLATFORM.
Theodore Roosevelt: WE STAND FOR A LIVING WAGE.
WAGES ARE SUBNORMAL IF THEY FAIL TO PROVIDE A LIVING
FOR THOSE WHO DEVOTE THEIR TIME AND ENERGY
A STANDARD HIGH ENOUGH TO MAKE MORALITY POSSIBLE
TO PROVIDE FOR EDUCATION AND RECREATION
TO CARE FOR IMMATURE MEMBERS OF THE FAMILY
TO MAINTAIN THE FAMILY DURING PERIODS OF SICKNESS
AND TO PERMIT A REASONABLE SAVING FOR OLD AGE.
WE HOLD THE SEVEN-DAY WORKING WEEK IS ABNORMAL
AND HOLD THAT ONE DAY OF REST IN SEVEN SHOULD BE PROVIDED BY LAW.
Gable: HE ONCE SAID, "I AM IN THE PROPHET BUSINESS."
AND SO HE WAS A PROPHET IN 1912
LAYING DOWN THE AGENDA FOR THE FUTURE.
Cooper: THEODORE ROOSEVELT COULD GIVE FREE REIN
TO THE CRUSADER, TO THE AGITATOR IN HIM.
HE DOESN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE PRACTICAL POLITICS;
ABOUT HOW IT'S GOING TO APPEAL TO THIS SIDE OR THAT GROUP.
HE CAN REALLY LET IT OUT.
Williams: MY MOTHER SAID IT WAS THE MOST EXCITING YEAR OF HER LIFE.
THE ENTHUSIASM WAS SO GREAT.
I GUESS YOU EITHER LOVED HIM OR HATED HIM.
BUT THERE WERE A GREAT MANY MORE PEOPLE WHO LOVED HIM.
Narrator: ROOSEVELT CRISSCROSSED THE COUNTRY
REVELING IN THE BOISTEROUS RECEPTION
NEARLY 10,000 PEOPLE WELCOMED HIM AT PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND.
200,000 CHEERED HIM THROUGH THE STREETS OF LOS ANGELES.
"I AM IN WHAT IS IN ALL PROBABILITY A LOSING FIGHT"
ROOSEVELT WROTE A FRIEND, "YET I REALLY DO NOT THINK
I WAS EVER IN MY LIFE BETTER CONTENTED."
EVEN A MADMAN'S BULLET COULDN'T STOP HIM.
ON OCTOBER 14, IN MILWAUKEE
ROOSEVELT WAS ON HIS WAY TO DELIVER A SPEECH
WHEN A MAN LURCHED OUT OF THE CROWD
POINTED A REVOLVER AT ROOSEVELT'S HEART AND FIRED.
THE BULLET TORE THROUGH HIS OVERCOAT
PIERCED THE MANUSCRIPT OF HIS SPEECH
FLATTENED HIS STEEL SPECTACLE CASE AND DROVE INTO HIS FLESH.
AND HE'S BLEEDING, AND THE CROWD IS AGHAST, HORRIFIED
AND HE INSISTS ON MAKING HIS SPEECH.
Narrator: ROOSEVELT REFUSED TO BE TAKEN TO A HOSPITAL.
INSTEAD, HE DEMANDED TO BE DRIVEN, AS SCHEDULED
TO A RALLY IN A DOWNTOWN AUDITORIUM.
"FRIENDS," HE TOLD AN UNSUSPECTING AUDIENCE
"I SHALL ASK YOU TO BE AS QUIET AS POSSIBLE.
"I DON'T KNOW WHETHER YOU FULLY UNDERSTAND
P. James Roosevelt: THE CROWD AT FIRST THOUGHT HE WAS CRACKING A JOKE AND LAUGHED.
SO WITH THAT, HE OPENED HIS COAT AND REVEALED THIS BLOODY SHIRT
AND THEN THEY GASP-- I MEAN... ( gasps ).
AND HE SAYS, "BUT IT TAKES MORE THAN A BULLET
Narrator: "FRIENDS," ROOSEVELT CONTINUED, "I AM THINKING OF THE MOVEMENT.
"WHAT WE PROGRESSIVES ARE TRYING TO DO IS TO ENROLL RICH OR POOR
"FOR THE MOST ELEMENTARY RIGHTS OF GOOD CITIZENSHIP.
"MY FRIENDS, DON'T YOU WASTE ANY SYMPATHY ON ME.
I HAVE HAD AN A-ONE TIME IN LIFE, AND I AM HAVING IT NOW."
McCullough: NOW, I THINK HE REALLY WANTED
TO DIE AT THAT MOMENT.
I THINK HE SAW THAT AS THE GREATEST EXIT
THERE HAD EVER BEEN IN AMERICAN POLITICAL LIFE.
Narrator: HE WENT ON FOR AN HOUR AND A HALF
BEFORE AIDES COULD PERSUADE HIM
TO LEAVE THE PLATFORM AND GO TO THE HOSPITAL.
WITHIN PRACTICALLY A MILLIMETER OF HIS LUNGS.
THE DOCTOR COMMENTED THAT HE HAD NEVER SEEN
SUCH A POWERFUL CHEST BEFORE ON ANY OTHER MAN
AND THAT, OF COURSE, SAVED HIS LIFE.
Narrator: EVEN OPPOSITION NEWSPAPERS WERE ADMIRING.
"WE ARE AGAINST HIS POLITICS, BUT WE LIKE HIS COURAGE."
BUT COURAGE ALONE COULD NOT CHANGE THE OUTCOME.
ROOSEVELT LOST IN A LANDSLIDE
AND THE DEMOCRATS CAPTURED BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS.
ROOSEVELT SWAMPED TAFT, BUT THAT WAS HARDLY CONSOLATION.
HIS DEFEAT STRUCK A BLOW TO THE PROGRESSIVES
AND SHIFTED THE BALANCE OF POWER IN THE REPUBLICAN PARTY.
Blum: WHEN THE PARTY CAME BACK TOGETHER AGAIN