The Progressive Party was a US political party active in the early 1900s, founded as a division within the Republican Party. Led by Robert La Follette, it aimed to end corruption and prioritize public welfare, promoting goals such as safeguarding the working environment, promoting an eight-hour workday, and ending monopolistic business practices. The party re-emerged in 1924 and 1948, but never won a presidential election.
The Progressive Party is a political party in the United States that was active in three US elections in the first half of the 1900s. Nicknamed the Bull Moose Party, the Progressive Party was founded in 1912 as a division within the Republican Party. Robert La Follette, Senator from Wisconsin, led an opposition group against the re-election of Republican President William Taft.
After he was unable to secure the nomination at the Republican convention, La Follette and his progressive group rallied around Theodore Roosevelt and gave him the presidential nomination for the new Progressive Party. Theodore Roosevelt lost the presidential election in 1912 and the party faded away, only to re-emerge a gainer in 1924 and 1948.
In 1924, a group of Republicans were dissatisfied with incumbent presidential candidate Calvin Coolidge. La Follette once again led this group of progressives. He was chosen as the party’s presidential candidate and ran against Coolidge and Democratic nominee John Davis from South Carolina. The outcome of the 1924 election kept Coolidge in the White House.
The Progressive Party reemerged again in 1948 and nominated Henry Wallace, who served in the cabinets of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry Truman. Wallace ran against Truman, in opposition to many of the Democrats’ policies, such as support for the New Deal. The 1948 presidential election was between Truman, Wallace, Republican candidate Thomas Dewey and Strom Thurmond of the Dixiecrat Party. Truman overwhelmingly won re-election.
While the Progressive Party has never won a presidential election, many of its ideas have been highly influential in US history. The Progressive Party platform was based on the principle that the public welfare was the first priority. His followers wanted to end corporate and political corruption and maintain a government that was “of the people, for the people, and of the people.” The party platform outlined a number of goals intended to increase public welfare.
Goals included legislation that would safeguard the working environment and keep it free from injury and illness. Additionally, party goals were to prevent employees from being overworked by promoting an eight-hour workday, setting safety and health standards for certain occupations, and banning child labor. Ending monopolistic business practices that hurt consumers was also a primary goal. The Progressive Party has supported trade unions, the public education system, and the creation of social insurance, which has been divided into different categories such as health insurance and homeowners insurance over the years.
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