Cheap 1912 : Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -The Election that Changed the Country (Book) (James Chace) Price

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Customer Reviews of 1912 : Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs -The Election that Changed the Country

James Chace, a history profession Bard College, spins an interesting and readable story about the four men who sought office. Theodore Roosevelt, a former President, sought to redirect the Republican Party's focus towards nationalism and social justice.

William Howard Taft, his chosen successor, wanted only to sit on the Supreme Court.

Woodrow Wilson, the former president of Princeton, who surprised himself and the nation by snatching New Jersey governorship without the support of the state's political bosses.

Eugene Debs, running for the third time as a Socialist, sought economic justice for all the country's workers.

What made the 1912 campaign unusual by today's standards was the race was punctuated by a basic decency, honesty and quality of debate rarely seen in my lifetime. Chace recounts it all. 1912 changed America. Had Roosevelt been the Republican nominee he almost surely would have been re-elected president. His platform would have transformed his party into the party of reform.

Instead, the GOP passed into a conservative ascendancy that peaked with Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush. Today, the party still struggles between reform and reaction, isolationism and internationalism.

If you are tired of our current quadrennial circus, this trip into our nation's past may restore your faith in our system. The election of 1912 dealt with substantive issues. The candidates staked out differentiated positions. The nation spoke. Chace relates the story with all the zeal and passion it held for participants and voters in 1912.

Good Coverage of a Great Subject
This book is absolutely worth your time to read if you have an interest in the Progressive Era and the very important election of 1912. If you have a good working knowledge of the characters involved then you won't find anything new here. "1912" serves more as either an introduction to the subject or a refresher. If you have the time and the interest I would suggest a biography of each of the four main players and possibly one on William Jennings Bryan who was an extremely important player of the era who gets beat up some in this book.

The Rebirth of Presidential Power
While the focus of Chace's book is the pivotal election of 1912, the book is much more than that: it is a first rate premier on the political currents and the men that dominated the first two decades of the 20th Century, which not coincidently, also is the period during which the modern Presidency was born. The book contains short, but meaningful biographies of both the principal characters (Roosevelt, Taft, Wilson and Debts)m\, but also of a number of supporting players (Bryan, Brandies, Root, Wild Bill Haywood, Archie Butt, Col. House, among others), all woven seamlessly into the text. It also places the election of 1912 in the context of TR's progressive reform and discuss the consequences to American policy resulting from the voters' decision. The book is not a in depth examination of the Progressive Era, but it is as excellent introduction.