Four Hats in the Ring: The 1912 Election and the Birth of Modern American Politics (American Presidential Elections)

The presidential election of 1912 saw a third-party candidate finish second in both popular and electoral votes. The Socialist candidate received the highest percentage of the popular vote his party ever attained. In addition to year-round campaigning in the modern style, the 1912 contest featured a broader role for women, two exciting national conventions, and an assassination attempt on Roosevelt's life. The election defined the major parties for generations to come as the Taft-Roosevelt split pushed the Republicans to the right and the Democrats' agenda of reform set them on the road to the New Deal.

Lewis L. Gould, one of America's preeminent political historians, tells the story of this dramatic race and explains its enduring significance. Basing his narrative on the original letters and documents of the candidates themselves, he guides his readers down the campaign trail through the factional splits, exciting primaries, tumultuous conventions and the turbulent fall campaign to Wilson's landslide electoral vote victory in November.

It's all here--Gene Debs's challenge to capitalism, the progressive rivalry of Roosevelt and Robert La Follette, the debate between the New Freedom of Wilson and the New Nationalism of Roosevelt, and the resolve of Taft to defeat his one-time friend TR and keep the Republican Party in conservative hands. Gould combines lively anecdotes, the poetry and prose of the campaign, and insights into the clash of ideology and personality to craft a narrative that moves as fast as did the 1912 election itself.

Americans sensed in 1912 that they stood at a turning point in the nation's history. Four Hats in the Ring demonstrates why the people who lived and fought this significant election were more right than they could ever have known.

This book is part of the American Presidential Elections series.

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

Perfunctory treatment, 2008-11-23
This book, less than 200 pages long, does not give this election justice. If you want a basic history of the election and a quick read, this book is fine. However, it never really develops the personalities of the characters involved and seems to speed by key events too quickly. For example, the author spends only a paragraph on the assassination attempt on Roosevelt.

Like other reviewers, I also found the author's blatantly biased intrusions into the narrative annoying. He clearly does not like certain politicians, such as La Follette, and makes no attempt to hide his contempt. The author's time would have been better spent SHOWING the reader why La Folette and others were so unworthy.


0 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

Tedious beyond belief., 2008-07-08
How it's possible to make any story involving Theodore Roosevelt this boring is impossible to comprehend, but this book manages it. Don't waste you money on this one.


5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

History of the 1912 Election, 2008-06-04
Although the subtitle mentions "the birth of modern American politics," this book is fascinating because it looks into an interesting election of an altogether different age. The 1912 election took place in a world where convention fights were expected, primaries were rare, important movements were spread across parties, and Democrats were united behind lowering tariffs. The subtitle reflects Lewis L. Gould's assertion that key features of modern politics, like the importance of primaries and the conservative domination of the Republican Party, arose in 1912.

Four Hats in Ring refers to the candidacies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene Debs, but more than four characters are prominent in this book. After some background on the Roosevelt and Taft administrations, Prof. Gould skillfully describes the bitter fight for the Republican nomination between Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, and Robert LaFollete. The convention and Pres. Roosevelt's split from the party are detailed. A chapter is devoted to Democratic race and convention battle between Woodrow Wilson, Champ Clark, and others. Another chapter gives background on the Socialist Party and their campaign strategy.

Prof. Gould suggests that Democratic victory was widely expected after their selection of a safe candidate and Pres. Roosevelt's revolt from Republican party. The previously energetic narrative slows down in discussing the general election it regards as denouement. The highlight of this section is some interesting criticism that Pres. Roosevelt's short-sightedness and campaign mistakes limited the lifetime of the Progressive Party. The post-election epilogue is brief, but it mentions how the Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Truman administrations revisited some of Theodore Roosevelt's ideas.

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