American Experience

The Election of 1912
In 1912, former president Theodore Roosevelt abandoned the Republican Party and ran as a third party candidate -- splitting the party and guaranteeing a Republican defeat. The election quickly became a two-man race between the popular Roosevelt, running as the Progressive Party candidate and Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat. Taft, the incumbent Republican President, was never in contention.

Hot issues in the 1912 election included the three below. Choose the position you favor:

Trusts
Mammoth business combinations formed to prevent competition in particular markets

	Candidate #1: Proposes the elimination of the big, monopolistic businesses known as trusts
	Candidate #2: Wants to preserve the trusts but regulate them

Women's Suffrage
The movement to guarantee women the right to vote.

	Candidate #1: Believes the issue of whether women should have the right to vote should be decided state by state
	Candidate #2: Campaigns openly on behalf of woman's suffrage

Tariffs
Taxes on goods imported to America.

	Candidate #1: Criticizes tariffs, or taxes on goods imported to America, as being a special interest program for big business
	Candidate #2: Supports tariffs, believing they help protect wages

Now find out which candidate you agree with most, and see how your opinion stacks up to the popular and electoral vote tallies for the 1912 election.

I do not wish to vote but would like to see the current results

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