THE 1904 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

“My dear, I am no longer a political accident!”

Theodore Roosevelt to his wife after his landslide victory.
 PART ONE : POL I T I C AL
DE TAI L S AND B ACK G ROUND
OF T H E E L E CTI ON
 NARROWING THE FIELD: PARTY NOMINATIONS

Potential opposition to Roosevelt’s

nomination came from Mark Hanna, a
rich Ohioan and close friend of William
McKinley, who Roosevelt had succeeded
to become president following his 1901
assassination. However, when Hanna died
of a broken heart in 1904, Roosevelt’s
nomination was easily secured.

Senator Mark Hanna (R-OH) Hanna’s money granted him substantial

influence in Republican politics around the
turn of the century. Homer Davenport’s
cartoons lampooned McKinley for his
servitude to the wealthy Hanna.
 SOCIALISM ON THE BALLOT

• FROM THE AGE OF FOURTEEN, EUGENE DEBS WORKED AS A

LOCOMOTIVE FIREMAN

• IN 1880, HE WAS ELECTED AS THE NATIONAL SECRETARY

AND TREASURER FOR THE BROTHERHOOD OF
LOCOMOTIVE FIREMEN

• HE ADVOCATED FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF LABOUR BY

INDUSTRY RATHER THAN CRAFT

• DEBS SUCCESSFULLY UNITED RAILWAY WORKERS FORM

DIFFERENT DIFFERENT CRAFTS INTO THE FIRST
INDUSTRIAL UNION IN THE UNITED STATES

• WHILE SERVING A PRISON SENTENCE, DEBS BECAME

GREATLY INFLUENCED BY THE WORKS OF KARL MARX,
WHICH SERVED TOWARDS HIS GROWING SKEPTICISM OF
CAPITALISM

• IN 1897, HE LED THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE SOCIALIST

PARTY OF AMERICA

“While there is a lower class, I am in it, while there is a criminal

element, I am of it, and while there is a soul in prison, I am not free.”
– Eugene Debs
 1904 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CANDIDATES

THEODORE ROOSEVELT ALTON B. PARKER EUGENE V. DEBS

Vice President: Charles
Fairbanks (of Indiana)
Republican Nominee
Incumbent President
(assumed the role of
President following the
assassination of President
William McKinley in 1901)
Vice President: Henry G. Davis Labour organizer and
Socialist Party candidate
Served as the Chief Judge of the New in the 1904 election
York Court of Appeals from 1898-
1904 He was the socialist party
candidate for U.S.
During his tenure, Parker was known president five times
as a progressive, authoring the between 1900-1920
opinion upholding New York’s
maximum-hours labor law that would
later be struck down by the U.S.
Supreme Court
He was a reluctant nominee,
previously declining offers to run for
U.S. Senate and New York Governor
in favor of staying on the bench
 PARTY PLATFORMS/ISSUES
• Republican Party:
• Maintain protective tariff
• Increase foreign trade
• Respect gold standard
• Expand the merchant marine
• Build strong navy
• Praised Roosevelt’s foreign and domestic policy
(notably, Roosevelt was nicknamed the
“Trustbuster” and the “Square Dealer” for his
domestic policies)
• Democratic Party:
• Omitted the currency issue (although a telegram from
Parker showed that he supported the gold standard)
• Reduce government spending; wanted congressional
investigation of the executive departments; end
government contracts with companies violating
antitrust laws
• Endorsed: independence for the Philippines; eight-hour
work day; construction of a Panama canal; direct
election of senators; civil service laws enforced
 ELECTION RESULTS

Roosevelt swept the election, a result that did not come as much of a surprise to most.
 PART TWO:
METHODOLOGY AND
TONES OF C AMPAIGN
 “FRONT PORCH” CAMPAIGN

• At this time in American history, active campaigning was not the custom,
therefore Roosevelt nor Parker did much of it
• Over the summer of 1904, Roosevelt simply led his campaign from the front
porch of his home in Oyster Bay
• He issued lofty statements to his supporters and directed Republican state
parties on strategy
• For his campaign, Roosevelt received large capital donations from wealthy
individuals, such as Edward H. Harriman (railroad tycoon), Henry C. Frick
(steel baron), and J.P. Morgan (famous Wall Street banker) – Roosevelt received
more than $2 million
 SLOGANS

• “The Square Deal” was the principal slogan for Roosevelt’s campaign in 1904
• During his first year as President, the journalist Lincoln Steffens who rebuked
Roosevelt for not standing for “anything fundamental. All you present is a square
deal.”
• Roosevelt flipped the criticism on its head and made “the square deal” his slogan
• “The square deal” became the metaphor for Roosevelt’s approach to justice among
groups and individuals
• The most prominent injustice Roosevelt looked to transform was the worsening
economic gap between the ever richer rich on one hand and the middle class and
poor on the other
 SONGS

The “Hero of San Juan” was a patriotic song praising

Roosevelt and the Rough Riders for their heroic actions in the
battle of San Juan Hill. A major aspect of Roosevelt’s appeal
was his ”cowboy” personality and robust masculinity. “The
Hero of San Juan Hill” is therefore a perfect reminder of
Roosevelt’s bravery to voters.
 CARTOONS

• As the Republican vice-presidential nominee in 1900,

Roosevelt set out on an extremely energetic
campaign – he gave 673 speeches to an estimated
three million Americans. The cartoon on top
humorously depicts Roosevelt in 1904 as he
begrudgingly abided by the custom that sitting
presidents not openly campaign for reelection for
the sake of “civic decency”
 WORKS CITED

• “1904 - Roosevelt v. Parker.” HarpWeek, elections.harpweek.com/1904/Overview-1904-1.htm.

• “1904 Presidential Election.” Presidential Election of 1904, www.270towin.com/1904_Election/.
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Alton B. Parker.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Alton-B-Parker.
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. “Eugene V. Debs.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica,
Inc., 29 July 2019, www.britannica.com/biography/Eugene-V-Debs.
• Cunningham, John M. “United States Presidential Election of 1904.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia
Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/event/United-States-presidential-election-of-1904.
• Milkis, Sidney. “Theodore Roosevelt: Campaigns and Elections.” Miller Center, 24 July 2018,
millercenter.org/president/roosevelt/campaigns-and-elections.
• “Presidential Election of 1904: A Resource Guide.” Presidential Election of 1904: A Resource Guide (Virtual
Programs & Services, Library of Congress), www.loc.gov/rr/program/bib/elections/election1904.html.