1900 United States presidential election (Peacock-Shahs Alternate Elections)

The 1900 United States presidential election was the 29th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 6, 1900. Admiral George Dewey of the Federal Republican Party defeated both Farmer-Labor candidate William Jennings Bryan, and President Aaron Burr Houston for the Presidency.

Bryan faced little opposition when attempting to receive the Farmer-Labor nomination, while Houston had a much tougher time. The controversial President, Houston faced much opposition from within his own party. Many opposed his Imperialistic foreign policy, but also his policy of High Tariffs and High Spending on Infrastructure. Because of this, when he tried to run for a third term, he was opposed by many candidates which included: Thomas Brackett Reed, William McKinley, Josiah T. Walls, but importantly, George Dewey. Dewey won the nomination, but faced opposition from Progressives and President Houston himself. Houston and the progressives bolted from the Federal Republican Party and nominated Houston with his former rival, Mary Elizabeth Lease, for the Presidency.

Dewey won in a landslide, easily defeating both Bryan and Houston. Dewey won 46% of the Popular vote, compared to Bryans 28% and Houston's 24%. Houston preformed surprisingly well, and won four states: California, Nevada, Colorado, and Shoshone.

Federal Republican Party nomination
Also see: 1904 Federal Republican National Convention

The Primaries
In the aftermath of the largest conflict in American history since the Civil War, a wave of progressive legislation, the first federal civil rights legislation in a generation, and the highest tariffs in American history, incumbent President Aaron Burr Houston threw his hat into the ring for a third term. Despite being the President, Houston faced significant challenge from within the Party, as most conservatives ditched him for other more conservative candidates. During the primaries, Dewey was far ahead of Houston, and as the 1896 race had demonstrated, the bosses were prepared to betray the President on the turn of a dime. With Dewey far ahead and bosses scrambling to either win the vaguely political Admiral's favor or put forth favorite sons, the Houston White House announced that they would not contest the nomination at the convention, ending all practical chance of the Houston's re-nomination.

The Convention
Three candidates came to dominate the divided opposition to Admiral Dewey in the aftermath of President Houston's departure from the campaign: Henry Cabot Lodge; Josiah T. Walls; and William McKinley. Lodge's role as leader of the Senate's expansionists during the battle over the Treaty of Hong Kong propelled him to the fore, while, Walls, the only Federal Republican and only black Governor of Florida demonstrated surprising strength in the South. Yet, both Walls and Lodge suffered from the same setback: neither truly desired the presidency, both having only reluctantly acceded to the wishes of a draft movement. This left Senator McKinley of Ohio, with his once ignored campaign gaining steam under the direction of industrialist Mark Hanna. Yet, the weeks allotted to Lodge, Walls, and McKinley were far from enough to organize enough to stop Dewey and the Admiral's supporters were able to win the support of Thomas Brackett Reed, putting him over the top and making George Dewey officially the 1900 Federal Republican nominee for the presidency despite a strong showing from McKinley.

The high point of the convention, and to many the moment that sealed Dewey's nomination, was the speech of William Freeman Vilas of Wisconsin, the state's former Governor and the 1884 running mate of James G. Blaine, nominating Dewey in which Vilas would declare: “And when asked what State he hails from, Our sole reply shall be, He hails from Manila Bay, he hails from Hawaii; and their famous seas of liberty.”, before calling Dewey "“never defeated—in peace or in war—his name is the most illustrious borne by living man.”

Following a brief series of telegrams between Dewey and his campaign managers, it was settled that the Vice Presidency would be a concession to President Houston, whose supporters were already discussing a bolt. A prominent supporter of the bolt effort, war hero Theodore Roosevelt, was first approached. Roosevelt, already reluctant to support the ticket, declined in favor of seeking the party’s nomination for Governor of New York with the backing of Seth Low. Incumbent William M.O. Dawson, Speaker of the House John C. Houk, and Postmaster General Charles J. Bonaparte were all considered and responded favorably. However, as the day following Dewey’s nomination droned on with speech after speech extolling the Admiral, all three telegraphed with declinations. George L. Wellington and Robert La Follette seemed to many the next natural choice to placate progressives, yet selecting either would irreversibly alienate expansionists and Houston loyalists, leading to consideration of former Attorney General Louis Brandeis and Henry S. Boutell, both with Houstonian connotations yet unwilling to bolt.

Progressive bolt
In the midst of a speech by Knute Nelson attempting to implore progressives and expansionists to back Dewey out of party loyalty, he was interrupted by a surprising chorus of jeers, gaveled down by Convention Chairman Ashbel P. Fitch. On the floor, delegates began to leave, as Theodore Roosevelt’s voice could barely be heard above the din shouting the announcement that President Houston was calling for his supporters to walk out, with the Rough Rider enthusiastically calling for party expansionists and progressives to “battle for the Lord!”

Of the 462 delegates to the convention, 117 would walk out with Roosevelt, including Speaker Houk and Senator Lodge, as Houston was booed by many the remaining delegates. Dewey’s managers would conclude that with Houston’s supporters already bolting, nominating an opponent of the President would place them in a strong position to negotiate the Houstonians back into the party in return for the Vice Presidency. Thus, a name was entered, the name of a man whose progressivism would balance the implied conservatism of Dewey, and the the name of a man with whom Aaron Burr Houston could never reconcile.

Robert La Follette had seen his rising star shot down in flames since his vote against the Treaty of Hong Kong. His allies within the state party had been sacked, those who dared to remain loyal to him against President Houston excluded from patronage and denounced at the Wisconsin Federal Republican Convention by way of a resolution. In his own eyes and those of his allies, “Fighting Bob” had signed his political death warrant. Thus, La Follette was as shocked as anyone else on the floor when “Mr. Conservative”, Maine Senator Eugene Hale, rose to nominate him for the Vice Presidency. Yet, Dewey’s managers threw themselves behind the Midwesterner and his nomination was carried by acclamation.

Farmer-Labor Party nomination
Following their narrow loss in 1896, and their devastating loss in 1898, the Farmer-Labor Party was back to try to reclaim victory, after being out of the White House for eight years. Many candidates were present at the convention, like Richard F. Pettigrew, Hazen S. Pingree, Jacob S. Coxey, Arthur F. Devereux, and even President Aaron Burr Houston, who was not a Famer-Laborite himself. Still, no one could defeat William Jennings Bryan, the man who almost won the Presidential Election of 1896 and who only lost the popular vote by a little more than 1,000 votes. Bryan swiftly and quickly won the nomination in a landslide.

The keynote speaker of the convention, held at Boston in an odd turn of events, was to be Samuel M. Jones, the former independent Governor of Ohio known for basing his politics upon the “Golden Rule.” A former Federal Republican now considering himself to be a Christian socialist, while also supporting a land value tax, Jones would be introduced as something more than keynote speaker as he entered the stage, with Convention Chairman Benjamin F. Shively announcing him as Bryan’s choice for the Vice Presidency, which the delegates would approve. Jones’ speech began as it ended, declaring “do unto others as if you were the others.”

Following the formal nomination of Bryan, the boy orator returned to the stage. His speech would focus almost entirely upon imperialism, while best remembered for its final lines:

''”I can conceive of a national destiny surpassing the glories of the present and the past — a destiny which meets the responsibilities of today and measures up to the possibilities of the future. Behold a republic, resting securely upon the foundation stones quarried by revolutionary patriots from the mountain of eternal truth — a republic applying in practice and proclaiming to the world the self-evident propositions that all men are created equal; that they are endowed with inalienable rights; that governments are instituted among men to secure these rights, and that governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. Behold a republic in which civil and religious liberty stimulates to earnest endeavor and in which the law restrains every hand uplifted for a neighbor’s injury — a republic in which every citizen is a sovereign, but in which no one cares to wear a crown. Behold a republic standing erect while empires all around are bowed beneath the weight of their own armaments — a republic whose flag is loved while other flags are only feared. Behold a republic increasing in population, in wealth, in strength and in influence, solving the problems of civilization and hastening the coming of an universal brotherhood — a republic which shakes thrones and dissolves aristocracies by its silent example and gives light and inspiration to those who sit in darkness. Behold a republic gradually but surely becoming the supreme moral factor in the world’s progress and the accepted arbiter of the world’s disputes — a republic whose history, like the path of the just, is as the shining light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”''

Progressive Party nomination
Ostensibly for the cause of progressivism, President Aaron Burr Houston and an amalgam of expansionists, prohibitionists, and progressive Federal Republicans in support of him convened in Indianapolis under the Chairmanship of Theodore Roosevelt, rejecting the Federal Republican Party's embrace of conservative, anti-protectionist, anti-prohibition, and anti-imperialist ideology in the nomination of Admiral George Dewey. With Houston nominated with all but 2 delegate votes, those going to Louis Brandeis in an attempt to unite the campaigns around the New York lawyer, the only true contest was that of the Vice Presidential nomination.

To the shock of all, Dawson came in second on the first ballot to Henry Cabot Lodge, with Lodge’s friendship with Theodore Roosevelt aiding him in winning over key progressives. From this, the Dawson effort imploded, losing its crucial incumbency advantage. The next ballot saw Lodge’s lead expand, yet Mary E. Lease and her supporters surprised the convention with a strong showing, leading Powderly to drop out and support for on the third ballot. By the fourth, Lease’s momentum outpaced Lodge’s and she was nominated for the Vice Presidency. Lease placed her expansionist tendencies on full view when accepting the nomination, calling for a:

”Federation of the Americas, with Aaron Burr Houston as leader” and restating her support for ”tropical colonization in Latin America, with Caucasian planters and Oriental, Negro, and Indian tenantry.” Lease clarified her tariff views by stating support for ”free trade in federated America with tariff on alien products.” Proceeding with a call for Farmer-Laborites of all stripes to join Houston’s campaign, Lease concluded with ''”The recent land slides, political tide waves, and avalanches of the past few years indicate that the great mass of our voting population are independent in their party affiliations. They are ripe for the union of reform forces, ripe for a political movement, that while conservative in spirit will redress the wrongs in our system and arrest the evils of increasing poverty and excessive wealth. Then let all who love mankind more than millionaires unite for the common welfare.”''

Results
Despite the Federal Republican split, Dewey won in a landslide, easily defeating both Bryan and Houston. Dewey won 46% of the Popular vote, compared to Bryans 28% and Houston's 24%. Houston preformed surprisingly well, and won four states: California, Nevada, Colorado, and Shoshone. The Liberal Anti-Prohibition Party made relatively large gains in both houses of congress, as the Federal Republican Party lost seats.

Unlike the Progressive Party before it, the Progressive Party was able to survive past this election, going on to run a candidate in the 1904 Presidential Election, coming in third once again.