Progressive Party is a name given to several political parties that have been organized in the United States. In general, the Progressives stood for liberal social, political, and economic reform.
The “Bull Moose” Party.
Shortly after the renomination of William Howard Taft in 1912, a group of Republicans left their party to found a new group called the Progressive Party. It was nicknamed the “Bull Moose” Party. The Progressives nominated Theodore Roosevelt and Hiram Johnson for president and vice president. They polled more votes in the election than the Republicans, but not as many as the Democrats. The Progressives nominated Roosevelt for president again in 1916 but he refused to run, and most of the Progressive leaders went back to the Republican Party.
The La Follette Progressives.
In 1924, a group of farm, labor, and religious leaders formed a new Progressive movement. Senators Robert M. La Follette and Burton K. Wheeler were nominated to run for president and vice president. The Progressives polled nearly 5 million votes, but carried only La Follette’s home state, Wisconsin. His sons, Governor Philip La Follette and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Jr., led the Wisconsin Progressive party, which had considerable success from 1934 to 1938. In the 1940’s, it lost strength. The Progressives voted to merge with the Republicans in 1946.
The Progressive Party of 1948
was formed by various left-wing groups, including the Communists. The party favored a less hostile foreign policy toward the Soviet Union. Henry A. Wallace, former Democratic vice president of the United States, was the party’s unsuccessful candidate for president in the 1948 election.
