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The progressives in Kansas are planning an organizational meeting for Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. They need a “national name” to speak at the event and William Allen White requests Theodore Roosevelt’s help to secure William Bourke Cockran as a speaker.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912
Republican presidential nominee William H. Taft made a speech in Ohio pledging his support for the leadership and candidates of Republican Party of Ohio after meeting with Taft’s campaign manager, Arthur I. Vorys, and other members of the party. After the speech, Taft attended other campaign events in the area.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1908-07-28
Representative Metcalf recommends E. S. Pilsbury for the advisory committee. President Roosevelt suggests that Representative Cousins second his nomination at the Republican National Convention. He asks if an African American should speak, such as Judson Whitlocke Lyons or William Demos Crum.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1904-05-10
Theodore Roosevelt chastises Representative Gardner for putting him in a difficult position regarding the political campaign. If he starts campaigning now there will be considerable backlash. Roosevelt needed to start campaigning in the primaries early and everywhere but decided against contributing.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916
Minutes of the May 23, 1913, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Catherine Hooker was appointed to the National Committee, replacing Isabella Blaney of California who resigned. The reported resignation by the Illinois State Committee of Colonel Chauncey Dewey from the Executive Committee was acknowledged and tabled. The sum of $800 was pledged by committee members and departments, to pay legal expenses of Richard Story Sheridan which he incurred in defending himself against charges of contempt of court. Sheridan, editor of the Boise Capital News, had criticized a decision of the Idaho Supreme Court not to allow Progressives to nominate presidential electors by petition. Finally, a Progressive Publishing Association was approved, whereby subscribers at $1 per year would receive all publications of the Progressive Service.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1913-05-23
Minutes of the June 5, 1916, meeting of the Progressive National Committee. The purpose of the meeting was to prepare for the Second Progressive National Convention. Credentials of delegates were inspected and preparations were made for the temporary roll; a five-member committee was proposed to draft the party platform; and four standing committees were selected to make reports to the convention.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-06-05
Minutes of the January 11, 1916, meeting of the Progressive National Committee. The Committee unanimously adopted a statement which roundly criticized President Woodrow Wilson’s “peace-at-any-price doctrine.” It called for military preparedness and proposed that the Republican and Progressive parties unite behind “the same standard-bearer and the same principles” during their June conventions, in order to elect a new leader in the fall election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-01-11
Minutes of the June 10, 1916, meeting of the Progressive National Committee, immediately following the close of the Second Progressive National Convention. The Committee had been given power to act on a telegram from Theodore Roosevelt, declining the party’s nomination for President of the United States. After some discussion, a committee was appointed to discuss the matter with Roosevelt. Other matters acted upon included election of officers for the National Committee and members of the Executive Committee.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-06-10
Minutes of the December 19-20, 1912, meetings of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Committees were appointed for finance, organization, progressive service, and publicity. The treasurer reported that that Progressive National Committee spent 16 cents per vote in the November election, compared to 17 cents per vote spent by the Democratic Party and 26 cents per vote spent by the Republican Party. The meeting continued the following day, when the Executive Committee set allotments for funds to be raised by each state to maintain the national organization.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-12-19
Minutes of the January 10, 1913, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Proposals were discussed regarding various bureaus and committees and their budgetary needs. Appropriations were approved for two months, for office space and expenses of a Progressive news service to serve the Progressive papers around the country; and for the Organization Committee, for which the chair proposed recruiting representatives from the suffrage movement, “colored voters,” labor, and other elements. The future of the Progressive Bulletin was discussed at length, and a decision was made to publish it monthly rather than weekly, with information for Progressive Party workers and for subscribers. Outstanding bills from Vermont, Wisconsin, and elsewhere were discussed and referred back to the state or local organizations.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1913-01-10
Minutes of the April 16, 1913, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. States had pledged $51,000 for the year, and $12,000 had been collected, supplemented by about $3,000 from other sources. All but a few hundred dollars of the revenue was expended or encumbered. Committee members pledged various levels of income from their respective states for the remainder of the year. Hon. Victor Murdock, floor leader of the Progressives in the House of Representatives, reported there would be a Congressional Committee to help nominate and elect Progressive candidates in the 1914 election. Subcommittees were appointed to direct financial matters and to make decisions related to the Progressive Bulletin.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1913-04-16
Minutes of the January 24, 1914, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Regular publication of the Progressive Bulletin was discontinued, with the understanding that it would be issued during the coming campaign as an occasional leaflet of information for members and state committeemen. The question of holding a national conference of national committeemen and state chairmen was considered but declined in light of the demands of the spring primaries and the upcoming campaign. The Legislative Reference Bureau was discontinued; an emendation at the end of the minutes clarified that no further appropriations would be made for the continuance of the Bureau and that “[s]uch work as it does in the future” would be financed by the Progressive Service Bureau.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-01-24
Minutes of the April 13, 1914, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. The committee confirmed a resolution from the West Virginia state committee which called for the removal of William M. O. Dawson from the National Committee because of disloyalty to the party. The Executive Committee proposed William Seymour Edwards as a substitute, to be affirmed by the National Committee. The Treasurer’s report showed that, with the help of advances from two members of the Executive Committee, the committee had “lived within its income” during the previous quarter. In addition to its regular income, an estimated $40,000 would be needed for the remainder of the year. A potential national conference was discussed but was deferred in favor of a meeting with the state chairmen from the middle western states. Jane Addams’ resignation from the Legislative Reference Committee was accepted.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-04-13
Minutes of the April 30, 1914, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. State reports were submitted and discussed.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-04-30
Minutes of the November 6, 1914, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Election results were discussed and a meeting was called for December 2 to review the general situation.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-11-06
Minutes of the December 2, 1914, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. State reports were delivered and a general discussion was held regarding the future of the national organization. In view of the Progressive Party’s showing in the recent election, with 1,750,000 votes in 37 states, the Committee issued a public statement reaffirming Progressive principles and announcing the date of the party’s next convention. The statement made particular reference to the Progressive Party’s stance on the tariff and called for the creation of a “permanent expert non-partisan tariff commission.” Senator Dixon resigned as chairman of the National Committee and Victor Murdock was recommended as temporary chairman until the National Committee could select a new chair.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1914-12-02
Minutes of the November 30, 1915, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Party organization was discussed and it was decided that the National Committee would meet on January 11, 1916, to fix the date of the national Progressive Party Convention. In states where primaries were to be held for presidential candidates, it was decided that delegates to the Progressive National Convention should be uninstructed regarding whether to place the names of Colonel Roosevelt and Mr. Johnson in such contests, and that in particular Colonel Roosevelt’s name should not be submitted in Republican primary contests. A statement was issued affirming that Progressives throughout the country were committed to maintaining the organization “with all the vigor possible,” and that the National Committee would therefore meet to prepare for the 1916 election.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1915-11-30
Minutes of the May 10, 1916, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. A statement was issued to the Press affirming the Committee’s January 1916 proposal that Progressives and Republicans unite behind a leader who could unseat President Woodrow Wilson and who would respond more forcefully in world affairs. The statement noted that many Republicans and independents had responded favorably to the proposal, but the Republican Leadership had not seemed to take up the call. The Committee pledged the Party’s willingness to cooperate and stated that should the effort fail, responsibility for the failure would rest “on other shoulders than ours.”
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-05-10
Minutes of the May 24, 1916, meeting of the Executive Committee of the Progressive National Committee. Temporary officers of the Progressive National Convention were selected, including Raymond Robins as Chairman, Oscar K. Davis as Secretary, and F. P. Corrick as Sergeant-at-Arms.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1916-05-24
Minutes of the December 11, 1912, meeting of the Progressive National Committee. The meeting was primarily concerned with certifying state representatives, determining the location of the national office (New York), and organizing a Legislative Reference Bureau in Washington, D.C., to draft legislation reflecting progressive principles.
Library of Congress Manuscript Division
1912-12-11