1912 Changed The Country Summary

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Pages: 3

1912: the year of the United States election in which the citizens of America saw an election between four presidential candidates. William Howard Taft, the incumbent President and Republican Party candidate, Woodrow Wilson, the governor of New Jersey and candidate for the Democratic Party, Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist leader/candidate who was running for President in what would be his fourth attempt, and maybe most importantly, Theodore Roosevelt, the former President and candidate for the newly created Progressive Party, also known as the Bull Moose Party. From the opening pages of his book, 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft & Debs – the Election that Changed the Country, author James Chace argues, “the year 1912 constitutes a defining moment in American history” (6). Over the course of his book, Chace details in extreme depth to describe the Election of 1912, highlighting the course of events that led to the election and the eventual victory by Wilson. By beginning with Roosevelt deciding to choose Taft as his successor and trip to Africa to hunt wild beasts with his son to the eventual …show more content…
Additionally, the book lacks certain voices and perspectives, such as the voters or the American people. This is exacerbated by the research by the author, which primarily consists of letters of correspondence between the candidates and friends, biographies on the candidates, and newspapers. All in all, the book does succeed in recounting the story of the Election of 1912 in a riveting manner that appeals more profoundly to the common reader than to a scholar. However, the book ultimately fails in placing the voice of the author among any other authors on the