Four Hats in the Ring: The 1912 Election and the Birth of Modern American Politics

I have read a few books about the election of 1912. I really enjoyed this one. It is well-written, well-researched, fairly objective, and never bored me. However, some of the concepts could have been explained in greater detail. Debs isn't discussed as much as the other candidates. To be fair, Debs was covered the least in the media at that time, but still, it would have been better to have Debs discussed more in the book. I enjoyed it and recommend it to readers who enjoy studying the political process.

I have to disagree with the first two reviewers. The author made this a fascinating read in how Wilson won and Taft, Debs, and Roosevelt were the losers. Even before going into the election, Wilson had it sown up. Roosevelt and Taft split the Republican vote. The Republicans consisted of a Progressive wing and a conservative wing. Taft led the conservative wing and Roosevelt went on to form a Progressive Party out of the liberal wing of the Republican Party. Wilson could count on the solid South and various other states thereby meeting the electoral requirements of winning the election. The solid South consisted of whites who didn't let the black population vote, and Wilson gladly accepted this support. This doesn't show the Democratic Party in its best light. Due to this Wilson won, Taft and Roosevelt lost. I was impressed with both Taft and Roosevelt. When shown written evidence of how Wilson cheated on his wife, both did not sink to the level of using this evidence. Taft was civil throughout the campaign. He knew he was going to lose. This is a nice short read on an interesting campaign. I think the author put some time in describing the four major candidates and parties, and how they game planed the election. A very interesting read.

Although the subtitle mentions "the birth of modern American politics," this book is fascinating because it looks into an interesting election of an altogether different age. The 1912 election took place in a world where convention fights were expected, primaries were rare, important movements were spread across parties, and Democrats were united behind lowering tariffs. The subtitle reflects Lewis L. Gould's assertion that key features of modern politics, like the importance of primaries and the conservative domination of the Republican Party, arose in 1912. Four Hats in Ring refers to the candidacies of Theodore Roosevelt, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene Debs, but more than four characters are prominent in this book. After some background on the Roosevelt and Taft administrations, Prof. Gould skillfully describes the bitter fight for the Republican nomination between Teddy Roosevelt, William Taft, and Robert LaFollete. The convention and Pres. Roosevelt's split from the party are detailed. A chapter is devoted to Democratic race and convention battle between Woodrow Wilson, Champ Clark, and others. Another chapter gives background on the Socialist Party and their campaign strategy. Prof. Gould suggests that Democratic victory was widely expected after their selection of a safe candidate and Pres. Roosevelt's revolt from Republican party. The previously energetic narrative slows down in discussing the general election it regards as denouement. The highlight of this section is some interesting criticism that Pres. Roosevelt's short-sightedness and campaign mistakes limited the lifetime of the Progressive Party. The post-election epilogue is brief, but it mentions how the Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, and Truman administrations revisited some of Theodore Roosevelt's ideas.