One hundred years ago this week, a dramatic Republican National
Convention prepared the ground for the transformation of
American democracy. On June 17, 1912, the celebrated ex-
President Theodore Roosevelt delivered a dramatic speech that
that encouraged his political followers to walk out of the
Convention, maintaining that the Republican National Committee
and President William Howard Taft defied the will of the people
and stole the nomination of the Grand Old Party. Since April,
Roosevelt had warned of a walkout should the Old Guard of the
party defy the clear intention of the Republican primaries that
year – the first time popular primaries played an important role
in a presidential election. Having been denied the Republican
nomination, in spite of trouncing President Taft in these
contests, TR bolted the Republican Convention and summoned a new
party to “stand at Armageddon" and “battle for the Lord.”
Progressive followers of TR left the convention on June 22 and
reconvened in Chicago's Orchestra Hall t