Declaration of Principles of the Progressive Party
In 1912 there was a rift in the Republican Party ranks between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt , who considered Taft's policies too conservative, originally ran against Taft for the Republican nomination. After losing the nomination at a convention he considered dishonest Roosevelt and many of his allies split from the Republican Party to form the Progressive Party, also known as the "Bull Moose Party". The The Declaration of Principles of the Progressive Party served as the party's platform for the 1912 election.
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Campaign Finance Reform
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The primary aim of the Declaration of Principles was to reduce the power of business interests over politics. Progressives believed that business controlled both major political parties, which had become "... tools of corrupt interests which use them impartially to serve their selfish purposes." The platform called for limits on political campaign contributions and the strict disclosure of all donations, the registration of lobbyists and the recording of all Congressional committee proceedings and the publication of those records.
Democratic Reforms
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In addition to the changes to campaign finance and transparency, the platform called for women's suffrage, direct election of senators and primary elections for state and federal nominees. It called for direct democracy in the form of a referendum system, a system for recalling elected officials, citizen sponsored initiatives by petition and judicial recall that would allow for Supreme Court decisions to be overruled by popular vote.
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The platform called for more stringent management of publicly owned U.S. land and the conservation of resources. It also called for the opening up, but careful management of Alaska's natural resources including fuel and agricultural lands and the prevention of any monopolies over those resources. Finally the Progressives called for the Panama Canal to be controlled and used primarily to benefit Americans to break the monopoly of the railroads.
Others
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The declaration called for reforms in a number of other areas including social insurance to provide for the disabled, unemployed and elderly, a national health service, a limit on strike injunctions, workers compensation for injuries and farm relief. It also called for the introduction of the income tax and an inheritance tax.
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