The Politician as a War Hero

I. 1898 New York Governor's race

A.Rough Riders--epitomized, for many Americans, what was admirable about America: multi-ethnic, but led by well-to-do whites.

1.  The Rough Riders (book)--Roosevelt's own tale of the recruitment, training, and exploits of his militia.

2. Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show--hired 16 former Rough Riders to re-enact the Battle of San Juan Hill. This show not only helped shape the narrative of this event (much to Roosevelt's advantate), but also the view that many Americans had of the American West

B. Republican Political Scandal

1. Gov. Frank Black--mixed up  in a scandal involving kick-backs from contractors bidding on canal dredging contracts

2. Platt  Machine--Thomas C. Platt was  in a quandary--he dislike reformers like  Roosevelt, but he also  had to dump Gov. Black, who had become a political liability. Platt's hand was forced at this juncture, since not viable candidate presented himself except Theodore Roosevelt, who promised  to be a ...

3. Good  Republican Soldier--Roosevelt was aware of Platt's  disdain toward reformers like himself, but  he  promised  to be on his best behavior, while only requesting on his behalf that a foreign policy plank of  the party platform (!?!), and for the party endorsement of his candidacy.

C. The Campaign

1. Appeals to militaristic patriotism--Roosevelt was not shy about about exploiting his image as a war hero; campaign rallies regularly were started by a Rough Rider blowing a bugle from the back of the campaign train to assemble a crowd.

2. William Randolph Hearst--felt that Roosevelt stole his idea of forming his own militia unit (and actually  getting to carry it out because of  his connections to the Republican Party power structure), Hearst remained  a political enemy for the rest of their  lives. When Hearst  could not persuade the New York state  Democratic Party to nominate him to run for governor, he nonetheless unleashed to cartoon and editorial dogs upon candidate Roosevelt.

3. Lack of universal acclaim--not everyone thought bring a war hero was enough to vote for Roosevelt; blacks remembered his disparaging (and false) comments about black soldiers in the war, while white ethnics remembered his efforts  to close saloons.

4. Winning the election--by a slim 17,000+ vote margin over the non-entity chosen by the Democratic Party--but this was Roosevelt's first electoral victory since being elected to the New York State Legislature.

II. The Governing Governor

A. Keeping the Platt Promise--although still determined to implement reforms in state government,  Roosevelt did consult with Boss Platt on political appointments.

1. Business $$--Plat  expected that the heavy contributions that businesses made to his campaign would impel Roosevelt to run a "business government," meaning a state government friendly toward business.

B. Reforming State Government--Roosevelt was instead more interested in limiting the direct influence business had upon government, and returning more control to the people.

1. Eight-Hour-Day legislation--Roosevelt worked with the United Garment Workers to implement an eight-hour-day law for all workers employed on jobs involving government contracts; this legislation was later extended to all government workers (but would not have effected workers in private industry not involved in government contracts).

2. Costello Anit-Sweatshop Act--regulated tenements  as work places ("sweatshops")

3. Various Pure Food and  Drug acts--Roosevelt pushed for the enactment of a variety of acts calling for inspection of food and drugs to ensure their purity, but because these acts had no penalties attached for violations, they were largely ineffectual.

C. Too Much Reform for Boss Platt--even the limited--and largely ineffectual--reforms pushed by Roosevelt proved to be too much for party boss Thomas Platt, who sought a way to rid his state of the Roosevelt curse. The death of Vice-Preesident Garret Hobart in 1899 of  a heart attack provided Platt with just such an opportunity.