The 1908 Republican National Convention Republican convention of 1908. William Howard Taft was the nominee.(CHS) When the 1908 Republican Convention opened, President Theodore Roosevelt had every intention of hand-picking his successor. Roosevelt had been and bold and progressive president for seven years. His accomplishments included building the Panama canal winning a Nobel Peace Prize, but he declined to run for a third term. His man for the job was William Howard Taft of Ohio, his secretary of war. Taft, the son of a judge and a judge himself, Taft had been appointed by McKinley. During his presidency, Roosevelt offered Taft an appointment to the Supreme Court three times and he declined. The convention was opened with a gavel used at Fort Dearborn, Chicago's earliest settlement. A rift in the Republican party became apparent between the conservatives and the progressives and bitter fights broke out over the platform., who were on the side of Roosevelt. Many men were nominated, but in the end Roosevelt's man persevered on the first ballot. James Sherman was nominated for vice president and the duo went on to beat William Jennings Bryan in the November elections.

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Al Capone - Chicago Black Sox - A Century of Progress - Chicago Fire
The World's Columbian Exposition - Parades, Protests and Politics
The Pullman Era - The Stockyards
Fort Dearborn (Coming Soon!)

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