Social Insurance Movement
Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt.
As a third-party candidate in 1912 he was the first to propose that America
adopt social insurance, and his Progressive Party (aka the "Bull
Moose" party) adopted the proposal in its platform. The Progressive
Party platform can be seen as the forerunner of the Social Security program
that TR's cousin, Franklin Roosevelt, would successfully push through
Congress in 1935.
Library of Congress photo.
Sound & Video Clips of TR Campaigning
Soundclip of TR campaigning for the
Progressive Party (RealAudio format).
Sound clip courtesy
of Dr. Maurice Crane, Vincent Voice Library, Michigan State University.
See silent movie clips of TR campaigning in 1912 in Fargo, ND--September
1912
(Clips in MPEG format.) Video clips courtesy
of the Library of Congress.
MPEG Clip #1 (27 mb file
size)
MPEG Clip #2
(18 mb file size)
More Info. on TR's 1912 Campaign
TR's Speech to Chicago Convention