After being elected in 1904, TR vowed to only serve that term and then leave public office. Many Americans were surprised when, in the election of 1908, TR upheld that promise. Even thought he was very popular, and the Republican party tried to nominate him, TR stayed out of the spotlight. He instead threw his support behind his hand-picked successor, William Howard Taft. Taft promised to continue the Progressive Reforms that began with Roosevelt. This was enough to get him elected to our highest executive office.
campaign poster
Wm. H. Taft: “Good Times,” chromolithograph published by Allied Printing Trades Council, c. 1908
election of 1908 map


