ABSTRACT
From the beginning of the present century down to the presidential campaign of 1912, the two great political parties of the country, the Democratic and the Republican, divided less and less on clear-cut issues. The first conspicuous instance of the breaking down of party lines and the union of the progressive forces of both parties on a common issue took place in the extraordinary session of Congress in 1909, called for the purpose of revising the tariff. What the future of the Progressive party will be, and how many of these converts it will hold, remains to be seen. Present indications seem to point to the permanency of the movement. According to those who support Roosevelt in the dispute, when Roosevelt returned from Africa in 1910, his mind was open on political questions and he denied his intention to run for the presidency again with no mental reservation.
