Unreasonable Men

Theodore Roosevelt has always been considered the boldest of presidents - Leader of the Rough Riders, Buster of the Trusts, and a shining example of Progressive politics. Yet even the fearless Roosevelt hesitated to confront the powerful Speaker of the House, "Uncle Joe" Cannon. Cannon and his cabal of conservative "Standpatters" aligned themselves with big corporations and stifled reforms they deemed bad for business, including eight-hour workdays, child labor laws, anti-trust legislation, and income taxes. The Democrats, outnumbered and divided, were powerless to interfere. Finally, one Republican senator stood up to his own party. In the wake of a devastating financial crisis, Robert La Follette of Wisconsin led his little band of "unreasonable" congressmen in a revolt against Uncle Joe's authority. Their historic crusade to rescue the country from corporate influence shattered the Republican Party and redrew the political battle lines. In Unreasonable Men, Michael Wolraich leads us into the heart of the conflict, vividly recounting the fascinating back-room struggle that introduced the words "progressive" and " conservative" to American politics and initiated the greatest period of political change in US history.