Albert J. Beveridge
Indiana orator who moved from imperialist thunder to Bull Moose progressivism.
Overview
Elected at 36 in 1899, Beveridge made his name with the March of the Flag speech celebrating American expansion, and as imperialist spokesman he defended annexation of the Philippines into the new century. Gradually he turned reformist, sponsoring the first federal child labor investigation bill in 1906, backing Theodore Roosevelt's regulatory program, and joining the Bull Moose campaign of 1912, losing his seat that year. He returned to scholarship, winning a Pulitzer Prize for his life of John Marshall, and nearly re-entered the Senate in 1922. His career traced the arc of Republican politics from empire to reform.
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