In the Election of 1912, Teddy Roosevelt was upset that his handpicked successor, President Taft, had not followed his progressive plan the way he had wanted. He decided that he would come back and push Taft aside and run again on the Republican ticket. The problem was that the conservatives in the party supported Taft and were able to guarantee his nomination for a second term. When TR lost in the primaries, he and the progressive wing of the Republican Party broke away and formed the Progressive Party. No one actually called them the Progressive Party, but by their nickname, the Bull Moose Party. However, even though they had the best party name of all time, the split in the Republican Party allowed the Democrats and Wilson only their third win in 52 years.
Historically Speaking 