When Theodore Roosevelt returned from Cuba, hero of his Rough Riders cavalry unit, Republican bosses in New York tapped him to run for governor, despite their doubts about his loyalty. Elected in 1898, he became an energetic reformer. His actions irked the bosses so much they conspired to get rid of him by drafting him for the Republican vice-presidential nomination in 1900. They assumed that his would be a largely ceremonial role. They realized their mistake when the news came from Buffalo that President McKinley was dead--Roosevelt was president. Instead of a maverick in the governor's mansion, he resided at the Executive Mansion (what Roosevelt, incidentally, decided to call officially the "White House").

We offer this original button from the 1900 campaign picturing the victorious Republicans. Limited availability.