the brilliant use of all these things, Roosevelt was won impressively. He took direct action, and made an immediate impact in the legislative session. At that time, United State senators from New York were elected by legislative officials, not by the majority vote of the people. The Democrats had all but decided on William F. Sheehan, who was the choice of Tammany Hall, New York’s powerful political machine. A small minority of Democrats objected to this choice. Roosevelt became the leader of this minority within the Democratic party. Not only did Roosevelt dislike the choice of this party, he didn’t like the fact that Tammany Hall had such an influence on the decisions of the Democrats. Tammany Hall then recanted their support toward Sheehan and directed it toward Judge James O’Gorman, who was a former Tammany Grand Sachem. O’Gorman eventually won the seat to the house, but Roosevelt and allies took some consolation, because they forced a withdrawal of Sheehan and drew national attention in doing so. Roosevelt evoked mixed reactions from other United States officials. Progressive reformers liked his devotion, courage and willingness to work hard. Although, party regulators like Alfred Smith and Robert Wagner considered Roosevelt a lightweight and a headline-seeker. In 1912 Roosevelt defied Tammany Hall again. He Supported Gov. Woodrow Wilson for the Democratic presidential nomination. When Wilson won Roosevelt ran for re-election to the state senate. During the campaign, Roosevelt contracted Typhoid fever, but he was helped to victory by Louis Howe, who would become his most loyal aide. Roosevelt was offered a more attractive job, assistant secretary of the Navy. Theodore Roosevelt had held this position fifteen years before. Roosevelt accepted the offer and moved to Washington DC in 1913. During his term as assistant secretary, Roosevelt reminded many people of Theodore Roosevelt. He advoca...
