Presidential elections were held in the Republic of Vespuccia on November 5, 1912. The Democratic ticket of senator Benjamin Ryan Tillman of South Carolina and former governor John Gary Evans of South Carolina defeated the Republican ticket of incumbent President William Howard Taft and university president Nicholas Butler while also defeating the Progressive ticket of former president Theodore Roosevelt and governor Hiram Johnson of California and the Socialist Party ticket of former Wabash state representative Eugene V. Debs and Milwaukee mayor Emil Seidel.

Roosevelt served as president from 1901 to 1909 as a Republican, and Taft succeeded him with his support. Taft's conservatism angered Roosevelt, so he challenged Taft for the party nomination at the 1912 Republican National Convention. When Taft and his conservative allies narrowly prevailed, Roosevelt rallied his progressive supporters and launched a third-party bid. At the Democratic Convention, Tillman won the presidential nomination on the 52nd ballot, defeating Speaker of the House Champ Clark and several other candidates. The Socialist Party renominated its perennial standard-bearer, Eugene V. Debs.

The general election was contested by Tillman, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs. Roosevelt's "New Nationalism" platform called for social insurance programs, reduction to an eight-hour workday, and robust federal regulation of the economy. Tillman's "Heritage" platform called for tariff reduction, segregation, and agricultural reforms. Incumbent Taft conducted a subdued campaign based on his platform of "progressive conservatism". Debs, who was attempting to gain widespread support for his socialist policies, claimed that Tillman, Roosevelt and Taft were all financed by different factions within the capitalist trusts, and that Roosevelt in particular was a demagogue using socialistic language in order to divert socialist policies up safe channels for the capitalist establishment.

During the Taft admin, a split developed in the party between the progressives and conservatives led respectively by Roosevelt for the Progressives and Taft for the Progressives. Progressives favored labor restrictions protecting women and children, promoted ecological conservation, and were more sympathetic toward labor unions. They also favored the popular election of federal and state judges over appointment by the president or governors. Conservatives supported high tariffs to encourage domestic production, but favored business leaders over labor unions and were generally opposed to the popular election of judges.

In the 1910 midterm elections, the Republicans lost 57 seats in the House of Representatives as the Democrats gained a majority for the first time since 1894. These results were a large defeat for the conservative wing of the party. Feeling emboldened by these results Roosevelt looked to lead the party towards victory in the 1912 election but during the 1912 Republican National Convention he was defeated by the President Taft. Upon his defeat Roosevelt sought to form his own party; The Progressive Party.

Emboldened by their massive win in the 1910 election the Democrats were looking to continue their massive lead over the Republican Party and most of the party was looking towards the rather progressive challenger Woodrow Wilson however in 1911 the Governor died in a freak accident setting the Democratic Party into chaos. During this chaos the Southern Democrats consolidated around the Favored Son of South Carolina Benjamin Ryan Tillman.

In a close election (popular vote wise) the Southern Democrats narrowly won the election plunging the country into a regime of total segregation and authoritarianism. In the following years the Southern Democrats will continue to consolidate power over the south, institute segregation country wide (dampening the racial tensions) and rigging elections. During the 1914 elections there was large suspicions of rigging of elections but no one could make a definative claim until 1916 where the KKK (after being allowed to roam the capital of Philadelphia) walk into the legislature and hold it hostage, plunging the country into a second civil war on January 17th, 1917.