1 / 28

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. 27th PRESIDENT 1908-1912. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT. Known as the “Reluctant President” - “I don’t remember that I ever was President.” Teddy Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor Jovial, genial, conscientious, desire to avoid conflict Always wanted to be a judge

isolde
Download Presentation

WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT 27th PRESIDENT 1908-1912

  2. WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT • Known as the “Reluctant President” - “I don’t remember that I ever was President.” • Teddy Roosevelt’s hand-picked successor • Jovial, genial, conscientious, desire to avoid conflict • Always wanted to be a judge • Only Pres. to ever also serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court

  3. QUALIFICATIONS: • Graduate of Yale (2nd in class!) • Ohio Judge • Federal Circuit Court Judge • Governor of the Philippines • Secretary of War under TR • Supporter of the Square Deal • Liked by the Old Guard a/w/a/ progressives of the Republican Party

  4. TAFT TRIVIA • Largest President, over 300 lbs. • Titanic sunk on April 14, 1912, during his presidency. • Started a new tradition when he threw the 1st ball on opening day of the baseball season • Kept cows on the White House lawn; milked Pauline every morning • Bought the White House its first car, a Ford Model-T, and turned the stable into a 4 car garage • Had to order a special bathtub for the White House, because he got stuck in the old one

  5. TAFT’S TUB

  6. Public had a low opinion of Taft Much more conservative than Roosevelt Felt he was destroying Roosevelt’s “Square Deal”

  7. DOLLAR DIPLOMACY • Use foreign policy to protect American investments abroad • Use American money to uphold foreign policy (investment in areas of concern to U.S. – Caribbean & China) • Revolutions in Caribbean U.S. intervention • Nicaragua, Marines 1911 • Cuba, Honduras, Haiti

  8. GREATEST FAILURES:#1- PAYNE-ALDRICH TARIFF • Believed high tariffs encouraged monopo-lies so attempts to lower tariff rates • BUT 800 amendments added to this tariff bill in Congress • SO the tariff actually turns out to be higher than what Congress started with • Taft signs anyway - allowed a corporation tax; Tariff Commission • Public opinion is very low

  9. Over Conservation Pinchot - Chief Forester - accuses Ballinger – Taft’s Sec. Of Interior - of opening public western lands to private developers Taft sides with Ballinger & fires Pinchot Ballinger’s reputation ruined; forced to resign due to the public outcry Taft seen as “selling the Square Deal down the river!’ #2-BALLINGER-PINCHOTCONTROVERSY

  10. #3 - SUPPORT OF SPEAKER CANNON • Speaker of the House, Joe Cannon, was dictatorial & opposed to most progressive legislation (particularly conservation) • Taft refused to side openly with the Progressives who opposed the Speaker; supported the Old Guard conservatives • Public opinion falls again • Republicans do poorly in 1910 congressional elections

  11. BETTER TRUSTBUSTER THAN ROOSEVELT Busts up Standard Oil, American Tobacco, American Sugar Refining ACHIEVEMENTS during Taft’s Administration:

  12. ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO ADMITTED AS 47th &48th STATES Empowered ICC even further - Mann-Elkins Act, 1910 Established 8 hour day for gov’t contract workers & mine safety legislation 16TH AMENDMENT, gives Congress authority to collect an income tax 17TH AMENDMENT, provides for the direct election of U.S. Senators ACHIEVEMENTS during Taft’s Administration:

  13. Roosevelt’s view on Taft’s performance as President

  14. PROGRESSIVE Theodore Roosevelt THE CANDIDATES REPUBLICAN William H. Taft DEMOCRAT Woodrow Wilson

  15. Did no real campaigning: He believed Wilson would win & therefore did nothing. The real battle was between Roosevelt & Wilson who both supported progressivism, but under different labels. PLATFORMS: TAFT Won Republican nomination over Roosevelt

  16. NEW NATIONALISM Emphasizes a federal gov’t strong enough to impose nationwide solutions on big business. Supports Progressive reforms in child labor,minimum wage, workers’ comp., etc. Major difference with Wilson is with trusts/business: seeks strong gov’t control of big business, not destruction Magnetic Personality Dynamic speaker who appealed to emotions Roosevelt’s Bull Moose Party Assassination attempt in WI

  17. THE “BULL MOOSE” PARTY Video: The Bull Moose

  18. NEW FREEDOM Appealed to reason and conscience; persuasive A convert to progressivism No real political experience; took 46 ballots for nomination Platform seeks banking reform & tariff reductions; opposes gov’t-sponsored social welfare Major difference with TR - viewed monopolies as evils to be destroyed, not regulated; they are the antithesis of free competition; favors small entrepreneurship; sees TR’s plan as giving federal gov’t too much power in economy WILSON Aloof; idealistic

  19. “The Professor “ • Wins by partisan politics • Split in Republican Party & his support by both conservative & liberal Democrats gives him the election

  20. RESULTS:

  21. WILSON & TAFT, INAUGURATION DAY 1913

More Related