William Howard Taft (1909-1913)
3
I've promised my friend Solenoid DH that I'll go easy on his buddy Taft, so bear with me. William Howard Taft was elected in 1908 with the support of outgoing President and his own personal friend Teddy Roosevelt. That relationship was in shambles by 1912. [Leadership: ** out of ***** Stars] Taft was a great administrator, there is no question about that. However, leadership in the Presidency was definately not his forte'. He believed more in executing more than in initiating them. Under his leadership, thousands of federal employees including postmasters were granted Civil Service status, which prevented them from being fired as a result of changing Presidential Administrations. He truly cared about the working man, which showed in his aggressive trust-busting policies. Taft continued the policies of his predacessor, the man known as the "Great Trust Buster", Teddy Roosevelt. However, over 100 more trust busting cases were prosecuted in four years under Taft than under Roosevelt. So in a true sense, Taft was actually the "Great Trustbuster". He did push for the passage of the 16th Amendment (income tax), but reluctantly supported the 17th Amendment (Direct election of senators). However, By 1911, Taft has surrounded himself with businessmen who shared his love of golf, and soon began to halt his trust-busting agenda, angering members of his own party. Taft's greatest Presidential blunder was his calling for a significant reduction in the tariff rates, but due to his lack of leadership and decisiveness, the bill that he signed which was passed by Congress actually raised the rates rathe than lowering them. He also surrounded himself with Anti-Roosevelt advisors, one who advised Taft that Roosevelt had set aside TOO much land for federal reserves, leading Taft to open up several of the lands which had been restricted by Roosevelt. This drove a deep wedge between Taft and TR. In short, Taft's failure to exhibit the necessary amounts of leadership like Grover Cleveland before him greatly undermined his impact in the mind's of historians. [2. Foreign Affairs: ** out of ***** Stars] Taft was very committed to expanding U.S. foreign trade. He hoped to encourage U.S. investments in South and Central American nations. However, this only led to much resentment among these nations. Taft convened a Pan-American Conference to address the issue, in which nothing was resolved. Taft sent 2,000 troops to Revolutionary-torn Mexico to protect American investments there. However, the intervention met strong opposition in Congress and Taft backed down. Like in his domestic agenda, Taft's failure to exhibit necessary amounts of leadership prevented him from leaving his mark on the Presidency. [3. Economic Management: **** out of ***** Stars] Due to Taft's continued commitment to complete the Panama Canal, a bright American economy loomed. His trust-busting policies showed his true love of the working man. The 16th Amendment which gave the federal government the power to collect income taxes increased the size of the treasury and helped finance the construction of the Panama Canal, which turned out to be a wise investment. The nation saw economic prosperity during Taft's Presidency. [4. Vision For the Country/Accomplishments: *** out of ***** Stars] William H. Taft was not nearly as aggressive a leader as his predacessor. He generally sought to continue Roosevelt's policies, but sometimes deviated from that commitment, which did show that he had some amount of independence instilled in him. However, his vision for the country was based more on an administrative agenda than a legislative agenda. He proposed hardly any legislation, and believed that it was his job only to execute the laws, which depending on your beliefs, is a positive or negative stance. His aggressive trust busting policy was perhaps his greatest mark on the Presidency, and perhaps the only thing that he honestly concerned himself with. [Final Score: 2.75- *** (3) out of ***** (5) Stars] In the final analysis, William Howard Taft's Presidency is considered by many to be a failure. However, consider the legacy that he had to live up to- the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. He promised continuance of Roosevelt's policies, and when he deviated from them and began to develop his own agendas, his party punished him for it. I think that if this man had perhaps taken up a more positive attitude towards politics and the Presidency itself, along with being able to serve for another term, he would have fared much better in the history books.
