Student Question
Was William Howard Taft a good president?
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William Howard Taft, U.S. president from 1909 to 1913, is generally viewed as a mediocre leader, ranked 22nd by political scientists. His presidency was overshadowed by his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt, who was more charismatic and popular. Although Taft continued some of Roosevelt's policies, he was seen as not progressive enough, leading to a split in the Republican vote in 1912. Taft excelled more as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court later in his career.
William Howard Taft (1857–1930) served both as president (1909–13) and as chief justice (1921–30) of the United States. The second position on the Supreme Court was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. He was not a bad president, however. A recent survey of political scientists ranks him twenty-second—almost squarely in the middle. Prior to his presidency, Taft served ably as governor of the Philippines and secretary of war.
The biggest problem for his presidency was Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a gregarious and popular man, and Taft was much more taciturn. Roosevelt chose Taft as his successor in the presidency, and Roosevelt's popularity was instrumental in Taft's winning the presidential election of 1908. Roosevelt became dissatisfied with his successor, believing he was not progressive enough. Roosevelt's criticism hurt Taft's reputation. Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912. Taft won the nomination, so Roosevelt ran as a third-party candidate....
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This split the Republican vote, which enabled Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, to win.
In summary, Taft was a mediocre president who served in the shadow of Roosevelt. Taft really thrived, however, in his role as chief justice.
Was William H. Taft a good president?
William Howard Taft, president from 1909 to 1913, was ranked 22nd in a recent poll of political scientists. Teddy Roosevelt, Taft's erstwhile friend and eventual political rival, came in at 4th in the same poll. Ranking presidents is fraught with difficulty and subjectivity, but surveys of experts's opinions make for interesting reading.
In fact, Taft was overshadowed by Teddy Roosevelt. Roosevelt was gregarious and energetic. Taft was relatively taciturn and inactive. Public perception is an extremely important part of presidential appeal, and Taft could not compete with his predecessor's charisma.
Roosevelt chose Taft as his successor with the expectation that he would continue his policies. In many respects, Taft did carry out Roosevelt's policies. For instance, he continued the policy of prosecuting business trusts, but Taft was not progressive enough for Roosevelt and many other Republicans. Taft fought with segments of his own party over tariffs. Roosevelt broke with him because he believed Taft was too soft on environmental protection.
Roosevelt came out of retirement to challenge Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912. By splitting the Republican party, Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic candidate, won an easy victory.
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