Topic 3, Lesson 7: How progressive was William Howard Taft?

Topic 3, Lesson 7: How progressive was William Howard Taft?

William Howard Taft and the 1908 Election

• Why did Roosevelt not run for President in 1908?

• Who’s example was Roosevelt following when he did not run for President again in 1908?

• Who was William Taft’s opponent in the 1908 election?

  Why is this significant?

• What was the result of the 1908 election?

Theodore Roosevelt was still very popular in 1908 and had he have run for election again in this year, he would have probably have won. However, he had served his two terms in office and followed the example of George Washington by stepping down.

Theodore Roosevelt endorsed William Howard Taft during the 1908 election campaign.

Outcome of the 1908 Presidential Election:

Republican → William H Taft → Electoral College Votes: 321 Percent of Popular Vote: 51.6%

Democrat → William Jennings Bryan → Electoral College Votes: 162 Percent of Popular Vote: 43.1%

The fact that William Jennings Bryan decided to run for president again and came nowhere near to succeeding suggests a dramatic decline in the populist movement at this time. The populist movement was being replaced by progressivism.

Topic 3, Lesson 7: How progressive was William Howard Taft?

William Howard Taft’s Progressive Policies

• How can William Taft’s presidency be seen as more successful than his successor, Theodore Roosevelt’s in terms of Progressive policies? Give specific statistics.

• What two types of tax did Taft’s administration introduce?

  Why were these types of tax significant?

• What changes did Taft’s administration make to the election of Senators?

William Taft continued the anti-trust policies introduced by his successor, Theodore Roosevelt.

However, in some ways, Taft’s anti-trust policies can be seen as more successful than Roosevelt’s. This is because Taft was able to initiate 80 anti-trust suits against big businesses under the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, which was twice as many as Theodore Roosevelt.

Additionally, William Taft introduced a federal income tax alongside a corporation tax. These two taxes had significance later in covering increased government spending.

Taft also brought in the direct elections of senators by the people rather than being appointed by state legislature.

Topic 3, Lesson 7: How progressive was William Howard Taft?

William Howard Taft’s Conservative Policies

• What characteristic of Theodore Roosevelt’s leadership did William Taft become concerned of?

• How did William Taft’s experience compare to that of Theodore Roosevelt’s?

• How did William Taft approach the American constitution?

• Was William Taft able to handle the divisions within his Republican party between Conservatives and Progressives?

• Which faction of the Republican party did William Taft seem to align himself with?

• What was the Payne-Aldrich Act? When was it introduced? Why were many surprised at Taft’s decision to sign the Payne-Aldrich Act?

William Taft became concerned with what he saw as Roosevelt’s overuse of his presidential authority.

Compared to his predecessor, Taft lacked the political skill of Roosevelt which can be outlined by his inability to handle the Progressive and Conservative divisions among republicans.

Taft seemed to align himself with the conservative right-wing of the Republican party. And, he managed to anger the Progressive faction of the Republican party by sacking Gifford Pinchot who was a great conservationist.

In 1909, Taft passed the Payne-Aldrich Act which increased tariffs on 220 American goods. Taft was expected to veto the bill in order to keep to the terms of his election campaign, but instead signed it and very publicly defended it.

Topic 3, Lesson 7: How progressive was William Howard Taft?

The Roosevelt-Taft Republican Split

• What were the concerns that were communicated to Theodore Roosevelt about William Taft? What was Theodore Roosevelt doing at the time that these concerns were communicated?

• How did Roosevelt react to these concerns?

• How did Taft have the upper-hand over Theodore Roosevelt during the 1911 Republican party nomination?

• In the run-up to the 1912 Presidential election, what did Roosevelt decide to do in order to be able to oppose Taft in the election?

• How did this decision impact the Republican party in the 1912 election?

Concerns over William Taft’s reluctance to carry out further reforms were communicated to Theodore Roosevelt whilst he was on a safari in Africa.

After hearing the concerns, Roosevelt left his retirement and returned to America in order to be able to act as an opponent to Taft.

In 1911, Roosevelt ran against Taft for the party nomination, but Taft had the upper-hand as he controlled the Party Machine and was able to dominate the convention. It was at this point that Roosevelt claimed the Republican Party no longer represented the wishes of the people.

In 1912, Roosevelt left the Republican Party to form a new party called the Progressive Party (nicknames “The Bull-Moose Party”) to fight in the 1912 election.

This new party split and weakened the Republican Party and contributed greatly to their defeat in the 1912 election.