William Howard Taft

(noun)

The 27th president of the United States who was defeated for reelection by Woodrow Wilson in 1912 after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate.

Related Terms

Examples of William Howard Taft in the following topics:

  • From Roosevelt to Taft

    • In 1908, Theodore Roosevelt persuaded the Republican Party to nominate William Howard Taft to run against Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan.
    • The U.S. presidential election of 1908 was between Republican Party candidate William Howard Taft and Democratic nominee William Jennings Bryan.
    • On their side, the Democrats, after badly losing the 1904 election with a conservative candidate, turned to two-time nominee William Jennings Bryan, who had been defeated in 1896 and 1900 by Republican William McKinley.
    • Portrait of William Howard Taft, the Republican Party candidate in the presidential election of 1908.
    • Portrait of William Jennings Bryan, the Democratic Party candidate in the presidential election of 1908.

  • The Progressive Insurgency and the Election of 1912

    • The election of 1912 was a contest between William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt, Democrat Woodrow Wilson, and Eugene V.
    • The United States presidential election of 1912 was a three-way contest between incumbent William Howard Taft (renominated by the Republican Party with the support of the conservative wing), former president Theodore Roosevelt (nominated by the Progressive, or Bull-MooseParty), and Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
    • During Taft's administration, a rift grew between Roosevelt and Taft as they became the leaders of the Republican Party's two wings: the progressives, led by Roosevelt, and the conservatives, led by Taft.
    • Winning only 8 electoral votes, Taft suffered a worse defeat than any other president defeated for re-election.
    • However, the Taft conservatives managed to solidly control the Republican platform from 1912 to 1928, and thus some Progressives began to move towards the more liberal Democratic party in the 1920s.

  • Expanding Federal Power

    • This political cartoon satirizes the expectation that Roosevelt would hand his policies over to the incoming president, William Howard Taft, his handpicked successor.

  • Head of State

    • William Howard Taft started the tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators' Opening Day.
    • Every president since Taft, except for Jimmy Carter, threw out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare.
    • William Howard Taft started the tradition of throwing out the ceremonial first pitch in 1910 at Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C., on the Washington Senators' Opening Day.
    • Every president since Taft, except for Jimmy Carter, threw out at least one ceremonial first ball or pitch for Opening Day, the All-Star Game, or the World Series, usually with much fanfare .

  • Regulation

    • Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft supported trust-busting.
    • President Theodore Roosevelt sued 45 companies under the Sherman Act, and William Howard Taft sued 75.

  • Domestic Conservatism

    • Taft, the son of former President William Howard Taft.
    • Its most prominent leaders were Senator Robert Taft (R-OH) and Senator Richard Russell (D-GA).
    • Robert Taft unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination in 1940, 1948, and 1952, and was an opponent of American membership in NATO and of American participation in the Korean War.

  • The 1992 Election

    • Bush, Democratic Arkansas Governor William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton, and independent Texas businessman Ross Perot.
    • Once he had secured the nomination, Bush faced his challenger, Democrat and Governor of Arkansas William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton.
    • Bush's 37.4% was the lowest percentage total for an incumbent president since William Howard Taft in 1912 (at 23.2%; the 1912 election had also been a three-way race between Taft, Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt).

  • The Varieties of Progressivism

    • Historian William Leuchtenburg describes the Progressives thusly:
    • Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft supported trust-busting.
    • During their presidencies, the otherwise conservative Taft brought down 90 trusts in four years while Roosevelt took down 44 in 7 1/2 years in office.

  • The Rise of Wilson

    • Running against Progressive ("Bull Moose") Party candidate Theodore Roosevelt and Republican candidate William Howard Taft, Wilson was elected president as a Democrat with a wide margin of victory in 1912.
    • During Taft's administration, a rift grew between Roosevelt and Taft as they became the leaders of the Republican Party's two wings: the progressives, led by Roosevelt, and the conservatives, led by Taft.
    • Taft acknowledged this, saying, "the longer I am President, the less of a party man I seem to become."
    • In part, Taft's defeat resulted from his weakness as a campaigner.
    • Treasury Secretary William G.

  • Ballinger and Pinchot

    • Taft agreed on the need for conservation, but felt it should be accomplished by legislation rather than by executive order.
    • Roosevelt was surprised at the replacement, believing that Taft had promised to keep Garfield, and this change was one of the events that caused Roosevelt to realize that Taft would choose different policies.
    • By July 1909, Gifford Pinchot, who had been appointed by William McKinley to head the USDA Division of Forestry in 1898, was convinced that Ballinger intended to, "stop the conservation movement" started under President Roosevelt.
    • During Taft's administration, a rift grew between Roosevelt and Taft as they became the leaders of the Republican Party's two wings: the Progressives, led by Roosevelt, and the Conservatives, led by Taft. 
    • This cartoon shows Taft and Roosevelt, who were political enemies in 1912.