As a result, Taft is remembered as an ineffective president. The reason for this is that Taft did not know how to be a politician in the best sense of the word. He implemented little leadership over Congress. He did not know how manipulate the press to mold public opinion as his predecessor Roosevelt had in the "bully pulpit." He was torn by indecision at critical times, and he allowed interdepartmental conflicts between his administrations to blossom to enormous magnitude. Taft intensely disliked conflict and did not intervene in these squabbles. He was never able to balance the advocates of reform against those of reaction during his administration.
Weaknesses in Domestic Affairs.
He ardently mishandled the Ballinger-Pichot Affair. The Ballinger-Pinchot affair of 1910 fractured the Republican Party and had far-reaching consequences. The Ballinger-Pinchot controversy was a dispute during the Taft administration in 1909 between Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger and the head of the Forestry Service in the Department of Agriculture, Gifford Pinchot. An appointee and personal friend of Theodore Roosevelt, Pinchot was a passionate conservationist who assisted in carrying out Roosevelt's policy of withdrawing millions of acres from the public domain. These policies had antagonized many western senators who wanted the land kept available for mining, lumber, and grazing leases. Ballinger returned the land to the public domain although Pinchot had made them unavailable for leases by designating them as ranger stations. He launched a crusade against Ballinger by providing information in articles attacking Ballinger. These actions caused Taft to dismiss him.
Strengths of Domestic Affairs.
Ironically, a greater number of progressive reforms were accomplished in Taft's four years in office than in Roosevelt's seven years in office. Taft assumed the first tariff revision since 1897. He improved upon Roosevelt's conservation work, made advances in railroad regulation, and embarked on an antitrust crusade resulting in prosecution of twice as many trusts as Roosevelt in all of his terms.
William Howard Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on September 15, 1857. ... Taft died in Washington, D.C., on March 8th, 1930. ... William Howard Taft was born in Cincinnati on September 15, 1857. ... He was the second son of Alphonso and Louisa Taft (World Book pg. 154). ... William Howard Taft died in Washington, D.C., on March 8th, 1930. ...
Of all the blows to the Labor movement in the United States few have had the lasting impact and damage to the rights of working men as the Taft Hartley Act of 1947. ... In order to understand the Taft-Hartley Act, one must first be familiar with the Wagner Act of 1935. ... While the Wagner Act was called "The Laborers Bill of Rights," Taft-Hartley was dubbed "the Slave Labor" bill. ... In addition to this increase in Presidential powers, Taft-Hartley changed many other aspects of Labor Policy. ... While the ramification for workers and employers of this reversal of government policy are obv...
Taft, and Woodrow Wilson affected the course of the time period. ... Taft's "Dollar Diplomacy" promoted U.S. trade by focusing primarily on economic status. ... His predecessor, Taft brought about more reforms to society. ... Like Roosevelt, Taft continued the Progressive policies. During his presidency, Taft dealt with twice the number antitrust cases than Roosevelt. ...
President William Howard Taft was another man whose policies changed America. One of the things Taft became known for was his dedication to trust- busting. ... In the same year, Taft battled the U.S. ... Taft also had a foreign policy that was dubbed "dollar diplomacy." ... Taft also changed the nation with the passage of the Payne-Aldrich Bill in 1909. ...
Harrison, McKinley, Taft, and Harding all are originally from Ohio. ... Hayes, Benjamin Harrison, and William Taft are not well regarded as very effective Commander in Chiefs. ... Taft. ... This would come back to haunt Taft after the election was over. ... Taft admitted that he had no taste for politics, and said that, "Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick...
William Howard Taft 1908 William Howard Taft is elected president, and James S. ... New Mexico and Arizona became the last of the 48 states. 1912 President Taft won renomination by Republican Party but lost election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson. ... Taft and Theodore Roosevelt 1913 Underwood Tariff Act which reduces average tariffs. 1913 Federal Reserve Act establishing a system of Federal banks. 1913 The 16th Constitutional ammendment dealing with income taxes....
Taft was the republican incumbent. Roosevelt was Taft's predecessor, who had left the Republican party to form the new progressive party. ... Taft was inherently legalistic and conservative. ... Taft saw corporate power as primarily an economic issue. ... Luis Brandeis began advising Wilson after Robert La Follette lost the nomination to Taft. ...
In another corner stands William Howard Taft, also trying to continue into his second term. ... William Howard Taft, a federal judge from Ohio was Roosevelt's choice as his successor. However, Taft was more conservative than Roosevelt. ... Taft also considered himself a progressive. ... During his presidency, Taft was more committed to foreign expansion than his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. ...
Progressive Movement: Middle class influenced by Darwinian revolution, focusing on problems created by expanding industrial world. Realistic, ie took surveys and such. Henry George's Progress and Poverty and Edward Bellamy's Looking Backward set precedent. Believed world in flux, so rebel against fixed issues in every field. Unfortunately, progressivisim did not usually mean progress for blacks. ...
