AHC: Make William H. Taft a Contender For Greatest U.S. President
- Thread starter Tre' T.
- Start date
On September 3 of 1902, President Roosevelt dies in a tragic accident when a trolley slams into his carriage. Without a Vice President, Secretary of State John Hay is elevated to the Presidency. A close ally of the late President, Hay appointed Governor of the Philippines Taft to replace him at State. Taft begrudgingly accepted.
Feeling aged, President Hay was initially reluctant to run for another term in 1904, but changed his mind to help resolve the deadlocked convention in Chicago. Taft was drafted against his will and Vice President Hay's front-porch campaign has a relatively easy time defeating the Democrats, who again nominated the progressive but divisive William Jennings Bryan. Hay, however, was plagued by heart conditions and was sickly during his inauguration on March 4, 1905. President Hay died July 1, 1905. Taft, the reluctant President, had already been involved in many executive duties. His immediate focus on the Russo-Japanese War would result in the Treaty of Portsmouth and lead to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
There's a start. He could proceed with the progressive, domestic reforms that Roosevelt and Wilson did IOTL. Re-elected in 1908 over a conservative Democrat by 1912 he is popular enough to run again in 1912 with the "two election" pledge.
Feeling aged, President Hay was initially reluctant to run for another term in 1904, but changed his mind to help resolve the deadlocked convention in Chicago. Taft was drafted against his will and Vice President Hay's front-porch campaign has a relatively easy time defeating the Democrats, who again nominated the progressive but divisive William Jennings Bryan. Hay, however, was plagued by heart conditions and was sickly during his inauguration on March 4, 1905. President Hay died July 1, 1905. Taft, the reluctant President, had already been involved in many executive duties. His immediate focus on the Russo-Japanese War would result in the Treaty of Portsmouth and lead to him winning the Nobel Peace Prize.
There's a start. He could proceed with the progressive, domestic reforms that Roosevelt and Wilson did IOTL. Re-elected in 1908 over a conservative Democrat by 1912 he is popular enough to run again in 1912 with the "two election" pledge.
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Thanks, yeah maybe an earlier lower cost one like around the Moroccan or Balkan Crisis.
Also, Taft replaces Roosevelt on Mount Rushmore.
The problem with Taft is that he suffers by juxtaposition with the more dynamic TR--well, that and his more cautious judiciary nature. Compound that with the fact that he didn't want to be president in the first place--his wife Nellie pushed hard for the White House when he would have far and away preferred the Supreme Court--and without several things changing, it doesn't seem likely.
Now, don't get me wrong: if considered in isolation, Taft was entirely acceptable. His timing and his falling-out with TR have both had decided unpleasant impacts on his reputation.
Let's say, just for fun, that someone other than Taft (Elihu Root?) had been the GOP candidate in 1908. That might have allowed Bryan to squeak out a very narrow win. Bryan's naïveté and general lack of executive competence would have led to disillusionment very quickly on the part of the electorate--and thus a Taft candidacy in 1912 could well have led to Will Taft in the White House beginning in 1913. Then, consider how the chancelleries of Europe would have reacted if a man who had been a high ranking judge (endorsed by TR) had offered mediation of the Austro-Serbian crisis in July of 1914...
Now, don't get me wrong: if considered in isolation, Taft was entirely acceptable. His timing and his falling-out with TR have both had decided unpleasant impacts on his reputation.
Let's say, just for fun, that someone other than Taft (Elihu Root?) had been the GOP candidate in 1908. That might have allowed Bryan to squeak out a very narrow win. Bryan's naïveté and general lack of executive competence would have led to disillusionment very quickly on the part of the electorate--and thus a Taft candidacy in 1912 could well have led to Will Taft in the White House beginning in 1913. Then, consider how the chancelleries of Europe would have reacted if a man who had been a high ranking judge (endorsed by TR) had offered mediation of the Austro-Serbian crisis in July of 1914...
Puzzle
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Wars are what really get the people going. Have something WWIish kick off when Taft is in office and he sends the boys overseas. When they come back he sponsors some sort of universal health care/social security which allows both sides of the current political body to respect him. The Gilded Age starts under his watch and then he dies tragically in one of the first car accidents leading to greater automobile safety awareness.
Early death, winning wars, expanding the scope of government. It’s the trifecta for high presidential ratings.
Early death, winning wars, expanding the scope of government. It’s the trifecta for high presidential ratings.
Simple. Have the word 'great' be applied literally, not metaphorically. He weighed more than any other president ever...
TR runs and wins in 1908, Taft succeeds him in 1912. Taft somehow brings the U.S. into WWI in 1915, after the sinking of the Lusitania, and under his leadership the U.S. wins the war. Though given the amount of opposition to U.S. involvement in the war even after Lusitania I think that's a bit of a stretch. However, it's within the realm of possibility and it's probably the only feasible way to have Taft be ranked as one of the great U.S. Presidents.