Taft as judge, who succeeds TR?

Of course, Charles Evans Hughes stepped down from the Court to run for president, so it's not a certainty it would stop him, but if William Howard Taft accepted a Supreme Court nomination; say TR figures Taft would rule in his favor and that would help more than anything? Who would accept Teddy Roosevelt's "anointing" as his successor? Or, might TR decide to stay on and run in 1908 without Taft to run?
 
Well I could see TR running again, and he would certainly win against Bryan (if he chose to run). If not, then you're looking at a field similar to what it actually was in 1908, minus Taft. Vice-President Fairbanks is likely going to get a lot of institutional support. The same could be said for PA Senator Philander Knox. You could also see someone like Joseph Cannon or Charles Evans Hughes. Ultimately, I think that TR running for reelection is very likely in this scenario, seeing as he lacked an obvious successor.
 
If you set the pod for 1916, you get the problem that Wilson would not have appointed Taft. The best way to get Taft on the court early is to have TR choose Elihu Root as his successor. Root could have picked Taft as chief justice in 1910.
 
Easy. Taft accepts the SCOTUS appointment in 1902 or 1903. TR had thought of either choosing Elihu Root or Taft as his successor. Root was more conservative than Taft was, so probably around Wilson's level.
Most notably, Root didn't really want to be POTUS (like Taft), so I could see him stepping down in 1912.

So, Taft as Judge most likely means:

  • President Elihu Root serves for one term
  • TR wins the Republican nomination in 1912
  • TR wins reelection in 1916 during WWI (he would've gone in earlier)
So a President Root likely destroys any chance of Wilson becoming President, soooo:
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If the world is lucky, Underwood becomes POTUS in 1920. Hmm... maybe FDR is still VP as per otl, and the Tecumseh curse makes FDR TTLs Coolidge, or even Hoover :eek:
 
Yeah I agree with Plumber. According to Edmund Morris, Elihu Root did not desire the presidency at all. But if Taft goes to the Supreme Court before 1908 then Root could be prodded back into the race, but he would be a one term type of guy.

Root in 1908 is a Theodore Roosevelt lovers' dream.
 
The same circumstances would seem to apply to TR as they did OTL - he wouldn't run in 1908 because he didn't want to violate the two-term precedent ("I do not think myself a greater man than Washington"). Even if Root doesn't seek re-election 1912, though, the Party establishment isn't going to want TR back. He still probably winds up running a third-party candidacy that throws the Presidency to a Democrat.

However, 6 of the 9 SCOTUS justices die or retire during Root's 4 years. Say one of the deaths is moved up enough to happen in 1908 and put Taft there; there's your PoD, and Root probably fills the other 5 with men far more capable than Taft did (since Taft deliberately picked spineless yes-men in poor health, to maximize his own chances and abilities).

What we get is a Court committed to Progressive Republicanism with a majority large enough to last for a long time. Wilson or whomever is going to get a lot of pushback from that Court. So are the trusts and business lobbies. Could be very interesting to see in the 20s.
 
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