WI: William Howard Taft dies in Manila in 1901?

SsgtC

Banned
Without Taft, it's very possible that Roosevelt pushes for Elihu Root to succeed him as President. The two were very close, Root having served as Secretary of War and Secretary of State for TR. He was also a US Senator from NY from 1909-1915 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1912. Now obviously without Taft, he never becomes a Senator, but I listed it here to show that he was highly regarded by the Republican Party.
 
Last edited:
Root was very knowledgeable about national security and was instrumental in reforming the national guard.

However, while he and Teddy agreed quite a bit on foreign policy, if I recall Root was quite a bit more conservative than Roosevelt on domestic issues. They may have a similar falling out... (it has been many years since I read up on this period, I might be mistaken)
 

Driftless

Donor
There would also likely be an impact on how the US interacted with the Philippines. For his era, Taft was comparatively progressive in his attitude towards the Filipinos, and he promoted eventual Philippine self-government - even if at a very sedate pace. Taft provided a counterbalance to US military leadership on the islands, which was often overtly racist.
 
Almost anyone would have been more conservative than TR on domestic issues. But Root was a brilliant man, so some sort of accommodation would have been made. The much bigger problem was Root's close association with Wall Street: that would have made him a tough sell in the Midwest and Great Plains. TR would have had to campaign heavily for Root. Then too, when approached IOTL about the 1908 nomination, Root begged off citing health/medical concerns (don't recall specifics). So...long story short, I'm not sure Root would have been the choice. Perhaps a meeting of the minds could have reconciled TR and Charles Evans Hughes, or perhaps Missouri governor Herbert Hadley might well have been the choice instead.
 
Top