1. The Taft Administration

3. Taft William Howard Taft Secretary Of War under Roosevelt.
In 1904, Roosevelt had told the public he would not run for a third term in 1908.
Roosevelt endorsed Taft to run on the Republican ticket in 1908.

4. Taft’s political personality.
Taft not as dynamic a personality as Roosevelt.
Skillful administrator and judge.
Roosevelt liked to act quickly whereas Taft preferred to avoid conflict.
Approached problems from “legalistic” point of view.
Committed to many progressive ideas.

6. Presidents often have to make compromises with Congress.
President Obama’s original idea for healthcare totally changed after the bill passed through both houses of Congress.
His idea for changing the tax system where the richest Americans pay higher taxes failed in order to keep unemployment insurance for 13 more months.
Compromise can ruin a progressive or a conservative President’s image.

8. Taft’s Problems with Tariffs
Taft believed high tariffs limited competition, hurt consumers, and protected trusts.
Called Congress into special session to lower tariff rates.
Taft needed support of Speaker of the House Joseph G. Cannon.
Cannon appointed all committees and decided which bill they handled.
Joseph G. Gannon

9. Gannon political cartoon.

10. Taft Begins Rift with Progressives
Progressives wanted to unseat Cannon because he often blocked their legislation.
Only way Taft could get the tariff bill passed was to make an ally of Cannon.
Cannon quickly pushed through the tariff bill through the House in exchange for Taft’s support.

11. Taft’s compromise with Cannon angered many Progressives.
Republican Progressives joined forces with House Democrats the next year to remove Cannon from power.

12. Tariff Bill Moves to the Senate
Conservative Republican Nelson Aldrich, head of the Senate Finance Committee, wanted to protect high tariffs.
Payne-Aldrich Tariff, barely cut tariffs and raised them on some goods.
Taft decided to accept the tariff reform without much debate.
Republican Progressives outraged at Taft.
Nelson Aldrich

14. Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy 1910
Taft’s relations with Republican Progressives began to deteriorate.
Taft replaced Secretary of the Interior James A. Garfield, an aggressive conservationist, with conservative corporate lawyer Richard Ballinger.
Ballinger tried to make nearly a million acres of public forests and mineral reserves available for private development.

15. Suspicion grew that Ballinger was a servant to corporate interests.
Gifford Pinchot, head of the U.S. Forest Service charged that Ballinger once plotted to turn over valuable lands in Alaska to a private business group for personal profit.
Pinchot brought charges to the President.
Attorney General found charges groundless.

16. Pinchot leaked story to the press and asked Congress to investigate.
Taft fired Pinchot for insubordination.
Congress cleared Ballinger.

17. Due to backing Cannon, the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act and supporting Ballinger over Pinchot, Taft lost all support from Republican Progressives.
Congressional election of 1910 resulted in sweeping victory for Democrats.
Democrats took majority in the House and Progressive Republicans and Democrats gained majority in the Senate.

18. Did Taft get a bad deal from the Progressives?
Taft brought twice as many anti-trust cases in 4 years as Roosevelt in 7 years.
Established Children’s Bureau that investigated child labor problems.
Supported 1910 Mann-Elkins Act that increased regulatory powers of the ICC.
Taft set up Bureau of Mines to monitor activities of mining companies.
Expanded national forests and protected waterpower sites from private development.