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PRESIDENTIAL FEUDS, PART III - Page 2

© John S. Cooper

Taft was no Roosevelt, and his administration did not go smoothly. The majority Republican Party was split into two main factions, the conservatives and the progressives. Roosevelt was a progressive, as was Taft. While Roosevelt was known as the great “Trust Buster,” Taft actually started four times as many anti-trust lawsuits in his one term as Roosevelt had in two terms, giving him a rate of anti-trust actions eight times that of Teddy. But Taft did not have the political instincts or ability of self-promotion that Teddy had, and so he did not get the credit from progressives that he deserved. Whereas Teddy had taken on the conservatives, using his great popularity and marketing ability, Taft was forced to compromise with them on a number of issues to gain their support on others he considered more important.

By the end of his term, Taft had compromised with the conservatives so often that Teddy felt that Taft had betrayed the progressive principles he was supposed to uphold. For that reason, or because he missed being the center of things, he decided to run against Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912. Taft did not want to be president again, but he had become alarmed at Teddy’s “radicalism” and did not want Teddy to get back in the White House.

Taft hoped to find a way to settle the feud before it split the party and cost Republicans control of the White House. Taft’s military aide was a widely respected officer, Major Archie Butt. Archie was more than Taft’s military aide; he had also become a close friend and advisor. Major Butt had also been Teddy’s military aide, and had become a close friend of his as well. Archie was on a much-needed vacation in Europe, and Taft called him back to duty at the White House convinced (possibly correctly) that only Archie could mediate the increasingly antagonistic conflict between the two men. Major Butt made plans to return to Washington as soon as possible, cutting his vacation short. He sailed on the first available ship, the R.M.S. Titanic. Many reports from survivors told of the heroism of Major Butt in saving a number of lives, including women and children, but not his own. With the death of Major Butt, Taft gave up any hopes of settling his differences with Roosevelt. Knowing he could not win, he was determined to at least prevent Roosevelt from gaining another term as President.

President William Howard Taft (1909-1913)

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