PRESIDENTIAL FEUDS, PART IV

With seven and a half million votes to Wilson’s six million votes, the Republicans would have easily won the election in 1912 if not for the feud between Roosevelt and Taft. Wilson went on to serve two terms and make great changes in our economic system. He strengthened the regulatory powers of the federal government and created the Federal Reserve System we still use today. He also led us through World War I, issued the Fourteen Points, and provided the leadership that formed the League of Nations, the predecessor of the United Nations.

In addition to the great political changes this election brought about, it was interesting for another reason. It was the only election in which a “third” party finished ahead of one of the two major political parties of the day. Teddy’s Bull Moose, or Progressive, Party finished second, ahead of the Republican Party.

Taft often said he lost on the Dr. Fell Principle:

I do not like you, Dr. Fell,
The reason why I cannot tell,
But this I know and know full well,
I do not like you, Dr. Fell.

Taft retired, taught law, and was later appointed Chief Justice, which is what he always wanted. He was one of our most successful Chief Justices, and had a major impact on the re-organization of the Supreme Court and the entire judicial branch.

Teddy Roosevelt tried for the presidency again in the 1920 campaign. He was one of the leaders for the nomination when he suddenly died early in 1919. He had contracted a form of jungle fever while exploring the River of Doubt in Brazil in 1913 and 1914. This led to surgery and other medical problems. He died of a blood clot in January of 1919.

This personal feud between these two men changed the landscape of national politics. It also had a major impact on world history. Did it happen because Roosevelt truly felt Taft had abandoned the progressive principles he held so dear? Or did Teddy just miss being at the center of the action and attention. Alice Roosevelt Longworth, Teddy’s daughter, known for her own style and flair in much the same manner as her father, said that her father always “wanted to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral.” If so, his ego changed the world. He would have been proud.

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