The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of American Presidents: Part 12

All too often, American presidents are generalized. This one was good, this one was bad, or all of them were bad before or after this point. In reality, each President has positive or negative aspects that may be frequently overlooked. Sometimes what seemed good at the time is not so good in retrospect, or what was controversial would be accepted today. In this series, we'll look at the highlights of each President from the founding of America to today.

In Part 11, we looked at the presidencies of William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. We now continue with two more presidents, William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson.

27. William Howard Taft (in office March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913)

Father was former Attorney General, former Secretary of War.

Attended Yale, where he joined the secret society Skull and Bones, of which his father was a founding member. Also joined the Scottish Rite division of Masons.

Became an attorney, soon working as Assistant Prosecutor for Hamilton County, Ohio.

Appointed by President Arthur as Collector of Revenue for Ohio's First District, which Cincinnati. After being repeatedly pressured to fire competent employees who had fallen out of political favor, he resigned instead of firing them.

Appointed as a judge to the Superior Court of Cincinnati when just 29 years old, then reelected to the position.

Served as United States Solicitor General, the 4th-highest ranking official within the Department of Justice.

As Solicitor General, introduced a new policy which continues to this day: confession of error. Under this policy, the U.S. Government concedes a case before the Supreme Court when the case was won before a lower court, but the Solicitor General believes the case should have been lost, such as if it were won through use of inadmissible evidence.

Served as a judge on the Court of Appeals.

Appointed by President McKinley as the first civilian governor of the Philippines, following the Spanish-American War.

Served as Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt, who groomed Taft to be his successor as president.

When Cuba fell into corruption and chaos after being given independence, appointed himself (using powers as Secretary of War) Provisional Governor of Cuba for a mere two weeks before handing off the position to a successor, with the intent to stabilize, not occupy.

Easily defeated William Jennings Bryan (already defeated twice before) in the 1908 election for president.

Staunchly anti-war, he worked with the League to Enforce Peace after his term as president, trying to maintain peace as international tensions built toward the First World War.

Worked as a professor at Yale University after his presidential term.

Only president to serve as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court post-presidency, appointed by President Warren G. Harding.

Resigned as Supreme Court Justice due to health issues. Upon his death, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the first president and Supreme Court Justice to be buried there.

Achievements as President

Fattest President to date. Standing 5'11", he weighed between 325 and 340 lbs. while in office. He was so obese, he once got stuck in a bathtub.

When his wife suffered a debilitating stroke shortly after he took office, Taft personally cared for her, spending a year teaching her to speak again.

Reorganized the State Department by regions of interest, including desks for Asia, Latin America, and Western Europe. This reorganization included an extensive retraining of State Department employees.

Continued Roosevelt's practice of breaking up trusts, successfully taking legal action against two companies.

Began to reverse anti-Catholic sentiment and policies by recognizing achievements and qualities by Catholics at home and abroad.

Vetoed a bill by Congress that would have supported Union efforts to require a literacy test for unskilled labor.

Made 6 appointments to the U.S. Supreme Court, more than any president in history except George Washington and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Failures

Tried unsuccessfully to lose weight. He eventually did lose more than 100 lbs. through regular exercise and a supervised diet, when he was a Supreme Court justice.

Due to former president Theodore Roosevelt running as a third party candidate, splitting the Republican vote, lost his bid for reelection in 1912.

Tried to enter a free trade agreement with Canada, eliminating the existing tariffs. This was passed by Congress, despite some opposition, but did not pass in Canada, where it ended the career of Canada's prime minister. This overall effort deepened divisions in the Republican party.

Controversies

Unlike the preceding President Theodore Roosevelt who opened himself to the press and was known for great charisma, Taft rarely gave interviews or sat for photographs, preferring to quietly focus on administering the law.

Repeatedly intervened in Latin American politics, propping up or removing area governments as he saw fit. This included sending troops to occupy Nicaragua, which continued until 1933.

Sought to reduce tariffs, but the bill produced to do so was plagued with special interest regulation.

Stated in his inaugural address that he would not appoint African-Americans to government positions. African-American leaders were divided on how to promote equal rights, with Booker T. Washington stating that they were most apt for industrial jobs, while W.E.B. DuBois favored education as the way to better the community. Taft agreed with Washington, saying the African-American should "know his place." This was a reversal on existing Republican policy, causing blacks to start to drift toward the Democratic Party, despite their history of repression.

After the Mexican Revolution, Mexicans crossed the border several times to plunder American states and territories for supplies. Taft handled this by sending U.S. troops to the border for training exercises. Problems persisted, including a foiled assassination attempt when Taft was meeting with the Mexican president, and an incursion of Mexicans into America's Arizona territory, where two citizens were killed and dozens injured. Despite these instances, Taft refused to take strong action against Mexico.

Throughout his tenure as President, Taft was torn between the conservative wing of the Republican Party, and the more progressive wing, where his mentor, former President Roosevelt, was active.

Taft's actions eventually ran so far adrift from the direction Roosevelt had taken the country that Roosevelt formed his own party to run against him in 1912.

When seeking reelection, Taft was lagging behind Roosevelt at the Republican primary. Taft had control of the party bosses and took control of the primary through them, overruling objections. While Roosevelt had more supporters, Taft won the primary on the first vote, despite not having a majority, because Roosevelt's supporters refused to vote, in protest.

Much more successful and happiest as a judge and justice than he was as President.

28. (Thomas) Woodrow Wilson (in office March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1921)

While he was born to a wealthy Southern family, and his father supported the Confederate States of America, Wilson's family didn't own slaves, and they were anti-slavery.

Earned a Ph.D in Political Science and History from Johns Hopkins University. He is the only President in history to have a Ph.D.

Taught at several colleges before being appointed president of Princeton University.

At Princeton, became an advocate for progressivism in higher education.

Became blind in one eye and short-tempered following a stroke.

Served as Governor of New Jersey, breaking from party bosses to drive progressive reforms such as free medical and dental clinics, and aid for the poor.

Elected during the 1912 election, when the Republican vote was split between incumbent William Howard Taft and former president Teddy Roosevelt, running as a third party candidate.

One of only two Presidents to have been a citizen of the Confederate States of America, the other being John Tyler.

Buried in Washington National Cathedral, making him the only president to be interred within the borders of the nation's capital.

Achievements as President

Only Democrat to serve during "The Progressive Era" ranging from the 1890s to 1920s, otherwise dominated by Republicans.

First Southerner to be elected president since 1848.

Credited with establishing modern liberalism.

Changed American economic policy, lowering tariffs while increasing taxes.

First president since John Adams to address a joint session of Congress in person.

Created pensions for federal employees.

After he sent troops to intervene in a bloody labor dispute, he pushed Congress to establish the 8-hour work day, easing union tensions.

Passed legislation to grant more autonomy and eventual independence to the Philippines.

Purchased the Danish West Indies from Denmark, renaming the territory the U.S. Virgin Islands.

When he wife fell ill and died, remarried, becoming the third president to marry while in office.

Reelected in 1916, defeating Republican Charles Evan Hughes, a former governor of New York and Supreme Court Justice.

Issued the Fourteen Points that Germany and the Allies accepted as the path to peace after the First World War.

First president to travel to Europe while in office.

Driving force behind the League of Nations, the precursor to the United Nations, meant to settle international disputes through negotiation, not war.

While he initially opposed women's suffrage, he eventually changed his mind, speaking out for women's right to vote. Congress passed the Nineteenth Amendment, granting women the right to vote, at the end of his term.

Won the Nobel Peace Prize for his work founding the League of Nations. This made him the second president (after Theodore Roosevelt) to win the Peace Prize.

Failures

His administration is often considered the low point in racial relations in the United States, when racism and racist attacks were most blatant.

Tried to pass two separate laws against child labor, but both laws were struck down by the Supreme Court, as well as a law providing worker's compensation for work-related injury.

Tried and failed to negotiate peace when World War One broke out in Europe.

Wanted to focus on promoting his own policies in 1918, but Republicans took control of Congress, enabling them to block his efforts.

When the First World War broke out, immigration declined, particularly from eastern and southern Europe, though Wilson welcomed those immigrants. Congress tried to block immigrants from those areas twice and Wilson vetoed those efforts both times. The second time, Congress overrode his veto.

Despite signing the Treaty of Versailles, which ended WWI, he vetoed a compromise proposed in Congress that would have ratified the treaty. Thus the United States never joined the League of Nations.

Vetoed the Volstead Act, which began Prohibition, but his veto was overridden by Congress.

While he planned to seek a third term, he suffered a stroke that prevented that. In addition, his policies angered and alienated Irish-Americans and German-Americans, which led to a Republican landslide victory in 1920.

Controversies

Opposed women's suffrage.

As president of Princeton University, barred African-Americans from enrolling, despite other Ivy League universities starting to welcome them.

While vacationing in Bermuda, became friends with a wealthy socialite, which may or may not have resulted in an affair. His wife questioned the situation, and there were very personal letters exchanged between them, but conclusive proof of an affair has not been found, though there was enough proof for his adversaries to use the relationship against him.

Segregated governmental positions, stocking his cabinet with pro-segregationists. and claiming segregation was a scientifically sound practice, not a political one.

Was known to tell racist "darky" jokes about African Americans.

Helped pass the Revenue Act of 1913, creating the modern income tax.

Passed the Federal Reserve Act, creating the Federal Reserve.

While he rejected imperialistic politics, he still intervened frequently in Latin American affairs, stating, "I am going to teach the South American republics to elect good men."

His intervention in Latin American politics essentially made Nicaragua a protectorate. Troops were sent there, and to the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Cuba, Panama, and Honduras.

Clashed with Mexico, which was undergoing a civil war, sending in the navy to occupy Veracruz after Americans were taken prisoner, and later sending troops after Pancho Villa raided New Mexico. This conflict nearly started a second war with Mexico.

Tried to stay neutral during World War One, maintaining regular trade with the countries involved. Critics said entry into the war was inevitable, and he should be strengthening the military. After winning reelection, he did build up the military and enter the war, though his supporters used American neutrality as a campaign point.

As part of a number of domestic regulations enacted during the war, enacted Daylight Savings Time.

Heavily increased taxes on both individuals and businesses, to help finance the war.

To help shape public opinion, particularly to support the war, opened the first modern propaganda office, the Committee on Public Information.

Toward the end of the war, when Wilson was debilitated by a stroke, his Attorney General began to target union members (particularly members of the Industrial Workers of the World) anarchists, and antiwar groups in attacks known as the Palmer Raids, arresting thousands for suspicion of sedition, espionage, and other crimes. While there was resistance to the raids, during this time there was a bomb attack on Wall Street that killed 20 and injured hundreds, making it the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil at that time.

The severity of Wilson's illness and the degree of his incapacity was hidden from the public and known only to his closest advisors. This situation lasted for months. Wilson was able to make decisions, but was clearly debilitated.

Next: Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge