Horse drawn carriage carrying incoming President Taft and President Theodore Roosevelt as they drive to the Capitol through the snow on March 4, 1909.
With Roosevelt's presidency drawing to an end in 1908, it was time to elect another president. Many still wanted progressives in office, and with the popularity of Theodore Roosevelt, there was great support for his handpicked predecessor and best friend, William Howard Taft. Taft would continue the progressive reforms of Roosevelt's presidency but did have some major differences from Roosevelt as well, particularly in the area of tariffs to protect businesses.
Presidential candidate William Howard Taft outside his campaign train in 1908
With the support of Teddy Roosevelt, Taft was selected as the Republican Party candidate for the 1908 presidential election. In the end, Taft received almost twice the number of electoral college votes as his opponent, William Jennings Bryan. During his presidency, Taft's policies became more conservative after the first year of his administration. Initially, he continued Roosevelt's policy of restricting big companies' size, and he actively pursued anti-trust cases.
Theodore Roosevelt addresses the Progressive National Convention on August 6, 1912. He gave a twohour speech in which he attacked both the Republican and Democratic parties as undemocratic.
Taft fought against Standard Oil and American Tobacco during his term in office and reduced the size of hundreds of other major businesses of the period. Instead of supporting his former protege, however, Teddy Roosevelt accused him of not distinguishing between "good" and "bad" trusts. In any case, Taft's constant negative interactions with the corporate elite wore him down. Taft's trust-busting efforts had won him few friends, and ultimately he chose to join rather than oppose big business interests. He claimed that his eventual unwillingness to continue a focus on trust-busting stemmed from a "narrow interpretation of presidential power." However, his apparent lack of resolve lost him the support of most progressives. During the presidential election of 1912, Roosevelt chose to run again.
| Which of Roosevelt’s policies did Taft continue as his presidency moved more towards a conservative level? | Restricting big company's size. |
| What disagreement dissolved the relationship between Roosevelt and Taft? What was the problem? | Taft's trust busting of big businesses. |
| During which election did Roosevelt decide to run against Taft and the Democratic candidate? | Election of 1912 |
