Pinback button promoting William Howard Taft for president, 1908/1912.
The hand-picked successor of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft was an able administrator but poor politician, and would not otherwise have been the Republican nominee in 1908. Despite having only nominal support from the party, he won handily over the perennial Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan. When in office, he bowed to the party establishment, appointing conservatives to key posts and blocking reform legislation. His actions alienated progressives, including Roosevelt.
The hand-picked successor of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, an able administrator but poor politician, would not otherwise have been the Republican nominee in 1908. Despite having only nominal support from the party, he won handily over the perennial Democratic candidate William Jennings Bryan. When in office, he bowed to the party establishment, appointing conservatives to key posts and blocking reform legislation. His actions alienated progressives, including Roosevelt.
In 1912, when Taft ran for reelection, Roosevelt challenged him in the primaries and later mounted a third party campaign which resulted in Taft's defeat in the general election and the presidency of Woodrow Wilson.
We offer an original campaign button picturing Taft.
