33. Harry S Truman

Of most of the presidents, Truman has seen some of the greatest increase in his popularity after leaving the White House. When he left office in 1952 his popularity stood at 22%. By comparison, Nixon had a 24% approval rating in 1974 when he resigned. Since Truman left, his favorability rating has increased, as historians and others have revisited his legacy. In recent years he is consistently in the top ten most important presidents, probably because he took on some very controversial topics with determination in spite of opposition.

Truman was certainly a “common man”. Other presidents were supportive of the rights and needs of the average American, but Harry Truman was one of them. Prior to entering politics, Harry worked as a farmer, a clerk, a timekeeper for the Sante Fe railroad, served in the Army during WWI and owned a small business. Truman had wanted to enter West Point after graduating high school, but his poor eye sight kept him out. When he went to join the Missouri National Guard, he reportedly memorized the eye chart.

When the U.S. entered WWI in 1917 Truman’s National Guard unit was activated and sent to France. Commissioned as an officer in a field artillery unit, Truman was ultimately promoted to Major. The unit that he commanded saw action in several battles and provided support for George S. Patton. After the war Truman returned to Missouri and married Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia.

After the war, Truman became part owner in a haberdashery. I always thought a haberdashery was where one would but a hat. Turns out that it’s a store where you buy sewing items, not hats. The business was successful, but ran into hard times and went bankrupt during the recession of 1921. Probably should have sold hats.

During the war Truman had met James Pendergast, the nephew of Tom Pendergast. Tom Pendergast was the “boss” of the Kansas City Democratic Party. With the support of Pendergast, Truman entered politics and won several elections as a judge and appointments to various commissions. In 1934 Truman was “selected” by Pendergast to run for U.S. Senate (after three other people turned him down). Truman won the Democratic nomination and went on to beat the Republican incumbent by 20%.

There were allegations of corruption within the Pendergast organization. During Truman’s first Senate term a federal investigation was launched into alleged illegal activities by the Pendergast machine. Eventually Tom Pendergast was sent to prison for tax evasion. Truman was not implicated in any of the criminal activities and was not injured politically.

While still on his first Senate term, Truman co-wrote the Truman-Austin bill that created the Civil Aeronautics Board, a precursor to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). He spoke out against corporate greed and the dangers of the influence of money in politics. During this first term he was largely ignored by the FDR administration and had trouble even getting the White House secretary to return his calls.

He came to national attention when in his second term in the Senate he demanded an inquiry into allegations of fraud and waste within the defense industry. Named to head a Senate investigation what became known as the “Truman Committee” uncovered wide spread fraud and waste that cost the taxpayers $400,000 in just three years. Ultimately the committee saved the country an estimated $15 billion and Truman was being noticed.

In 1944 as FDR was preparing for an unprecedented fourth term, Truman was selected as his running mate (FDR had three different VP’s). Truman had one of the shortest VP careers in history. He was sworn in as VP on January 20th 1944 and then President on April 12^th because of FDR’s death. Only Tyler had a shorter term as VP. Truman had been an active VP, but he spent little time with FDR. Immediately after the inauguration FDR left for a summit in Yalta with Churchill and Stalin. Crucially, when FDR returned from this conference he did not share any information with Truman. All Truman knew was what he read in the newspaper. In late March FDR left for his vacation home in Warm Springs, Georgia, where he died two weeks later.

One of the crucial decisions that Truman made in his first term was the decision to drop the atomic bombs on Japan. Prior to becoming president, Truman had never heard of the Manhattan Project or the bomb. He hinted about the bomb at the Potsdam Conference to Stalin, but Stalin knew about bomb well before Truman through espionage. With the war winding down (Germany surrendered on May 8th and Japan surrendered on Aug 14th, 1945) Truman was faced with challenges on multiple fronts: the start of the Cold War, rising inflation, labor strikes, recognition of Israel, shortages of housing and other items, and how to deal with the defeated Axis nations.

With the end of the war the Soviets began to gain control of many of the countries in Eastern Europe, including Poland, the invasion of which by the Germans started the war. Truman was uncertain what agreements had been made in Yalta and found it difficult to counter Stalin. At one point the Soviets cut off access to Berlin for the Allies. Truman responded with the Berlin Airlift (unofficially called Operation Vitals) which lasted for almost a year to get crucial supplies in to the people of Berlin. The Soviets finally blinked and reopened access.

One of the biggest policy successes of any modern president was the Marshall Plan. Truman worked with his Secretary of State to create a plan to help Europe recover from the devastation of war. Over the course of four years, the US spent more than $12.5 billion helping to promote quick recovery.

In the spring of 1946 a national rail road strike started, bringing a halt to almost all cargo and passenger rail traffic. Truman threatened to take over the railroads and draft any strikers into the military. Before he could implement the policy Truman received word that the strike had ended largely on terms that he sought. This was one of the few domestic successes that Truman could claim in his first term. Most of his domestic efforts were thwarted by congress. The midterm elections were a disaster for Truman when the Republicans gained control of both houses for the first time since 1930. Congress passed the Taft-Hartley act which was aimed at reducing the power of unions. Even though Truman vetoed the bill, Congress had the votes to override his veto.

One of Truman’s furthest reaching policies didn’t need congressional approval. Using an Executive Order, Truman ended segregation in the military. When he started calling for an end to the “Jim Crow” segregation laws in the south, he lost support within his own party. In fact, when this was written into the 1948 Democratic Party platform, South Carolina Governor Strom Thurmond formed a third party called the States’ Rights Party (or Dixiecrats). At this stage Truman’s popularity was at an all time low.

In what has been seen as master political play, Truman called Congress into a special session to give them a chance to carry out the party pledges. When Congress proved unable to pass anything, Truman went on the campaign trail railing against a “do-nothing” Republican Congress. Truman was able to energize rural and minority voters and was elected to his own term in office. Famously, the Chicago Tribune acted too quickly and ran a front page story declaring “DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN”.

After WWII, Korea was divided into two countries. In 1950 the North Korean leader, in an attempt to unite the country, invaded South Korea. The US supported South Korea and immediately sent supplies. Truman then supported a UN resolution for military sanctions against North Korea. US forces joined militaries from 15 other nations to defend South Korea under the umbrella of the UN. General Douglas MacArthur was given command of the overall operation. The whole UN sanctioned action was considered a police action designed to protect South Korea. When MacArthur was successful in pushing the North Koreans almost to the Chinese border, Chinese forces (after several warnings) pushed back the UN forces. MacArthur requested permission to extend the war into China. Truman returned to the UN mission of a police action and denied the request. After MacArthur publically attacked the policy, Truman fired him in April 1951. MacArthur was very popular in the US and decision to fire him has been one of the most unpopular political decisions made by a president.

By 1952 Truman was so unpopular that he decided not to seek another term. However, in more recent years his reputation has increased under observation with the benefit of passing time.  This resurgence is due largely to his ability and determination to make tough decisions and not politically popular decisions.  Examples include:

• The firing of MacArthur and the protecting the civilian control of the military
• The ending of segregation in the military
• Support for the creation of several post WWII entities:  the UN, NATO and the State Israel.
• The Berlin Airlift to prevent the USSR from bullying the western powers out of Berlin
• Support and implementation of the Marshall Plan

Fun Facts:

• The 22nd amendment limited the president to two terms. While this was approved during Truman’s term in office, he was grandfathered and able to run in 1952 if he had chosen to. The 22nd amendment actually states that if a VP serves more than 2 years of his predecessors term he/she can only serve one of their own
• Truman joined the KKK in Missouri to gain their support for a judge’s seat. He then asked to have his membership cancelled and never attended a meeting
• Notified of FDR’s death in a meeting with Eleanor Roosevelt, Truman asked if there was anything he could do for her. Her response was “Is there anything we can do for you? For you are the one in trouble now.”
• There is debate about whether or not the S in his middle name should have a “.” after it. The S is not an abbreviation for anything; his middle “name” is S. Truman apparently didn’t care and his official presidential papers include the “.”
• Truman is one of nine presidents that did not attend college: Washington, Jackson, Van Buren, Taylor, Fillmore, Lincoln, A. Johnson, and Cleveland. Truman is the only 20th century (or later) president that did not attend college
• As an ex-president, Truman was invited to speak at a Reserve Officer Association meeting in Philadelphia. Rather than fly, Truman decided to drive and included stops in DC and New York. During this trip he was pulled over by a policeman for driving too slow in a passing lane
• After LBJ signed the Medicare bill, the first two cards were given to Harry and Bess Truman due to Truman’s support of government health care
• Truman’s support was crucial to the creation of Israel
• His financial circumstances after his presidency led to the creation of a pension for former presidents

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Elizabeth “Bess” Virginia Wallace (1885-1982, m: 1919)
• Children: Mary Margaret (1924-2008)
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party
• Presidency: 1945-1953
• Born: May 8, 1884 (Lamar, Missouri)
• Died: December 26, 1972 (Kansas City, Missouri)

32. Franklin Roosevelt

Few presidents have had the lasting impact that Franklin Delano Roosevelt has had on American life. Lincoln, with the preservation of the Union and Emancipation Proclamation, and Washington, with his voluntary limitation to two terms and peaceful hand-over of power, come to mind. This impact was due in part to the fact that FDR is the only president to serve more than two terms (Nixon is the only person to spend more time as president or vice president). However, his legacy was pretty secure after his first two terms. After all, he led the nation through two of our most severe crises: the Great Depression and World War II.

Roosevelt entered New York politics with immense family wealth and a famous name. His distant cousin Theodore had been a popular governor of New York and president. As a state senator, he supported women’s suffrage and challenged powerful business interests. These policies led some Republicans to call FDR a “traitor to his class”. This is also the title of the biography that I read on FDR, written by H. W. Brands. Throughout his political career FDR consistently supported the rights of the common man against the interests of business and wealthy elite. I haven’t found anything that explains these views given his privileged background except to say that he knew he was given vast opportunities due solely to his being born into wealth and felt a sense of responsibility to support those that weren’t lucky enough to be born rich.

Early in his career FDR was already considering following in his cousin’s footsteps to running for president. He supported Wilson in the 1912 election (even though his cousin was running on the Bull Moose party). When Wilson won, FDR accepted a position as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy (the same position Teddy held during the McKinley administration). In this position FDR advocated for modernizing the Navy and, when World War I broke out, increasing its size. When war did begin FDR briefly considered following his cousin’s script, which would have meant resigning and joining the military to fight. Ultimately he decided against that track due in part to pressure from powerful people who felt that it would be derelict to abandon a job he had proved very good at with the Navy.

After the war he ran unsuccessfully in 1920 to be vice president. The presidential election of 1920 is an interesting one. During that election, six future or former presidents were in the running; Wilson (D), FDR (D), Hoover (R), Coolidge (R), Harding (R) and Theodore Roosevelt (Bull Moose). The election would ultimately be won by Harding.

FDR was stricken with what at the time was diagnosed as polio the following August 1921. He spent much of the next several years convinced that he was not permanently paralyzed and tried everything he could to regain his ability to walk. Eventually he was able to learn how to walk short distances with leg braces. He was always careful to not be seen in public in a wheelchair.

In 1928 he followed the next step in his cousin’s path by running for and winning the governors’ race in New York. During his two (two-year) terms as governor, FDR supported the reforestation of land, regulation of working hours, unemployment benefits and state control of the energy industry.

Due in large part to the continuing depression, FDR won the presidential election in 1932 by a wide margin over the incumbent Hoover. In fact, FDR won all four elections by wide electoral margins; the closest race was 1944 when he won 432-99 over Thomas Dewey.

The election of 1932 surrounded the government’s role in resolving the financial crisis. Hoover followed a cautious approach and believed that communities needed to help each other. FDR promised the New Deal; he defined his plan as series of federal programs to deliver aid to people, increased regulation of the stock market, stopping overproduction of certain crops and more government control of power utilities. He achieved many of these within the first 100 days of his administration.

In March 1933, when FDR took office the unemployment rate stood at 25%, farm prices had fallen by 60% and industrial output was done by half. FDR took office during the worst financial crisis in the nation’s history. On the eve of his inauguration 32 of the 48 states had closed their banks. For a long time I thought that when he stated “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” that he was talking about World War II. Rather, he used this phrase during his first inaugural speech in 1933 as reference to the banking crisis.

The first effort that FDR put forth was to stabilize the banking system. He called a special session of Congress and got to work. Congress passed the Emergency Banking Act to provide assistance to banks in trouble. FDR then cut the wages of federal employees to free up more money that could be sent to the local and state agencies as relief grants.

He then started up a series of programs to include large construction projects, clean-up work and conservation to get people back to work. As confidence began to grow, Roosevelt pushed more and more ideas through. He set up agencies to reform banking regulations, helped negotiations between businesses and employees, established a minimum wage and maximum work hours. The senses of urgency helped him get almost everything he wanted through Congress. Some days the administration would propose legislation, get it debated by Congress and signed into act by the president in the same day!

Historians generally group the New Deal into three categories: Relief, Recovery, and Reform. Relief bills were to get aid to the people that needed it, recovery bills were expected to get the economy moving again and reform bills implemented long-term systemic changes to the system.

A quick look at these bills introduced during FDR’s first term should be familiar:

Relief

Federal Emergency Relief Administration – designed to give aid to state agencies (created under Hoover, but greatly expanded)

Civil Works Administration (CWA) – provided work to a large number of men during the winters of 1933 and 1934

Work Projects Administration (WPA) – included road repair, building schools and libraries

Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) – provided work to men in the areas of land improvement

National Youth Administration (NYA) – funded part-time jobs for high school and college students (Lyndon Johnson took advantage of this program.)

Recovery

Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) – purchased surplus crops and paid farmers to reduce production; designed to restore crop prices (ruled unconstitutional)

National Recovery Administration (NRA) – designed to provide assistance to businesses by creating codes of fair conduct (ruled unconstitutional)

Public Works Administration (PWA) – designed to create jobs by building large public infrastructure; dams, irrigation systems and flood control projects

Reform

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – guaranteed deposits into participating banks up to a certain amount

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – empowered to monitor the sale of stocks and bonds

Reciprocal Trade Agreements Act – empowered the president to negotiate trade agreements with other countries to lower taxes (This act created the “most favored nation status”.)

Federal Housing Administration (FHA) – insured home loans up to 80% of the home value.

Tennessee Value Authority (TVA) – created dams, provided electricity to people within seven states for the first time.

Social Security Act – provided a minimum income to people in old age

National Labor Relations Act – guaranteed workers the right to organize and bargain collectively

Some of these things were found to be completely or in part unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. This led FDR to an attempt to “stack the court” by increasing the size by as many as six new justices. This radical attempt at a power grab was even resisted by his fellow Democrats. The U.S. Constitution does not set the number of justices that sit on the Supreme Court; rather, it is left up to Congress to decide. They have had as few as six and as many as ten. The Supreme Court has been fixed at nine since 1869.

Most historians generally agree that while elements of the New Deal provided needed relief, the Great Depression did not end until the start of World War II. The United States supported the Allies including the Soviet Union and China through a series of Lend-Lease activities where we, in essence, sold them military equipment (tanks, planes, guns, etc). The deal was that we were not selling them the supplies because that could be seen as an act of war. Instead we expected the equipment returned. Robert Taft’s response was, “Lending war equipment is a good deal like lending chewing gum. You don't want it back.”

Writing about FDR in WWII is an entire post in itself, but he is credited with preparing the country for a war that he felt was inevitable even while he maintained a public neutral stance. He supported Churchill in launching an attack from the south (i.e. through Africa and Italy) instead of Stalin’s plea for a second front in Europe. In the late stages of the war, the decisions and agreements that FDR made with Stalin and Churchill would shape Europe and much of the world for the next 40 years, primarily the division of Germany and the fate of Eastern Europe (including Poland, for whom the British entered the war to defend).

During his inauguration address in 1941, FDR laid out principals that are carved into the monument in Washington DC: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want and freedom from fear. The last two expanded on the traditional Bill of Rights, but were based on the aftermath of the Great Depression and the ongoing war in Europe.

FDR’s legacy is secure (whether you agree with his policies or not) between the social safety nets, the government projects to try to end the Depression and his part in WWII.

Party Trivia:

• In 1945, because of FDR’s work with the March of Dimes organization, Congress voted to put his image on the coin. (He cofounded the organization in 1938 initially to combat polio.)
• He appointed eight justices to the Supreme Court, and only Washington appointed more (ten).
• By 1941 eight of the nine justices were FDR appointees.
• Teddy Roosevelt was also Eleanor Roosevelt’s uncle in addition to being a distant cousin of FDR’s.
• He was on the losing ticket as a vice presidential candidate in 1920. James Cox was the presidential candidate and lost to Warren Harding.
• FDR was only 38 years old when he was nominated by his party to be vice president, four years younger than his cousin Teddy.
• He is one of only two people to run for president or vice president five times for a major party. Nixon was the other. They both won four times and lost once.
• There is speculation that FDR suffered from Guillain-Barre syndrome, not polio.
• The twentieth amendment to the Constitution changed the date of the presidential inauguration from March 4th to January 20^th, reducing the time for a lame duck president. The longer time was needed in the early years when transportation and communication took longer.
• He issued Executive Order 9250 in October 1942, later to be rescinded by Congress, which raised the marginal tax rate for salaries exceeding $25,000 (after tax) to 100%, thereby limiting salaries to $25,000 (about $356,000 today)

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Anna Eleanor Roosevelt
• Children: Anna Eleanor (1906-1975), James (1907-1991), Franklin Delano Jr. (1909-1909), Elliot (1910-1990), Franklin Delano Jr. (1914-1988), John Aspinwall (1916-1981)
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party
• Presidency: 1933-1945
• Born: January 30, 1882 (Hyde Park, New York)
• Died: April 12, 1945 (Warm Springs, Georgia)

31. Herbert Hoover

There are two or three obscure presidents (or as my niece Sydney would call them “Forgotten Presidents”) that I don’t think deserve to be swept under the rug of American history. For various reasons I think that these men in their way did great things for the American people. In chronological order I would list James K. Polk, Rutherford B. Hayes and Herbert Hoover. Not that I’m going to try and convince you that Hoover should be considered a great president. I’m not that creative.

Hoover is one of the most accomplished men to sit in the president’s chair. Born in Iowa in 1874, Hoover was the middle child. Unfortunately, both his parents would die before he was ten years old. Various family members stepped up to take in the three children, but the siblings were split up. At the age of eleven he was sent to live with his uncle in Oregon. Hoover then went on to college at the newly opened Stanford University where he earned a degree in geology. Hired by a British Mining company, Bewick, he traveled first to Australia and then China working in mines. In between those two assignments he traveled back to California to marry his college sweetheart, Louise “Lou” Henry, a fellow geology student.

While they were living in China, the Boxer Rebellion put them under siege for several weeks. Hoover helped guide the marines though the town based on his knowledge. Eventually he made a vast fortune from investments in mining. By some accounts he was the second richest man to hold the high office (Washington is considered wealthier). As early as 1910 (at the age of 34) he was earning over $2.5 million dollars a year.

Hoover and his wife were at their home in London when the First World War broke out. When tens of thousands of Americans found themselves stuck in England they turned to the American consulate in London for help. The American ambassador at a loss turned to Hoover for help. Hoover, using in part his personal fortune, helped find shelter, food and ultimately safe passage home for an estimated 120,000 Americans.

Based in part on this success Hoover was next asked to head up the Committee for the Relief of Belgium. Belgium faced a food crisis after the invasion by Germany. Hoover was asked to organize the obtainment and distribution of food to the Belgians. Working with both the Allies and Germans to insure that the food would get to the civilian population, he was able to distribute over two million tons of food to nine million Belgians.

Hoover was appointed head of the U.S. Food Administration by Wilson once the United States entered the war. In this capacity he called on people to conserve food so that it could be used to support the troops. Through his efforts food consumption in the U.S. dropped fifteen percent and helped avoid mandatory rationing. After the war was over, Hoover created the American Relief Administration to support people in many of the Central European countries. His efforts at feeding the starving people of these countries made him a hero in Europe. There were parades in his honor and at least two squares named after him in Belgium and Poland.

As part of this post WWI aid efforts Hoover also provide support for people in Germany and in Bolshevik-controlled areas of Russia. He faced criticism at home for bringing aid to the enemy. Hoover’s response? "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!" After the war, Time Magazine named him one of the “Ten Most Important Living Americans”.

As early as 1920, Hoover was being recruited to run for president. However, in 1920 it was the Democrats, and Hoover was still a registered (and committed) Republican. At this point Hoover believed that his public service was completed and he could return to private life. However, Warren Harding convinced Hoover to join his cabinet as Secretary of Commerce. Over the next eight years under Harding and then Coolidge, he brought his mining background to government. He implemented programs to regulate manufacturing standards for common products like nuts, bolts, and automotive tires.

Recalling his experience during and after WWI, Coolidge called on Hoover to help Americans affected by the severe flooding of the Mississippi River in 1927. (This is an important episode in Hoover’s career because it showed the approach that he would use during the Great Depression.) He took charge of the relief efforts and rallied business leaders to lend the resources needed to help. Probably due in part to his Quaker upbringing, he firmly believed that the public needed to join together to overcome such disasters and that it wasn’t the role of government to jump in and provide support. At the time, he stated, “I suppose I could have called in the Army to help, but why should I, when I only had to call upon Main Street.”

When Coolidge announced that he would not seek re-election in 1928, Hoover was the natural choice for the Republican party. His opponent in the 1928 election was Alfred Smith, the governor of New York. Given his popularity, national reputation and the booming economy, Hoover won in a landslide with 58% of the popular vote and 444 electoral votes (out of 531).

The honeymoon did not last long. Within eight months of taking office the stock market crashed in October 1929. The ultimate crash was not within a single day, taking place over several months. There were multiple tallies, but the Dow would eventually lose 89% of its value by July 1932. It would not get back to its pre-crash levels until November 1954.

Hoover encouraged state and local governments to embark on building projects to get people back to work. During this time, work was started on the Hoover Dam, the largest concrete project that had been undertaken to date. The dam was not completed until Hoover was out of office. FDR dedicated the dam as the Boulder Dam, and it was not renamed the Hoover Dam until 1947.

Still not believing that the federal government should play a role, Hoover was slow to embark on major legislation. His reaction, when it came, was to increase taxes on corporations and the top tax rate from 28% to 64% (the largest peace time tax increase). In spite of heavy opposition, Hoover also signed the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in June 1930 which raised tariffs on 20,000 imported goods to record levels. The effect of this was that other countries followed suit; U.S. imports declined 66% and exports 61%. It is believed that while this was not the sole cause of the 10-year depression, it didn’t help. Before the tariff was passed, unemployment was 7.8%. In 1931 it was 16.3% and by the time Hoover left office unemployment was at 25.1%. Some historians blame the debate and passage in the House in May 1929 of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff for the stock market crash in October 1929.

In June 1932, World War I veterans were camping outside of Washington D.C. to urge Congress to pay out promised bonuses earlier. The bonuses were set up based on how many days the person spent in the Army (different amounts depending on overseas service versus stateside service). The deal was that a veteran would be given a certificate on his birthday in 1925, with payment on his birthday in 1945 (for no apparent reason whatsoever). Most of the veterans left Washington empty-handed, but about 2,000 stayed longer. The police attempted to remove the demonstrators and, in the intervening action, shots were fired. Two protestors were killed and several policemen injured.

Hoover sent in the Army under the command of General Douglas MacArthur. Two of his lower ranking officers were Dwight Eisenhower and George Patton. MacArthur, believing that he was fighting a Communist revolution, decided to clear the camp by force. Hoover had specifically sent word that force was not to be used, but MacArthur ignored the order. By the commencement, hundreds of protestors were injured. This was another black mark on Hoover’s record with just a few months before the election. Hoover lost horribly to FDR in 1932.

In his “retirement” years, Hoover remained busy. During World War II, Hoover was called on to head the Polish Relief Commission in a similar fashion to the work he completed during World War I. His work was expanded by President Truman when he was named to head the Famine Relief Commission. In 1947 he headed the Hoover Commission, which was asked to review all aspects of the federal government and make recommendations on improving its functioning. The Hoover Commission made 300 recommendations that were approved by Congress. Eisenhower called on Hoover to head a similar commission in 1953. In total, 71% of the first commission’s recommendations were enacted and 64% of the second commission’s.

Hoover died at the age of 90 in 1964 in New York City. Over time his presidency has been reconsidered and he generally gets higher marks today than in 1932. Many of the things he enacted were precursors to the tools that FDR used during his presidency. In spite of the problem that he had dealing with the Great Depression, Hoover was a remarkable man with many talents and accomplishments.

Trivia:

• Hoover gave his White House servants strict orders to hide from him whenever he passed by. Failure to hide could get someone fired.
• Born in West Branch, Iowa, Hoover was the first president born west of the Mississippi River.
• His first job was picking bugs off potato plants as a child.
• Hoover and Jackson are the only presidents to have been orphaned prior to reaching adulthood.
• Herbert Hoover has the record for longest retirement. He lived 31 years and 230 days after leaving office. Jimmy Carter will pass him on September 7th, 2012.
• Hoover was one of two presidents that were Quakers. (Nixon was the other.)
• There are claims that Hoover was the first student at Stanford University. He was in the first class admitted to Stanford, and claims that he was the first student because he was the first person to sleep in the dormitory.
• Hoover is the most recent cabinet secretary to be elected President of the United States.
• He is one of only two Presidents (along with William Howard Taft) to have been elected without previous electoral experience or high military rank.
• The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square Hooverplein in his honor.
• Hoover’s opponent in 1928 was Alfred Smith, the first Roman Catholic to run for president from a major party.
• His vice-president, Charles Curtis is notable for two reasons; he was almost 50% Native American and was born in the territory of Kansas (not the state).
• Hoover was honored with a state funeral, the last of three in a span of 12 months, coming as it did just after the deaths of President John F. Kennedy and General Douglas MacArthur.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Louise “Lou” Henry (1875-1944, m. 1899)
• Children: Herbert Charles (1903-1969), Alan Henry (1907-1993)
• Party affiliation: Republican Party
• Presidency: 1929-1933
• Born: August 10th, 1874 (West Branch, Iowa)
• Died: October 20th, 1964 (New York, New York)

30. Calvin Coolidge

“Silent Cal”, as Calvin Coolidge was nicknamed, lived up to the moniker. He was quiet, introverted, unexciting and good natured. It was probably the exact qualities that the country needed after WWI and the continuing scandals from the Harding administration. The worst of the scandals did not truly unfold until after Harding’s death. Coolidge was known to be a good public speaker, but to the point. At the various receptions and parties he was very quiet. This led to a famous story wherein Coolidge was seated next to Dorothy Parker at a dinner party. Ms. Parker said to Coolidge, “Mr. Coolidge, I've made a bet against a fellow who said it was impossible to get more than two words out of you." His famous reply: "You lose.” She was also quoted upon hearing of his death “How can they tell?”

Coolidge was born in a small town in Vermont, the oldest of two children (he had a sister Abigail). Tragedy struck the family when his mother died when Coolidge was only twelve years old. His mother had a history of health problems and probably died from tuberculosis. He took the loss hard and carried a picture of his mother with him the rest of his life. The picture of his mother was in his jacket pocket when he died. Later when he was eighteen his younger sister, Abigail, died at the age of fifteen from appendicitis.

After graduating from Amherst College, Coolidge followed his father’s advice and started the study of law. Rather than pursue a formal law degree he followed the still common practice of apprenticing with an established law firm; Hammond & Field. After passing the Massachusetts bar Coolidge opened his own law firm in Northampton. Coolidge won his first election in 1898 when he won a seat on the Northampton city council at the age of twenty-six. Over the next decade he would win a series of city elections and prove himself to be a loyal Republican. In 1906 his notice within the state Republican Party paid off with a nomination as a Massachusetts state representative. He won a close election over his Democratic opponent. While serving two terms in the lower house Coolidge supported Women’s Suffrage and the direct election of U.S. Senators (Senator’s were elected by state legislatures until passage of the 17th amendment in 1913).

Rather than seek a third term in the legislature Coolidge returned to Northampton to run for mayor. Coolidge served two one-year terms as mayor. During his terms he increased teacher salaries, lowered taxes and still managed to reduce the town’s debt. Winning election to the state senate in 1911 Coolidge moved back to Boston. He would end up serving three terms in the state senate, serving as President of the Senate in his last term. Even though he considered himself a progressive, he refused to leave the Republican Party during the split between Taft and Roosevelt.

In 1915 Coolidge won election as the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. As Lieutenant Governor his duties were pretty limited. At that time the position of Governor (and Lieutenant Governor) were one year terms. Coolidge served a total of three years as Lieutenant Governor. In 1918 the current Governor, Samuel McCall, decided not to run. Coolidge announced his intent to run for Governor. What Coolidge couldn’t know at that time was that winning the election for Governor in 1918 and his actions during that time would thrust him into the national spotlight and eventually the vice-presidency.

In 1919 there were rumors that the Boston Police were attempting to form a union. The police chief stated that such a move would not be tolerated. When the union was formed the police chief threatened to fire the union leaders for insubordination unless the union was dissolved. When he went about his threat, about three quarters of the policemen went on strike. After that the Mayor of Boston removed the police commissioner and called up the National Guard stationed in the Boston area. Coolidge was furious that a Mayor believed he could call up state resources and acted. His first moves were to call up more National Guard units, restore the police chief and fire all of the striking officers.

That night Coolidge received a telegram from the AFL leader stating that the right of the police had been denied by the police chief and tried to get support from Coolidge. Coolidge responded publically stating in part “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, any time”. This tough stand against the police union raised his profile within the Republican Party with some saying that he should be the candidate for president in 1920. It did get him on the ticket with Warren Harding the suggested year.

When Harding died in 1923 Coolidge became president. In the remaining eighteen months of Harding’s term Coolidge created a calming sense in the nation by guiding it out of the scandalous years of the Harding administration. He continued the business friendly policies of the Harding administration. Firmly believing that “The chief business of the American people is business” his policies were for a more hands-off government when it came to business. He selected people to head the Federal Trade Commission and the Interstate Commerce Commission who shared the view that less government interference is better. In fact it has been said that the regulatory state under Coolidge was “thin to the point of invisibility”. This created the environment for the “Roaring Twenties” or the “Golden Era”. Businesses flourished and it seemed that everyone was better off.

Coolidge cut taxes four times and by 1927 only the top 2% of Americans paid any income tax. At the same time, by keeping spending under control, Coolidge was able to retire 25% of the federal debt. This is the model that future Republicans (Ronald Reagan in particular) refer to whenever they want to cut taxes to spur growth.

A major piece of domestic legislation during his tenure was the McNary-Haugen Bill which was intended to help farmers from fluctuations in crop prices by allowing the federal government to buy surpluses at a fixed price and sell them abroad. Coolidge vetoed this bill twice believing that it violated free trade principles. Some believe that this made the depression worse for farmers.

In 1927 the Mississippi river flooded, devastating large areas of the south. Coolidge opposed a congressional relief bill that would give financial support to the hard hit areas. Coolidge did not believe that federal policies should favor one section of the country over another section. The bill passed in spite of his opposition, starting an expansion of federal government intervention in natural disasters at a time when most people believed that this type of intervention should be left to the states.

As the 1928 election approached Coolidge announced that he would not run for reelection. The country was shocked, because at that time he was a very popular president. Coolidge didn’t give any reason at the time, however, in his memoirs he says "The Presidential office takes a heavy toll of those who occupy it and those who are dear to them. While we should not refuse to spend and be spent in the service of our country, it is hazardous to attempt what we feel is beyond our strength to accomplish." Coolidge and his wife retired back to Northampton where he lived until 1933 when he died of a heart attack.

The economics of a major economy is a very complicated subject. Some have argued that Coolidge’s hands-off policy toward business and the reduction in regulation and oversight contributed to the bubble and subsequent burst in the economy. Yes, he oversaw a period of incredible growth, but his policies may have also contributed to crash of 1929 and the Great Depression. It is hard to believe that any single person can control or direct the American economy, but a little oversight might have prevented (or lessened) the crash. The bubble was similar to the Tech bubble in the 1990’s or the more recent housing bubble. One could argue that more regulatory oversight could have prevented or lessened the impact of those as well. It is a hard thing to know when the regulation is constraining the economy and when it is protecting it.

In particular, Coolidge didn’t act risky business practices such as buying stocks on margin (i.e. borrowing money to buy stocks). This practice was exactly what happened during the Tech bubble where people not wanting to miss out on big gains borrowed money.

Trivia to impress!

• Upon Harding’s death Calvin Coolidge was initially sworn in as president by his father who was a justice of the peace. He was subsequently sworn in by Justice Adolph Hoehling of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. Many believed that it was not sufficient for a local official to administer the oath of office to the president. It’s hard to say, but Coolidge would have taken the same oath of office when he was sworn in as vice-president, so was it really necessary to take the oath of office again?
• At the inauguration of his only full term he was sworn in by Chief Justice and former president Taft, becoming the first president to be sworn in by a former president
• Coolidge liked to have his head rubbed with petroleum jelly while eating his breakfast in bed
• Every so often Coolidge would press all the buttons on the president’s desk and hide and watch his staff run in. He would then jump out and say he was just checking to see if everyone was working.
• He is the only president to be born on the 4th of July (1872)
• Calvin Coolidge Jr. died at the age of 16 while his father was president. He contracted an infection after not taking care of blisters that formed from playing tennis. Coolidge is one of five presidents that had children die while they were president; J. Adams, Jefferson, Lincoln and Kennedy. In addition, Pierce’s son died after he won the election, but before he was inaugurated.
• Calvin Coolidge’s birth name was John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. after his father. I assume to distinguish between the two he chose to go by Calvin rather than John. Where I get confused is if he named his second son Calvin Coolidge, Jr. Wouldn’t it have been more appropriate to name the son John Calvin Coolidge III? I couldn’t find anything where Calvin officially changed his name.
• Coolidge did not believe in the benefits of privilege and insisted that his children work. In one case, his son Calvin Jr. started a job as a farm hand the day after his father was inaugurated. One of his coworkers stated that “If my father was president I wouldn’t be working here,” to which Calvin Jr. replied “If your father were my father you would.”
• His vice-president during his full term, Charles Dawes, is the only vice-president to win the Nobel Peace Prize which he received for his work related to WWI reparations (The Dawes Plan). Dawes also had a #1 pop single for music he wrote that was used for the hit song “It’s all in the Game”. The song was recorded by several artists including Tommy Edwards, Elton John, Barry Manilow, The Four Tops, Van Morrison and Nat “King” Cole to name a few.
• Other things that happened during his time in office:
• Babe Ruth set a new home run record
• Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo flight across the Atlantic
• The Jazz Singer was released, it was the first major motion picture to use sound

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Grace Anna Goodhue (1879-1957, m. 1905)
• Children: John (1906-2000), Calvin Jr. (1908-1924) 
• Party affiliation: Republican Party
• Presidency: 1923-1929
• Born: July 4th, 1872 (Plymouth, Vermont)
• Died: January 5th, 1933 (Northampton, Massachusetts)

29. Warren Harding

Harding is consistently ranked as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history. He was a very successful self-made newspaper publisher from Ohio. Once he entered politics he served in the Ohio senate, as Lieutenant Governor of Ohio and as a U.S. Senator from Ohio. In spite of whatever preparation he had for the office of the president even in his day he was not well thought of. His one shortened term in office was overtaken by multiple scandals involving some of his closest advisors and friends.

I would bet that if you ask an average American what they know about Warren Harding you would get one of four responses.

1. “Who?”
2. “Didn’t he die in office”
3. “Wasn’t there a scandal involving teapot’s”
4. “Wasn’t he the president with the middle name Gamaliel”

When Harding was almost ten years old his father, George, bought a small newspaper. By the time he was in his teens Harding had learned how to handle simple printing jobs and could run a small printing press. After college Harding returned to Marion, Ohio and with two other partners bought the smallest of the towns newspapers, the Marion Star. By the time he was twenty-one he had made enough money to buy out his partners. Eventually his paper became so popular that the other papers couldn’t keep up and went out of business. Harding became active in many aspects of the town and his reputation grew:

• Member of the Chamber of Commerce
• A 33-degree Mason
• An Elk
• A Rotarian
• Played Coronet in the town band
• Managed the town baseball team (also playing 1st base)

While he popular with most of the people in Marion, he had repeated run-ins with one of the wealthiest men in town; Amos Hall Kling. Many of Harding’s political views that he published put him at odds with some of the political establishment including Kling. The relationship with Kling was not improved when in 1891 Harding married Kling’s daughter Florence. Kling started up a rival newspaper to try in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat Harding’s newspaper. In 1900 Kling secretly bought up all of Harding’s debts and called them due. Harding was able to raise the funds from other sources and paid the debts. The two were eventually able to get passed their differences.

Using the editorial pages of his newspaper to support various Republicans around the state brought Harding appreciation within the party. In 1887 Harding became a delegate to the Ohio State Republican Party Convention. Finally in 1900 he won his first political office by being elected to the Ohio State Senate. He served two terms in the State Senate and went on to become Lieutenant Governor. Losing a bid for Governor Harding returned to Marion and the work of the newspaper.

In 1914 Harding won a U.S. Senate election and spent six fairly undistinguished years in the Senate. For the most part he voted lock-step with the Republicans and didn’t introduce any important legislation. He voted for prohibition even though he was against it, he believed that the people of Ohio were in favor of the amendment. Not believing that the time was right for woman to vote, he still voted for the bill. He was definitely with the Republicans in their opposition to the League of Nations, especially a provision that seemed to commit American forces to support any other League member that was attacked.

Harding was convinced to run for president in 1920 by Harry Daugherty. Daugherty would goon to be Harding’s campaign manager and eventually his Attorney General. Once Harding was convinced, Daugherty went to work trying to secure the Republican nomination. Harding came in fourth on the first ballot at the convention. General Leonard Wood was the favorite, but couldn’t secure the required majority of votes. Republican leaders locked themselves away in a “smoke-filled room” (Room 404 of the Blackstone Hotel in Chicago) to decide who was the best compromise candidate. After an all-night session the tentative decision was made to nominate Harding. Harding was approached the next day and told about the decision, but was asked if there was anything in his past that could be a problem. In spite of rumors of adultery, Harding replied that there was nothing he could think of that could cause problems.

Harding won the general election with over 60% of the popular vote promising a “return to normalcy” after WWI, an economic downturn and eight years of a Democrat in the White House. When he started filling his cabinet he made some selections based on merit and some based on personal friendships. The three selections based on friendship would end up defining his administration and his legacy. Unfortunately not for the positive.

Before I get into the scandals, there were major positive thing that Harding accomplished. He signed into law the Budget and Accounting Act which, in part, requires the president to submit a budget to congress. It created much stricter accounting rules and made the presidential budget director accountable to the president and not the Secretary of the Treasury. The second was the creation of the Bureau of Veteran Affairs.

Harding did not agree to the Treaty of Versailles and the League of Nations and so he negotiated a separate peace with Germany and Austria finally bringing an official end to WWI. After the war he supported a broad reduction in naval power globally.

His old friend Harry Daugherty (the same man that convinced him to run for president) was made the Attorney General. In his position at the Justice Department Daugherty accepted bribes to grant immunity to people that illegally sold alcohol. He also accepted bribes from wealthy federal prisoners to grant them paroles. When this all came to light Daugherty tried to put the blame on his personal assistant, Jess Smith. Smith ended up committing suicide. Daugherty was ultimately acquitted after two trials.

The next scandal involved a friend named Charles Forbes at the Veteran’s Bureau. Forbes was convicted of selling off government medical supplies and taking kick-backs for approving new VA hospitals. When Harding confronted him Forbes fled to Europe. He ultimately returned to the U.S. and was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison, becoming the first former cabinet member to go to prison.

The biggest scandal did not fully come to light until after Harding died. This scandal involved Albert Fall at the Department of the Interior. The Teapot Dome scandal, as it has become known, involved the illegal leasing of federal oil deposits. The oil reserve had been set aside for use by the navy in case of an emergency. There were two locations involved, one in California and one in Wyoming. The one in Wyoming was covered by a rock formation that looked like a teapot, giving it the name Teapot Dome. Fall was convicted of defrauding the government and sentenced to jail time.

Harding once said “I have no trouble with my enemies, but my damn friends, they’re the ones keeping me walking the floors as night.” The scandals were clearly taking a toll on Harding. A western trip was planned and Harding became the first president to visit Alaska (at that time a territory). On the trip home Harding fell ill in Seattle. His personal doctor determined that it was food poisoning and would not let any other doctor examine him. Several other doctors were convinced that Harding had suffered a heart attack. Harding died in San Francisco on August 2nd, 1923. His term in office was the shortest of any 20th century president.

I would also be remiss if I didn’t discuss the extra-marital affairs. Harding carried on at least two long affairs and it’s rumored there were two more. The longest one involved a young girl named Nan Britton that Harding met back in Marion when she was a teenager. When Harding moved to Washington he helped find her a job. There is a story about an encounter with Nan in a closet off the Oval Office with the Secret Service standing by to keep Harding’s wife out. Four years after Harding’s death Nan wrote a book claiming that Harding was the father of her child. The other affair went on for fifteen years with the wife of a good friend.

Talking about a president’s legacy is always subjective, but Harding’s term can’t be discussed with the scandals. While there was never any indication that Harding was complicit in any of the scandals (there were more than the big three) he did create an environment where he trusted his cabinet members to manage their departments without any oversight. When rumors about the scandals started Harding was slow to react.

Trivia:

• First sitting United States Senator to be elected president
• First (maybe only) newspaper editor to be elected president
• He was obsessed with playing poker and once bet (and lost) a complete set of priceless White House china
• First president to give a speech over the radio
• First president to own a radio
• First president to ride to his inauguration in a car
• He was the first president for whom woman could vote
• His mother held a medical license
• It’s rumored that his great-grandmother was African-American (this was brought up several times during his political career)
• He literally worked to preserve the Constitution by having it removed from the files of the State Dept., where it had been rotting, and had it placed in a protective glass case
• Harding won in 1920, a year that saw six past or future presidents running for either president or vice president; Harding, Wilson, Coolidge, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt and Hoover.
• The election of 1920 was the first to be carried live on the radio
• First president born after the Civil War

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Florence Mabel Kling (1860-1924, m. 1891)
• Children: None legitimate, one or two rumored illegitimate.  Florence had a son from a previous marriage. 
• Party affiliation: Republican Party
• Presidency: 1921-1923
• Born: November 2nd, 1865 (Blooming Grove, Ohio)
• Died: August 2nd, 1923 (San Francisco, California)

28. Woodrow Wilson

By many measures, Wilson was our most intellectual president.  In his time he was widely admired, in part for his writings on the role of government, the power of the presidency and the workings of government.  His most famous book is Congressional Government.  Published in 1885, it argued for a stronger presidency.  Wilson earned a PhD in History and Political Science from John’s Hopkins University in 1886 and eventually became the president of Princeton University. 

Wilson’s tenure as president of Princeton serves as a glimpse at what his tenure as president of the United States would look like a few years later.  Serving from 1902 – 1910, Wilson set to work quickly in the beginning to make changes that he felt would improve the success of Princeton.  He hired younger scholars and had them form discussions groups which increased the interaction between teachers and students.  Changing the curriculum to standardize some courses that every student would be required was his next step.  These and other changes made a noticeable difference in the academic standards in just four years. As he continued to try and make changes he eventually ran into opinion differences with the wealthy alumni and board members.  Wilson had wanted to centralize the university functions, creating Quads, or a series of four buildings with an interior square, and to move the graduate school closer. The concept of the Quad has become popular on college campuses today with its centralization of dining, housing and study areas.  He lost the fight for this centralization concept, in part because a wealthy donor had given money to build a graduate school away from the main campus.  After serving about eight years, Wilson left Princeton to run for Governor of New Jersey.

After winning the Democratic nomination, Wilson outlined his progressive platform for reforms in the state.  His ideas for reducing the power of party bosses and other forms of political influence made him very popular and he won the election in a landslide.  True to his word, in the first six months of his two year term he brought public utilities under state regulation, reorganized and improved the state school system and enacted antitrust legislation.

Wilson’s success as Governor of New Jersey made him a popular candidate for president in 1912.  He won the nomination at the Democratic convention in Baltimore in part because William Jennings Bryan threw his support behind him.  The presidential election was a closely contested race between Wilson, incumbent president Taft and ex-president Teddy Roosevelt.  Roosevelt had split from the Republican Party and formed a third party; the Bull Moose Party.  In the end Wilson pulled out an electoral college landslide (435 out of 531 electoral votes).  The election was much closer in the popular vote with Wilson getting 42%.

In characteristic Wilson fashion he hit the ground running by calling a special session of congress and announcing his plans.  The first issue he took on was high tariffs.  When the issue got bogged down in Congress, Wilson called a press conference and made an appeal directly to the people (the first time a president had used the press in this manner).  He pointed out that special interest groups were pressuring Congress to keep the high tariffs.  When huge amounts of letters started to arrive on congressmen’s desks, they folded and passed the legislation.  The Underwood Tariff returned tariffs to the levels of seventy years prior.  The revenue that was lost by lowering tariffs was recovered by the collection of the first individual income taxes that were allowed after the passage of the 16th amendment. 

Also in his first year he supported the creation of the Federal Reserve System to regulate banking.  This system of twelve regionally distributed banks was designed to help regulate banks.  The three main objectives given to the Fed (as it is informally known) were maximum employment, stable prices and moderate long term interest rates.  The main tool that the Fed has to accomplish these goals is to increase or decrease the amount of money in circulation.

Continuing on with his predecessor’s policies of antitrust legislation Wilson secured the creation of the Federal Trade Commission with the power to investigate unfair business practices.  He also secured passage of laws that made certain business practices illegal (price fixing, child labor, etc.) and a law that created a forty-hour maximum work week. 

In spite of the obvious success of Wilson’s first year in office, his second would prove to be much more difficult.  Several revolutions in Mexico had created an unstable government.  In April 1914 tensions between Mexico and the United States increased when American sailors were arrested in Mexico.  Wilson ordered a naval blockade to prevent German ships from delivering munitions.  A battle broke out in the city of Veracruz leaving about 500 people dead.  The countries of Columbia and Argentina offered to mediate peace terms, but fighting broke out again.  When Francisco “Pancho” Villa was ordered to start making raids into the United States in March 1916 (including sacking the town of Columbus, New Mexico) the fighting escalated.  Wilson ordered John “Black Jack” Pershing to lead an expedition into Mexico to capture Pancho Villa.  The expedition lasted almost a year and is largely considered a failure.  Finally in January 1917 both sides agreed to mediation and Pershing was recalled.  Pershing would eventually reach the rank of General of the Armies, only one of two ever to be given that rank and the only one to receive it in his lifetime (Washington was given the promotion by an act of Congress in 1976).

During the tensions with Mexico in 1914, Wilson’s first wife, Ellen, died from Bright’s disease.  They had been married almost 30 years.  In 1915, Wilson met and married his second wife Edith.

Much of the rest of his first term was taken up with World War I, which started in August 1914 (at the time referred to as either the World War or the Great War).  A great book to understand the origins of the First World War is The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman.  It is a bit difficult to understand how the assassination of someone in line to be head of the Austro-Hungarian Empire (Archduke Franz Ferdinand) by a Serbian would cause Germany to declare war on Russia and invade France, but it did. 

Wilson was successful in keeping the U.S. out of the war for the duration of his first term.  This was in spite of a lot of pressure from Republicans to build up the military in anticipation of war.  Wilson even attempted to mediate a peace between the warring parties.  In 1915 a German U-Boat sunk the Lusitania, a British ocean liner that the Germans claimed was transporting weapons.  Over 1000 passengers died, including 128 Americans.  After the outcry the Germans agreed to limit their aggression to clear military targets.  It is still not clear today if the Lusitania was carrying munitions.  Attempts have been unsuccessful to dive down to the final resting place and retrieve information to understand exactly what happened to the Lusitania.

Narrowly winning reelection in 1916, Wilson continued his peace initiatives.  The Central Powers  (Germany, etc) believed that victory was inevitable and the Allies would only agree to peace if the empires of their enemies fell.  Neither side wanted to budge.

Finally in April of 1917 with the resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare by the Germans and the discovery of the Zimmerman Telegram (in which Germany was trying to convince Mexico to attack the US), Wilson went to Congress to gain a declaration of war.  Germany was offering to help Mexico reclaim the territory they had lost during the Mexican-American War.  In his address to Congress, Wilson pointed to the telegram and submarine warfare as evidence that Germany was provoking war.  In his address he called it the “war to end war”, clearly already thinking ahead to his fourteen points and the League of Nations.  Wilson received a standing ovation for his speech, which was much more unusual than today.  He responded that “My message today was a message of death for your young men.  How strange it is to applaud that”.

The Germans surrendered in the November of 1918.  In the end, the United States lost 177,000 killed and 206,000 wounded.  This compared to the United Kingdom with 996,000 killed, France with 1.7 million killed and Russia with 3.3 million killed.  Among the Central Powers, Germany had 2.5 million killed, Austro-Hungary with 1.6 million killed and the Ottoman Empire with 2.9 million killed (13.7% of the population!).  The end of the war also saw the end of the Autro-Hungarion Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the German Empire and the Russian Empires (October Revolution and the rise of Communism).

Wilson went to work rolling out his Fourteen Points, which included the creation of the League of Nations.  The peace negotiations took place in Paris at the Palace of Versailles.  A great book on the topic of the negotiations is Paris 1919 by Margaret MacMillan.  Wilson was ultimately successful in the creation of the League of Nations with one major country opting out; the United States.  Historians are generally critical of Wilson because he drove forward with his Fourteen Points and the League of Nations without consulting leaders in Congress.  The end result was that he didn’t have the support in Congress and it failed to pass.  The Treaty of Versailles was never ratified by the U.S. Congress; it wasn’t until 1921 that there was a formal end to the hostilities between the U.S. and the Central Powers.

Campaigning tirelessly to get support for passage of the League of Nations, Wilson suffered a series of strokes, with the one of October 2nd, 1919 incapacitating him, leaving him paralyzed on his left side and blind in his left eye.  The public was never told the extent of his health.  He was essentially kept away from congressional leaders and the vice president for the remainder of his term.  This is the most serious case of a sitting president being incapacitated and was cited in the arguments for the 25th amendment.

Wilson retired from public office after the election of 1920 and lived until February 3rd, 1924.  His legacy is vast.  He was, arguably, the first U.S. President to be seen as a world leader.  His attempts at peace negotiations, his Fourteen Points and the League of Nations made him the most recognized global leader of his day.

Many modern politicians refer to Wilsonian diplomacy when they feel that the United States needs to get involved in a global issue; Korea, Vietnam, Kosovo, Somalia, Iraq, etc.  It is the belief, right or wrong, that the United States has the power, prestige and responsibility to make a difference in all of these areas and to stand up to people that would abuse the power of their office.

Trivia to impress random people on the street:

• Wilson would paint his golf balls black so that he could continue playing through the winter.
• Wilson was the first president to show a film in the White House: The Birth of Nation
• Wilson is the only president that earned a PhD; History and Political Science from Johns Hopkins University
• Wilson’s father served in the Confederate Army as a chaplain, caring for Confederate soldiers in his church in Richmond.
• As a young man Wilson saw Robert E. Lee in Richmond soon after the civil war
• Wilson was the first man associated with the South to be elected since Taylor
• He was only second Democrat to be elected since between 1860 and 1932 (Cleveland)
• He was the first president since John Adams to personally deliver his State of the Union Address to Congress
• His first name was Thomas, he chose to go by Woodrow instead of Thomas or Tom, that says a lot I think.
• Wilson only won 41.9% of the popular vote in 1912.  However low that seems it only ranks third lowest.  Lincoln only won 39.8% in 1860 and John Quincy Adams won the election with only 30.5% of the popular vote.
• It should be noted that while Wilson only received 41.9% of the popular vote his win was a landslide in the electoral college receiving 435 votes compared to Roosevelt with 88 votes and Taft with 8 votes.
• The federal highway system was also started during Wilson’s first term.
• Wilson is one of three presidents to be widowed while in office; Tyler, B. Harrison.  Jackson’s wife died after he was elected, but before he was inaugurated
• Wilson is one of three presidents to get married while in office; Tyler, Cleveland.
• In the 1916 election, if 1,500 more people in California had voted for his opponent (Charles Evan Hughes) Wilson would not have won re-election.
• When Wilson traveled to Europe to settle the peace terms, he visited Pope Benedict XV in Rome, making Wilson the first American President to visit the Pope while in office.
• In spite of his poor health at the end of his second term Wilson lived long enough to attend the funeral of his successor, Warren Harding.

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Ellen Louise Axson (1860-1914, m. 1885), Edith Bolling Galt (1872-1961, m. 1915) 
• Children: Margaret Woodrow (1886-1944), Jessie Woodrow (1887-1933), Eleanor Randolph (1889-1967) 
• Party affiliation: Democratic Party
• Presidency: 1913-1921
• Born: December 28th, 1856 (Staunton, Virginia) 
• Died: February 3rd, 1924 (Washington D.C.)

27. William Howard Taft

Probably the most reluctant of presidents, William Taft had no real desire to be president.  He often stated that a spot on the United States Supreme Court was his real goal.  However, in 1908 with Theodore Roosevelt deciding not to run, Taft was convinced by Republican leaders that he was the best person to continue Roosevelt’s policies.  Prior to becoming president Taft had a long, successful career in public service.  Four presidents appointed him government positions, to include cabinet posts.

Besides being president Taft is probably best known for being the first civilian Governor of the Philippine Islands.  Taft was sent to the Philippines in 1900 by President McKinley to help that country prepare for self-rule.  The country had been ruled over by the Spanish until they were defeated by the United States.  As part of the terms of the treaty, the Americans took control of several Spanish possessions, including the Philippines.  The United States had no interest in keeping the Philippines, but felt that they should help them set up a civilian system of governing. 

One of the biggest challenges turned out to be the current governor of the Philippines, Arthur MacArthur (Douglas MacArthur’s father).  MacArthur was the military governor of the Philippines who didn’t like giving up control to a civilian and certainly not a big fat one that smiled all the time.  Taft won the day and sent Arthur MacArthur packing.  Taft turned out to be a very successful governor and was very popular among the Filipinos.  In one instance, Taft took on the Catholic priests on the islands.  Under the Spanish the Catholic priests controlled huge estates.  They lost their holdings during the war with America, but wanted the lands restored.  The Filipinos blamed the priests for much of the tyranny they had endured during the Spanish occupation.  Taft worked out a deal that involved the United States compensating the Catholic priests for the land and them reselling the land to the Filipinos.

In 1903, President Roosevelt offered to nominate Taft for a seat on the Supreme Court, knowing that it was Taft’s ambition.  Taft was always dedicated to any task he took on, and in 1903 he didn’t feel that his work in the Philippines was complete and he decided to turn down the offer (Roosevelt would make the offer 2 or 3 times, but Taft always declined out of a sense of duty).  Finally, in 1904 Taft, feeling that his work in the Philippines was complete, accepted a position as Roosevelt’s Secretary of War.  Taft was one of Roosevelt’s top advisors for the next four years.  Believing that Taft would continue his policies, Roosevelt decided not to run for another term and convinced Taft to run.

Ironically it was Taft’s continuing Roosevelt’s drive to break up some of the big businesses that ultimately led to the break in their relationship.  During the one term of Taft’s administration they filed 90 anti-trust law suits compared to 54 under Roosevelt. The case involved U. S. Steel Corporation, run by J. P. Morgan and its acquisition of a Tennessee company while Roosevelt was president.  During the financial crisis of 1907 Morgan was approached by the government to try and help avoid a financial collapse.  U. S. Steel was allowed to buy several failing brokerage firms.  The firms owned stock in the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company.  This allowed the brokerage firms and the Tennessee company to remain in business.  The suit alleged that Morgan was essentially purchasing the Tennessee company under false pretenses and implied that Roosevelt (who approved the deal) and been played.  It was the naming of Roosevelt, by name, in the suit that caused the break in the relationship.  The break would have far reaching consequences, not just for the two men involved, but for the Republican Party as well.

Taft either never understood the political game, or felt that if he could produce results the politics wouldn’t matter.  Unfortunately for him his policies didn’t make either side of the Republican Party, nor the American people happy.  His support of the Payne-Aldrich Act to lower tariffs (and therefore the cost of goods) alienated businesses and some members of the Republican Party for lower tariffs.  It also angered the Progressive wing of the Republican Party by lowering them enough.  When the Senate finally passed the bill it was with some attachments that actually raised tariffs on some goods.

In the election of 1912 Roosevelt returned with the Bull Moose Party and split the Republican vote.  Taft came in third place behind Roosevelt in the general election losing of course to Woodrow Wilson.  Taft received only 8 electoral votes compared to 88 for Roosevelt and 435 for Wilson.

Happy to leave Washington, Taft returned to academia becoming a Law professor at Yale.  In one of his only positive acts, President Harding finally gave Taft what he had wanted, making him the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921.  It was this capacity that Taft made some long lasting and positive impacts.  He successfully lobbied Congress to appropriate money to build the Supreme Court its own building (where they sit today) and get them out of the old Senate chamber, believing that in order for the Supreme Court to be a completely separate third branch the new building was necessary.  The building wouldn’t be started until after Taft’s death.  Taft also advocated for the passage of the Judiciary Act of 1925.  The effect of this act is that it allowed the Supreme Court to pick and choose which cases it would hear based on the importance of the law in question.  This greatly reduced the back log of cases on the docket.  Taft remained on the Supreme Court until shortly before his death in 1930.

In the end he is considered, at best, the middle of the pack with respect to American presidents.  It doesn’t help his reputation that the presidents before and after him are both highly regarded.

Try these out at a party!

• At 325 pounds Taft was the heaviest president.  The story goes that he would frequently get stuck in the bath tub at the White House and have to be helped out.
• Taft was part of a line of influential Ohio politicians. 
  • His father served as Secretary of War and Attorney General for President Grant and then as a minister and ambassador under President Arthur.
  • His son Robert A. Taft would serve 4 terms as a United States Senator
  • His grandson, Robert A. Taft Jr., would be elected to the House of Representatives and a term in the United States Senate.
  • His great-grandson, Bob Taft would be serve as Governor of Ohio from 1999 – 2007
• As Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, Taft delivered the oath of office to two presidents; Coolidge and Hoover.
• Within a year of leaving office Taft lost 80 pounds.
• Taft is one of two presidents buried at Arlington Cemetery (Kennedy) and one of four Chief Justices.
• After a fire burned much of the town of Moron, California, in the 1920s, it was renamed Taft, California, in his honor.
• Taft is the last president to have facial hair.
• Contained within the Payne-Aldrich Act was the first corporate income tax.  This would become a significant source of revenue for the government.
• Taft appointed six judges to the Supreme Court; tied with Washington’s six and bested by F. D. R.’s nine.
• Taft was the first president to have a Presidential car

Vital Stats:

• Wife: Helen Herron (1891-1943, m. 1886)
• Children: Robert Alphonso (1889 – 1953), Helen Herron (1891 – 1987), Charles Phelps (1897 – 1983)
• Party affiliation: Republican Party
• Presidency: 1909-1913
• Born: September 15th, 1858 (Cincinnati, Ohio) 
• Died: March 8th, 1930 (Washington D.C.)