This collection of Taft's speeches, newspaper articles and complementary documents, originally published in 1920, reflects his consistent support for a league of nations and, eventually, for the Covenant of the League of Nations emanating from the Paris Peace Conference.
All this is spelled out in William Howard Taft: Confident Peacemaker, a landmark study, relying on historical analysis and supplemented by critical documentation."--BOOK JACKET.
The second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is dedicated to the speeches and writings that displayed his thinking in the autumn of 1908 and the following winter. At this time he was campaigning for the presidency against the well-known William Jennings Bryan, and in Taft's writings is evidence of the contrast in style between Taft and Bryan and between Taft and his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt. as well. Although uncomfortable with campaigning, he thoughtfully addresses the concerns of the day that framed the election, including race, the Philippines, and socialism. Political Issues and Outlooks also contains speeches made after the election and leading up to his inauguration as the twenty-seventh president of the United States. Introduced by a commentary from the general series editor Professor David H. Burton, the second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is a revealing look at the machinations of United States politics at the beginning of the twentieth century and a glimpse into the mind of one of the century's most influential political architects.
"Taft, who was without an official position and therefore lacked political power, insisted in public and privately that he did not care who received credit for bringing a league into being. Wilson was prepared to risk his life to win senatorial approval in the cause of international peace. How and why they failed to make their dream a reality becomes the climax of this account of the lost league and the lost peace."--BOOK JACKET.