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===Presidency===
===Presidency===
[[File:Perry_Wilbon_Howard,_II.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Taft's 1952 presidential ambitions were supported by [[Perry Howard, II]].]]
[[File:Perry_Wilbon_Howard,_II.jpg|thumb|right|210px|Taft's 1952 presidential ambitions were supported by [[Perry Howard, II]].]]
Taft sought the GOP nomination in [[United States presidential election, 1948|1948]] but it went to his arch-rival, Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]] of New York. One reason was Taft's reluctance to support farm subsidies, a position that hurt his party in the farm belt. Taft relied on a national core of loyalists, but had trouble breaking through to independents, and hated to raise money. Taft tried again in [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952]], using a strong party base. He promised his supporters that he would name [[Douglas MacArthur]] as candidate for Vice President, but was defeated by charismatic [[Dwight Eisenhower]]. Conservatives felt that chicanery by his opponents caused his narrow defeat at the [[Republican National Convention]].
Taft sought the GOP nomination in [[United States presidential election, 1948|1948]] but it went to his arch-rival, Governor [[Thomas E. Dewey]] of New York. One reason was Taft's reluctance to support farm subsidies, a position that hurt his party in the farm belt. Taft relied on a national core of loyalists, but had trouble breaking through to independents, and hated to raise money.
To gain Taft's support in the campaign, Eisenhower promised he would take no reprisals against Taft partisans, would cut federal spending, and would fight "[[creeping socialism]] in every domestic field." All along Eisenhower agreed with Taft on most domestic issues; their dramatic difference was in foreign policy. Eisenhower firmly believed in [[NATO]] and committed the U.S. to an active anti-[[Communist]] foreign policy.
Taft tried again in [[United States presidential election, 1952|1952]], using a strong party base. According to [[Tennessee]] conservative Republican [[B. Carroll Reece]], a U.S. representative from the state's 1st district, he had the solid support from the GOP delegations of southern and border states.<ref>December 17, 1951. [https://www.nytimes.com/1951/12/17/archives/gop-in-south-solid-for-taft-says-reece.html G.O.P. IN SOUTH SOLID FOR TAFT, SAYS REECE]. ''The New York Times''. Retrieved October 15, 2021.</ref> Indeed, "black and tan" delegations, including the [[Mississippi]] group led by [[Perry Wilbon Howard, II]], supported the strongly pro-civil rights Taft over [[Dwight Eisenhower]] for the GOP nomination.
Taft also promised his supporters that he would name [[Douglas MacArthur]] as candidate for Vice President, but was defeated by charismatic Eisenhower. Conservatives felt that chicanery by his opponents caused his narrow defeat at the [[Republican National Convention]]. To gain Taft's support in the campaign, Eisenhower promised he would take no reprisals against Taft partisans, would cut federal spending, and would fight "[[creeping socialism]] in every domestic field." All along Eisenhower agreed with Taft on most domestic issues; their dramatic difference was in foreign policy. Eisenhower firmly believed in [[NATO]] and committed the U.S. to an active anti-[[Communist]] foreign policy.
His death was untimely, succumbing to cancer only six months after becoming the [[Senate Majority Leader]] in 1953. He is honored with a special monument on [[Capitol Hill]], and was selected in 1959 by senators as one of the five most significant senators in history.
His death was untimely, succumbing to cancer only six months after becoming the [[Senate Majority Leader]] in 1953. He is honored with a special monument on [[Capitol Hill]], and was selected in 1959 by senators as one of the five most significant senators in history.