Robert A. Taft Memorial and Carillon
Introduction
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The son of President William Howard Taft, Senator Robert A. Taft represented Ohio in the Senate from 1938 to 1953. By 1952, Taft was known as "Mr. Republican" and would have likely been the GOP candidate for the Presidency that year had it not been for Dwight D. Eisenhower's decision to run on the Republican ticket. Taft represented the conservative wing of the Republican Party and sought a return to isolationism after World War II. Eisenhower was more liberal and felt strongly about the need to maintain a global military and alliances through organizations such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization which had been formed in 1949. As a result, Eisenhower made Taft an offer in the months leading up to the election. If Taft would support a globalist position, Eisenhower would not run for President leaving the Republican nomination to the Ohio Senator. Taft also believed fervently in his position and refused, giving up a Presidential nomination in the process. Taft died in 1953 and most Republicans by that time endorsed Eisenhower's globalist vision of the United States as the leader of NATO.
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Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
Sources
U.S. Congress. House. Dedication Ceremony: Robert A. Taft Memorial, Tuesday, April 14, 1959. 86th Congress, 1st sess., 1959. H.Doc. 121.