Jr. Wunderlin, Clarence E.

At first glance it may seem odd to include Robert Alphonso Taft in a series of biographies about prominent figures in the development of American foreign policy. Unlike many of the other subjects selected for it, Taft never won the presidency, nor did he ever serve as secretary of state. Nevertheless, over the course of his decade and a half in the United States Senate Taft’s was an influential voice in the debates over America’s role in the world, and at a particularly decisive point in the nation’s history. Both in the months leading up to the Second World War and in the early years of the Cold War with the Soviet Union, Taft spoke for a prominent segment of the American populace who disagreed with the direction of policy. Through his speeches and his legislative activities, he arguably played a greater role in shaping America’s relations with the world than many of those directly changed with that responsibility. Given all this, such a focused examination is more than justified.

And there are few better suited to examine Taft’s role than Clarence Wunderlin. As the editor of the published edition of Taft’s papers, he is well versed in his subject’s thinking on the vast range of topics that engaged him. This is evident from the introduction, in which he offers a succinct overview of the intellectual framework which Taft developed. While suffering somewhat from its concision, it nonetheless outlines the senator’s views and how they formed the foundation for his conservative political philosophy. This philosophy and its application are then elaborated on over the course of the rest of the book, which charts the evolution of Taft’s views over the various stages of his career.

Wunderlin sees two men in particular as playing key roles in developing Taft’s ideology with regard to American foreign policy. The first of these was Taft’s father, William Howard Taft, a career public figure who instilled in his son a reverence for international law which the younger Taft never abandoned. The other major influence on Taft’s thinking was Herbert Hoover, for whom Taft worked as an attorney in the Food Administration during the First World War. From Hoover Taft absorbed the concept of the “associationalist state,” though with a greater emphasis on the role of the individual in driving the economy than Hoover himself held. This distinction played a particular role in Taft’s criticism of the New Deal, of which he emerged as a prominent opponent after his election to the United States Senate in 1938.

Taft soon demonstrated that he was no less critical of President Franklin Roosevelt’s conduct of foreign policy. Though no friend of Nazi Germany, Taft was determined to avoid intervention in the Second World War, and excoriated Roosevelt’s attempts to circumvent the Neutrality Acts that were designed to prevent the possibility of entanglement in foreign wars. Throughout this period Taft argued that American efforts were better focused on securing its position in the Western Hemisphere, and both in the Senate and on the campaign trail he attacked the Roosevelt administration for prioritizing aid to Britain over this goal.

America’s entry in the war did little to alter Taft’s views. While loyally supporting the war effort, Taft was highly skeptical of both the calls for a world government and of the arguments for the United States to assume a more active role in international affairs in the postwar world. Instead, Taft harkened back to his father’s ideas of conservative internationalism, calling for a postwar structure relying upon law and arbitration rather than force of arms. This remained the case in the immediate aftermath of the war, with only the growing fears of postwar Soviet domination causing Taft to qualify his vision and accept a measure of international involvement.

Nevertheless, Wunderlin shows it was Taft’s refusal to countenance America’s commitment to troops to NATO which cost him the Republican presidential nomination and arguably the presidency as well. In this respect Taft remained true to his principles even at the cost of his political ambition, reflecting his belief that it was these rather than leadership styles that distinguished political parties from one another. It was one reflection of the power of ideas for Taft, which Wunderlin demonstrates was an important part of his influence. His book is an excellent short study of Taft, one that ranges beyond its remit to provide an incisive examination of his political thinking and how it shaped American foreign policy. While readers desiring a comprehensive biography of Taft are better off reading James T. Patterson’s excellent Mr. Republican: A Biography Of Robert A. Taft, those interested more in an analytical assessment of Taft’s ideas should start here.… (mer)