Question

Why did Theodore Roosevelt want William Taft to succeed him as president?

Answer 1

Roosevelt knew tariff reform was the wedge that could divide the Eastern establishment wing of the party, which wanted higher tariffs and greater protection, from the Wester progressives, who wanted lower tariffs and freer markets. Teddy had known how to lead progressively and "drag" the conservatives along with him, but any subsequent president who empowered the political machinations of Congress, where the establishment was in majority, to play with tariff reform (which has so many complexities a raised tariff could be politically "disguised" to look like a lowered tariff), would be giving away the fulcrum position and diminishing his ability to galvanize progressive action -- not to mention risking an actual rift in the party (which indeed is exactly what happened, when Roosevelt himself decided to run against Taft in 1912 under the banner of the new Progressive Republican, or "Bull Moose," Party).