Robert Taft: Preserving the United States’ Traditional Policy of Neutrality

The progressive threat of Soviet Communism struck fear into the hearts of many people and governments during the Cold War. In a collective effort to ensure the safety and security of their peoples, twelve nations from Europe and North America met in Washington, DC on April 4, 1949 to sign the North Atlantic Treaty, “the first peacetime military alliance ever concluded by the United States” (50th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty). In keeping with his inherent moral and political beliefs, Robert Alphonso Taft cast his vote against the North Atlantic Treaty, reaffirming to many the perception that Taft should be identified as an isolationist and to others the notion that he should be revered as one of the most politically courageous politicians of his era.

Taft’s unprecedented vote against ratification appears inevitable when reviewing his past. The son of a president and a Supreme Court justice, Taft was born into politics. While working for the United States’ Food Administration during the First World War, he was sent to Paris to distribute aid to war-stricken Europe, unveiling the horrors of war to the aspiring politician and, perhaps, shaping his views on foreign intervention (Robert A. Taft: More than ‘Mr. Republican’). After his involvement in the War, Taft was elected to the Ohio state legislature where he made a name for himself by opposing Prohibition and denouncing the Ku Klux Klan. In 1938, Robert Taft defeated Robert Bulkley to earn his seat on the United States’ Senate. Taft, again, established himself as a staunch conservative, speaking vehemently against the foreign policy of the Roosevelt administration. By the time the North Atlantic Treaty passed through the Senate chamber, the discontent between the United States and the Soviet Union was enough of a reason to dissolve any party lines to allow universal approval of a treaty that was directly focused on the “development of peaceful and friendly international relations” (The North Atlantic Treaty). However, Robert Taft did not see the North Atlantic Treaty as an opportunity to protect the interests and people of the signatory nations. Instead, he saw it as a rostrum for proffering the need for an anti-interventionist foreign policy that would allow the United States to enter into military engagements only when the security of the nation was threatened, something the North Atlantic Treaty did not permit. While this decision may seem centered on an ulterior agenda, realistically, it demonstrated one of the highest levels of political courage during the Cold War.

One of only eleven Republican Senators to vote against ratification, Taft was at the head of a bold minority who aimed to prevent the tarnishing of the United States’ “traditional policy of neutrality and non-interference with other nations” (Taft 12). The intentions of this minority, however, were dashed on July 21, 1949, when the North Atlantic Treaty would pass through the Senate (NAP). The Treaty was seen as the appropriate response to the threat posed by Soviet Russia, effectively conveying the message that a militaristic advance against any one of the signatory nations “in Europe or North America shall be considered an attack against them all” (The North Atlantic Treaty). In spite of the world reveling in the passage of the Treaty, the Republican Senator from Ohio encountered major scrutiny for his controversial views on foreign intervention.

The negative repercussions of Taft’s adulation of anti-interventionist foreign policy, characterized by his vote against the ratification of the North Atlantic Treaty, were scattered across the remainder of his political career (Bresiger). In 1940, Taft set his sights on furthering his political resume to include not only legislative experience but also experience in the executive branch, specifically as president. Viewed as an irascible, isolationist by the majority of his constituents, he struggled to gain political supporters at the Republican National Convention. In the end, Taft would not gain enough support from the delegates to earn the nomination for the general election. Unwavered, Taft began rapt preparation for the 1948 election. As the National Convention approached, many considered Taft a favorite for receiving the nomination. However, the delegates of the convention passed him over, again, selecting a more liberal candidate in Thomas Dewey (Robert A. Taft: More than ‘Mr. Republican’). A lesser politician would have viewed this second failure as a nudge intended to alter the political beliefs that characterize his career. Taft, however, chose to disregard this sentiment, excepting the fact that he could’ve been adding his name to a list of Senators who would “endanger or end their careers by resisting the will of their constituents” (Kennedy 23). Taft continued his efforts to secure the Republican nomination in the 1952 election. Yet, matched against the internationalists of the Eisenhower campaign, Taft struggled, yet again, to gain traction and support for his exceedingly conservative, anti-interventionist platform. The Republican party would select Eisenhower as their candidate for the general election, furthering Taft’s drought to three years without a nomination (Robert A. Taft: American Politician).

Robert Taft’s effort in promoting rejection of the North Atlantic Treaty characterized him as a beatnik defiant to the political pressures “which drive a Senator to abandon or subdue his conscience” (Kennedy 4). A storied Senate career saw Taft develop into a courageous nonconformist, willing to risk the furtherance of his career by standing against traditional foreign policy. As a result of his vote against internationalists, Taft never achieved his ultimate goal in politics, the presidency. However, he also never had to experience the subsequent consequences of sacrificing his moral and political beliefs for the sake of satisfying other politicians. Instead, Taft reveled in his choice to unconditionally support the beliefs that he held close to his heart, something only a truly, politically courageous Senator is capable of doing.

Works Cited

Bresiger, Gregory. “Robert Taft and His Forgotten ‘Isolationism’.” Mises Daily Articles, Mises Institute, 8 March 2014, mises.org/library/robert-taft-and-his-forgotten-“isolationism”.

Kennedy, John F. Profiles in Courage. HarperCollins Publishers, 2003.

“NAP. Resolution of Ratification (⅔ Majority Required).” GovTrack, 21 July 1949, www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/80-1947/s40.

“Robert A. Taft: American Politician.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 24 October 2003, www.britannica.com/biography/Robert-A-Taft.

“Robert A. Taft: More than ‘Mr. Republican’.” United States Senate, http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/People_Leaders_Taft.htm.

Taft, Senator Robert A. A Foreign Policy for Americans. Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1951.

“The North Atlantic Treaty.” North Atlantic Treaty Organization, 21 March 2016, www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_17120.htm.

“50th Anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty.” Harry S. Truman Library and Museum, National Archives and Records Administration, 4 April 1999, www.trumanlibrary.org/nato/nato.htm.