Ohio President William Howard Taft: Listen To A 1912 Speech Promising Republican Prosperity

Today marks the anniversary of Woodrow Wilson's victory over the 300-pound president from Cincinnati. William Howard Taft was voted out of office on Nov. 5, 1912 after a single term in the White House. There are a handful of recordings of Taft's campaign speeches, and you can listen to one by clicking here for an attack on the Dems that runs about a minute and a half long. Taft's voice was recorded on a wax and foil cylinder via technology invented by a fellow Ohioan, Thomas Edison. Taft's orator voice is neither deep nor well-pitched. It appears to have a slight accent; a sound that would be quite familiar to oodles of Ohioans who live near the Ohio River today, definitely not a northern Ohio or Cleveland accent. President Taft seems to be rushing a bit as he speaks. He warns that the election of Democrats will wreck the economy, and he predicts prosperity will fade away to be replaced by hard times and financial panic. It didn't happen. Wilson turned out to be one of the nation's great presidents and led the country through World War I.

Taft finished third in a three-man race in 1912. Former President Teddy Roosevelt ran on the Progressive Party ticket, known as the Bullmoose Party, and came in second to Wilson.