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The next two Ohio presidents where the creators of their own misfortune in office. The first of these two men is President Ulysses Grant. President Grant, born to an Ohio tanner, ascended to the presidency as a national hero but left a broken man.(2) Grant prior to being elected president had had no political training of experience. This lack of experience and his inability to judge character would prove to be his down fall a commander in chief. Grant’s troubles began immediately after being elected when many of his major cabinet appointees were failures. These would only prove to be the beginning of Grant’s troubles in office. The first major scandal of his administration occurred when Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, two stock manipulators, attempted to corner the gold market with help from the President’s brother-in-law. In an attempt to prevent the corner Grant released 4 million dollars in gold into the market, effectively stopping the corner, yet at the same time creating a financial panic.(3) this misstep would lead to the eventual depression in the following years. More scandals beset Grant’s second term as president and Credit Moblier and the Whiskey Ring affairs all but brought down his presidency.

The final Ohio president is one that does not easily fit into one of these prior categories. William McKinley, is arguable the most successful of the eight Buckeyes in the White House. William McKinley was the typical Ohio Republican politician in the late 19th century. McKinley was an intelligent, good character, and likeable personality, allowed him to move quick up the ranks in Ohio politics and led to him being elected to Congress at the age 34, and then as Governor in 1891.(2) As the Depression of the 1893 ran its course McKinley was elected over William Jennings Bryant in 1896, aided in large by wealthy eastern business interests. Once in office, McKinley unleashed business interests from most restraints and the industrial growth became unprecedented. Despite the ending of the Depression of 1893, foreign policy was the most active feature of the McKinley White House. The age of American Imperialism took full force under the McKinley administration. Although not an ardent Imperialist himself, McKinley wavered to public sentiment on this issue and allowed it to dictate the U.S.’ s course. The Spanish American War was the beginning of the end of America’s strict isolationist policy. In 1900 McKinley yet again defeated Bryant and his anti-imperialism and bi-medal platform. As his second term began in 1901, and the cloud that seems to cover each Ohioan when the reach the Presidency caught up with McKinley, as he was assassinated in Buffalo, NY by anarchist Leon Czolgosz.

The last of this group of Ohioans in the Oval Office is William H. Taft. Taft is an interesting case in that given his own choice he probably would not have wanted to be president at all. Taft was never elected to office himself, until his presidency, but was never far from those in the Ohio GOP that did. Taft’s early career involved 5 appointments to various positions, including Circuit Court Judge and Secretary of War under Theodore Roosevelt.(5) Once Roosevelt stated that he would not seek a third term as president, he chose Taft to be his successor for the 1908 campaign. This was a good choice at the time for the Republican Party, it put the conservative wing of the party at ease as well as its rival faction the progressives. This would come back to haunt Taft after the election was over. Having both factions of the GOP at peace during the election propelled Taft to an easy victory over perennial Democratic challenger William Jennings Bryant. Once in office Taft’s own admitted shortcomings in the political arena came back to cause him a great deal of trouble. Taft admi

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