vcczar Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 Thomas R Marshall (IN-D) was a two-term VP and a pretty accomplished Gov. He overcame alcoholism in his early life to have a pretty stable political career. He was nearly acting president but refused to take part in attempts to pull power from Wilson, despite Wilson disliking Marshall and rarely keeping him informed of things. Wilson had no sense of humor and Marshall was basically a should-be comedian for the time. His actions: Marshall, Thomas R 1908 Prog Dem wins Gov of IN election Marshall, Thomas R 1911 Calls for a new Const Conv in IN amid a flurry of in-state reform, while as Gov of IN Marshall, Thomas R 1912 VP on Wilson's winning ticket and Dem pres cand before that Marshall, Thomas R 1915 Target of assassination attempt for supporting war Marshall, Thomas R 1916 Reelected as VP Marshall, Thomas R 1920 Urged to claim the presidency due to Wilson stroke, but declines the suggestion Marshall, Thomas R 1920 Dem cand for pres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeP47 Posted April 20 Share Posted April 20 I do want to say while in general I'm favorable of him, the fact that he didn't take over the Presidency from Wilson almost ruins it for me. That said, I understand his reasoning, and his reasoning was probably more attractive without the benefit of hindsight. Sometimes I think politicians should know better, but I think this is one of the rare cases where perhaps it can be said that caution was warranted, even if I think it was the wrong decision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted April 20 Author Share Posted April 20 2 more votes needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pius XIII Posted April 23 Share Posted April 23 I do not dislike the man for his policy preferences, which I am largely ignorant of. I also find it quite admirable that he overcame his personal flaws to become such an important figure. I marked him as “unfavorable” for not assuming the role of President when Wilson clearly lacked the ability to govern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted April 23 Author Share Posted April 23 20 minutes ago, Pius XIII said: I do not dislike the man for his policy preferences, which I am largely ignorant of. I also find it quite admirable that he overcame his personal flaws to become such an important figure. I marked him as “unfavorable” for not assuming the role of President when Wilson clearly lacked the ability to govern. I think in Marshall’s defense, Wilson had locked Marshall out of the White House from the beginning. Wilson didn’t like him—maybe Wilson had no sense of humor. So any info he got of Wilson’s condition was not much more than what the public was getting, which was almost nothing. Wilson “appeared” to be working, as documents and statements came out of the WH with the help of Wilson’s wife and inner circle. Marshall was urged by members of the admin that weren’t part of the inner circle. He would also need unanimity, Wilson would have to be incapable of defending himself or accept his fate, or he could launch a coup. Marshall wasn’t going to launch a coup, and it was probably too much of an uphill battle. The process of gathering support and making the details of the stroke more public probably wouldn’t allow much time to serve. First, Wilson would have recovered enough by then (as he did by the time he left office, although not 100%). Secondly, the term was already almost expired. Marshall might have had a reason to act if the stroke happened a year or two earlier. Events moved slowly then. No social media and a media service that tended to be respectful to a president’s wishes. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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