Directly after what Historians widely refer to as the "ugliest Presidents," Franklin Pierce and James Buchanan, the United States had a long line of bearded or mustachioed presidents, as well as a few who were, for lack of a better word, rotund. With Woodrow Wilson's election over Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft in 1912, however, the US ceased its practice of electing Presidents that were round-n-fuzzy. Sure, Herbert Hoover and Calvin Coolidge both had very soft features, but even our jowlier presidents like Nixon were fairly lanky from then on out. Eisenhower himself seemed to be a rebellion against all things hairy (and in some respects, Harry, har har).

Every directly elected president from Lincoln's assassination until Cleveland wore a beard. Ulysses Grant, Rutherford Hayes, and James Garfield all had formidable facial hair. Hell, throw Benjamin Harrison in there, too. Chester Arthur, though president by happenstance, had some not-to-be-tussled-with muttonchops, as well. What do all these men have in common?

They were weak leaders in an era in which American politics was dominated by the Senate.

It wasn't until Cleveland's first term that the Presidency gained some real power again. He used his veto more than twice as much as all previous presidents combined in his first term alone. He established the presidency as an autonomous branch of government that reports directly to the people. Employing executive privilege regarding congressional approval of his nominees was a huge boon to the executive.

So naturally, Cleveland only had a mustache. It signaled the end of the post-Civil War era that had been mired in mediocrity and helped to usher in the Modern presidency that grew so powerful during Teddy Roosevelt's turn in office.

Wilson, then, likely brought an end to the rotund-with-facial-hair era because he entered as a quiet intellectual who advocated peace like none other, focused almost exclusively on domestic issues but still managed to become one of our greatest presidents, setting the US on a path of morality on the global stage - he was the most inspiring leader in the world by leaps and bounds in that era. Perhaps being a dignified intellectual suddenly seemed like better qualification for the gig than the rough-and-tumble mustache and an imposing round figure.

Taft Anecdote Tuesdays:

Taft's girth once prompted New York Sen. Chauncey Depew to survey his protruding belly and joke to a crowd of supporters that the president was "pregnant with courage ... pregnant with integrity." To which Taft is said to have retorted: "If I give birth to a girl, I shall name her Courage. If it is a boy, I shall name him Integrity. But if, as I suspect, nothing but a great bag of wind, then I shall name it Chauncey Depew."

(courtesy of sfgate.com)

Taft++

Labels: appearance, facial hair, grover cleveland, presidents, william howard taft, woodrow wilson