Background
History of the Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal
for kids:
Roosevelt and Taft
President Roosevelt
was a friend and originally a staunch supporter of his successor
William Taft, who Roosevelt believed would continue his
progressive domestic policies. A rift between the two men,
and within the Republican party, immediately began to develop
in the new administration as a result of the
Payne-Aldrich Tariff
Act which was passed
on April 9, 1909. Then, in November 1909, the Ballinger-Pinchot
Scandal erupted, that would completely destroy Taft's reputation
with the progressives in the Republican party for good.
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for kids: Richard
Ballinger
In 1907 Richard
Ballinger had been appointed commissioner of the General
Land Office by President Theodore Roosevelt. Ballinger was
then made the Secretary of the Interior in President Taft's
administration, replacing James A. Garfield, an ardent member
of the
Conservation
Movement.
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for kids: Gifford Pinchot
Gifford Pinchot
was the head of the forestry division in the Department
of Agriculture in Taft's
administration. Pinchot was a passionate environmentalist
who had been instrumental in the national campaign
for conservation.
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for kids: Louis Glavis
Louis Glavis (1883–1971) worked in the United
States Department of the Interior and was an agent of the
Department's General Land Office's Field Division. The conservationist
Louis Glavis was also a lawyer and believed that land deals
being made in Alaska were illegal and that companies were
exploiting vast tracts of public domain land, which included
lucrative Alaskan coal fields, for private development.
The Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for
kids
The Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal broke when Louis
Glavis informed Gifford Pinchot of the Alaskan land deals.
Ballinger had made nearly one million acres of Alaskan public
forests and coal fields open to private development. Pinchot
took the complaints to the President but Taft and the Attorney
General believed they were groundless. Pinchot disagreed
and leaked the matter to the press. The American magazine
Colliers Weekly investigated the allegations and accused
Ballinger of improperly using his position for personal
profit by helping industrialists illegally gain access to
Alaskan coal fields. Gifford Pinchot openly criticized both
Ballinger and President Taft for their 'shady dealings'
and called for Congress to investigate further. President
Taft was furious with Pinchot Gifford and fired him, and
his informant, Louis Glavis, for insubordination. The Congressional
committee decided the charges were unjustified and cleared
Ballinger.
Effects of the Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal
for kids
The Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal aroused unwanted
speculation and scandal in the press about the Taft administration.
The rift in the Republican party became permanent. The Progressives,
including Roosevelt, believed that President Taft had betrayed
the ethics of conservation. Roosevelt would go on to challenge
to Taft in the 1912 presidential elections founding the
Progressive Republican Party and ran on the independent
'Bull Moose' ticket. The split in the Republican party resulted
in the election of Woodrow Wilson and the Democratic party.
Ballinger-Pinchot
Scandal - President William Taft Video
The article
on the Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal provides
detailed facts and a summary of one of the
important events during his presidential
term in office. The following William Taft
video will give you additional important
facts and dates about the political events
experienced by the 27th American President
whose presidency spanned from March 4, 1909
to March 4, 1913.
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal
● Interesting Facts
about Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for kids and schools
● Summary of the
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal in US history
● Facts about the
Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal
● William Taft
Presidency from March 4, 1909 to March 4, 1913
● Fast, fun facts
about the Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal
● Foreign & Domestic
policies of President William Taft
● William Taft
Presidency and Ballinger-Pinchot Scandal for schools,
homework, kids and children |