The Taft administration lasted from 1909 to 1913. William Howard Taft was the successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was unable to gain reelection in 1912 when competing against Woodrow Wilson.
During his presidency, Taft was ineffective in improving the situation of African Americans. He did not appoint African Americans to federal jobs, and in fact, did not allow them to enter employment in places where he belived there might be racial friction. This stance was known as Taft's "Southern Policy."
There are many measures that could have been implemented by the administration to help integrate African Americans. Taft could have pushed more African Americans to study higher education. He also could have refused to remove or replace black officeholders with whom whites refused to deal.
