Presidents William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt battled it out in the election of 1912, even though Roosevelt had handpicked Taft as his successor just four years earlier. What made the Republicans turn on each other? And did the invention of the teddy bear play a role?
In 1909, just after being elected president, Taft took on his biggest opponent yet: the teddy bear. In a year-long battle, Taft supporters tried to replace the beloved teddy bear with a new stuffed animal,Billy Possum, declaring, "Good-bye, Teddy Bear. Hello, Billy Possum." The stuffed marsupial was praised in poems, promoted on postcards, and evenshown eating a teddy bear. But why a possum? Unlike the inspirational story behindthe first teddy bear, Taft supporters picked the possum for a simple reason: Taft liked eating possum. The president became so closely linked with possums that supporters mailed live possums to the White House.
Why didn't Billy Possum catch on like the teddy bear? The answer might be political. Roosevelt is consistently remembered as one of thebestpresidents, while Taft is perhaps one of the most forgotten. Tired of being ignored, Taft tried to make Billy Possum happen, but it ultimately backfired.
0:00 - Intro
0:00:08 - Roosevelt Eventually Brought Down Taft's Presidency
0:00:22 - The Fight Over Billy Possum And Teddy Bear Was A Small Part Of Roosevelt and Taft's Conflicted Relationship
0:00:41 - Billy Possum Flopped Because Of Its Lackluster Story
0:00:50 - People Started Mailing Live Possums To The White House
0:00:59 - Newspaper Headlines Shouted 'Move Over, Teddy Bear!'
0:01:11 - A Georgia Toy Company Began Manufacturing Billy Possums Made From Real Possums
0:01:27 - Taft Was Linked With Possums Because He Liked To Eat Them
0:01:36 - Roosevelt Made The Teddy Bear Incredibly Popular
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