J.D. Vance, Breaking the Beard Barrier

When J.D. Vance took to the stage of the Republican convention Wednesday night to officially accept the vice-presidential nomination, he did so in a dark blue suit and an ocean blue tie — a “boy from Middletown, Ohio,” as his wife, Usha, said in her introduction, who had become “a powerful example of the American dream.” Not to mention the first millennial on a major party ticket.

He looked the part, except for one thing. One unmistakable detail that — in the style of his running mate, Donald J. Trump — not only upended modern political wisdom, but broke a longstanding political taboo.

His beard.

The last bearded man elected president of the United States was Benjamin Harrison, in 1888. The last president with any facial hair whatsoever was William Howard Taft, elected in 1908. The last vice president with a mustache was Charles Curtis, who was Herbert Hoover’s veep. And the last major party candidate to try to break that clean-shaven streak was Thomas E. Dewey, who had a dapper little caterpillar on his upper lip and ran, unsuccessfully, for the highest office in 1944 and 1948.

His campaign set a bad precedent. According to the National Archives blog “Pieces of History,” Mr. Hoover once said of Mr. Dewey’s ’stache, “A man couldn’t wear a mustache like that without having it affect his mind.”

Ever since, a clean-shaven face has defined the status quo in the corridors of power of Washington and Wall Street. At least until now.

The Problem With Beards

Facial hair is often seen as suspicious. Facial hair hides something — maybe something even more telling than a weak chin. It suggests subterfuge. Neatly trimmed, it has been associated with the demon Mephistopheles, who was often pictured with a goatee, and Dracula. When left unchecked, it recalls rebels like Fidel Castro, and hippies.