
(1909–1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States
(1921–1930). He is the only person to have served in both offices, and along with James Polk, the only president to have also headed another branch of the federal government
with the exception of vice-presidents who went on to become president.
Born in 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, into the powerful Taft family
, "Big Bill" graduated from Yale College
as a Phi Beta Kappa in 1878 and from Cincinnati Law School in 1880.
We are all imperfect. We can not expect perfect government.
I have come to the conclusion that the major part of the work of a President is to increase the gate receipts of expositions and fairs and bring tourists to town.
I am in favor of helping the prosperity of all countries because, when we are all prosperous, the trade of each becomes more valuable to the other.
I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God.
The intoxication of power rapidly sobers off in the knowledge of its restrictions and under the prompt reminder of an ever-present and not always considerate press, as well as the kindly suggestions that not infrequently come from Congress.
The diplomacy of the present administration has sought to respond to modern ideas of commercial intercourse. This policy has been characterized as substituting dollars for bullets. It is one that appeals alike to idealistic humanitarian sentiments, to the dictates of sound policy and strategy, and to legitimate commercial aims.
"State of the Union" (3 December 1912)
(1909–1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States
(1921–1930). He is the only person to have served in both offices, and along with James Polk, the only president to have also headed another branch of the federal government
with the exception of vice-presidents who went on to become president.
Born in 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, into the powerful Taft family
, "Big Bill" graduated from Yale College
as a Phi Beta Kappa in 1878 and from Cincinnati Law School in 1880. He worked in local nondescript legal positions until he was tapped to serve on the Ohio Supreme Court
in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States and in 1891 a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
. In 1900, President William McKinley
appointed Taft Governor-General of the Philippines
. In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt
appointed Taft Secretary of War
in an effort to groom Taft, then his close political ally, into his handpicked presidential successor. Taft assumed a prominent role in problem solving, assuming on some occasions the role of acting Secretary of State, while declining repeated offers from Roosevelt to serve on the Supreme Court.
Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican
Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency.
In his only term, Taft's domestic agenda emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform
, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission
, improving the performance of the postal service
, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment
. Abroad, Taft sought to further the economic development of nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy
", and showed masterful decisiveness and restraint in response to revolution in Mexico
. The task oriented Taft was oblivious to the political ramifications of his decisions, often alienated his own key constituencies, and was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid for a second term in the presidential election of 1912
. In the Historical rankings of Presidents of the United States Taft receives an aggregate ranking of 22nd.
After leaving office, Taft spent his time in academia, arbitration, and the search for world peace through his self-founded League to Enforce Peace
. In 1921, after the First World War, President Warren G. Harding
appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States. Taft served in this capacity until shortly before his death in 1930. He is the only former president to administer the oath of office to another President and the only Chief Justice to serve with associate justices whom he had appointed to the court.
Early life and education
William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, near Cincinnati, Ohio. the son of Louisa Torreyand Alphonso Taft
. His paternal grandfather was Peter Rawson Taft, a descendant of Robert Taft I, the first Taft in America, who settled in Colonial Massachusetts. Alphonso Taft went to Cincinnati in 1839 to open a law practice, and was a prominent Republican who served as Secretary of War and Attorney General
under President Ulysses S. Grant
.
Young William attended Cincinnati's First Congregational-Unitarian Church with his parents; he joined the congregation at an early age and was an enthusiastic participant. As he rose in the government, he spent little time in Cincinnati. He attended the church much less frequently than he had but worshiped there when he could.
Taft attended Woodward High School
in Cincinnati, and laid the cornerstone of the new Woodward High School, now the site of the School for Creative and Performing Arts
(SCPA). Like others in his family, he attended Yale College
in New Haven, Connecticut. At Yale, he was a member of the Linonian Society
, a literary and debating society; Skull and Bones
, the secret society co-founded by his father in 1832; and the Beta chapter of the Psi Upsilon
fraternity. He was given the nickname "Big Lub" because of his size, but his college friends knew him by the nickname "Old Bill". Taft received comments, sometimes humorous, about his weight. Making positive use of his stature, Taft was Yale's intramural heavyweight wrestling champion. In 1878, Taft graduated, ranking second in his class out of 121. After college, he attended Cincinnati Law School
, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws
in 1880. While in law school, he worked on the area newspaper The Cincinnati Commercial.
Legal career and early politics

, Taft was appointed Assistant Prosecutor
of Hamilton County, Ohio
, based in Cincinnati. In 1882, he was appointed local Collector of Internal Revenue
. Taft married his longtime sweetheart, Helen Herron
, in Cincinnati in 1886. In 1887, he was appointed a judge of the Ohio Superior Court. In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison
appointed him Solicitor General of the United States; at age 32, he was the youngest-ever Solicitor General. Taft then began serving on the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1891.; Taft was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892, and received his commission that same day. In about 1893, Taft decided in favor of the processing aluminium
patents belonging to the Pittsburg Reduction Company, now known as Alcoa
. Along with his judgeship, between 1896 and 1900 Taft also served as the first dean and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati
.
In 1900, President William McKinley appointed Taft chairman of a commission to organize a civilian government in the Philippines which had been ceded to the United States by Spain following the Spanish–American War and the 1898 Treaty of Paris
. Although Taft had been opposed to the annexation of the islands, and had told McKinley his real ambition was to become a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he reluctantly accepted the appointment.
From 1901 to 1903, Taft served as the first civilian Governor-General of the Philippines
, a position in which he was very popular with both Americans and Filipinos
. In 1902, Taft visited Rome to negotiate with Pope Leo XIII
for the purchase of Philippine lands owned by the Roman Catholic Church. Taft then persuaded Congress to appropriate more than $7 million to purchase these lands, which he sold to Filipinos on easy terms. In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt offered Taft the seat on the Supreme Court to which he had for so long aspired, but he reluctantly declined since he viewed the Filipinos as not yet being capable of governing themselves and because of his popularity among them. This decision was one among many in Taft's career which demonstrated a compulsive dedication to the job at hand, without regard to his self interest. (Roosevelt actually made the offer of a seat on the Court on several different occasions, being met with a decline every time. ) This dedication to the task at hand was the source of much frustration of his political colleagues. According to biographer Anderson, contrary to the belief of Roosevelt and other allies, Taft's role as Governor-General in the Philippines did not serve to equip him with the political skills essential for the White House.
Secretary of War (1904–1908)
In 1904, Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War. This appointment allowed Taft to remain involved in the Philippines and Roosevelt also assured Taft he would support his later appointment to the Court, while Taft agreed to support Roosevelt in the Presidential election of 1904. Roosevelt made the basic policy decisions regarding military affairs, using Taft as a well-traveled spokesman who campaigned for Roosevelt's reelection in 1904. Of Taft's appointment, Roosevelt said, "If only there were three of you; I could appoint one of you to the Court, one to the War Department and one to the Philippines."Taft met with the Emperor of Japan who alerted him of the probability of war with Russia. In 1905, Taft met with Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō
. At that meeting, the two signed a secret diplomatic memorandum now called the Taft–Katsura Agreement. Contrary to rumor, the memorandum did not establish any new policies but instead repeated the public positions of both nations.
In 1906, President Roosevelt sent troops to restore order in Cuba
during the revolt led by General Enrique Loynaz del Castillo, and Taft temporarily became the Civil Governor of Cuba, personally negotiating with Castillo for a peaceful end to the revolt. Also in that year Roosevelt made his third offer to Taft of a position on the Court which he again declined out of a sense of duty to resolve pending issues in the Philippines. Had it been for the Chief Justice seat, a different result may well have ensued.
Taft indicated to Roosevelt he wanted to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, not President, but there was no vacancy and Roosevelt had other plans – in 1907 he began touting Taft as the best choice for the Presidential nomination by the party. Taft's spouse was determined to gain the White House and pressured him not to accept a court appointment; other family members also strongly favored the Presidency for him. He gave Taft more responsibilities along with the Philippines and the Panama Canal. For a while, Taft was Acting Secretary of State
. When Roosevelt was away, Taft was, in effect, the Acting President. While serving as the War Secretary Taft generally concentrated on major developments, including the Philippines and the Panama Canal, to the detriment of departmental housekeeping problems, including factionalism within the Department, of which Roosevelt was aware. In 1907 the Hay-Bunace-Varilla Treaty granted the U.S. construction rights for the Panama Canal
, which Roosevelt delegated to the War Department, and Taft thereby supervised the beginning of construction on the Canal. Taft promoted a reduction in the tariffs on sugar and tobacco in the Philippines, a position with which Roosevelt disagreed; Taft offered to resign but this was refused by Roosevelt. Taft also had a disagreement with Roosevelt over the latter's conclusion of an executive agreement with the Dominican Republic, in lieu of what Taft thought should have been a treaty, requiring ratification by the Senate. Roosevelt dismissed the complaint as "trifling", and Taft, in his usual style, let it go.
Presidential election of 1908

, a decision that he later regretted. Taft was the logical successor, but he was initially reluctant to run, as he had been earlier. As a member of Roosevelt's cabinet, he had declared that his future ambition was to serve on the Supreme Court, not the White House. Taft's efforts in stumping for the party in the 1906 mid-term elections made him aware of his deficiencies as an effective campaigner. Mrs. Taft even commented during this time, "never did he cease to regard a Supreme Court appointment as more desirable than the presidency."
But,Taft conceded, with his extensive involvement as the most prominent member of the cabinet, that he was the most "available" man; thus he agreed that were he to be nominated for president, he would put his personal convictions aside and run a vigorous campaign.
At the time, Roosevelt was convinced that Taft was a genuine "progressive
" and helped push through the nomination of his Secretary of War onto the Republican ticket on the first ballot at the party convention. His opponent in the general election was William Jennings Bryan
, who had run for president twice before, in 1896
and in 1900
against William McKinley
. During the campaign, Taft undercut Bryan's liberal support by accepting some of his reformist ideas, and Roosevelt's progressive policies blurred the distinctions between the parties. Bryan, on the other hand, ran an aggressive campaign against the nation's business elite. The democrats referred to Taft's nomination and potential election, pre-determined by the powerful Roosevelt, as a possible "forced succession to the presidency."
It did not take long for Taft's markedly different style, and lack of political acumen, to emerge. Joseph B. Foraker
of Ohio, seeking Taft's support in his senatorial re-election, made an appearance with Taft, creating the impression Taft was allied with the big business trusts. And when Taft failed to follow the Hearst papers in denouncing Foraker's association with them, Roosevelt became incensed. Taft also showed his political ineptness by choosing Frank Hitchcock to be Chairman of the Republican Party. Hitchcock was quick to bring in men closely allied with big business, which further alienated the progressive wing of the party. Despite the difference in styles, Taft had demonstrated for the most part that the substance of his policies echoed those of Roosevelt.
In the end, Taft won by a comfortable electoral margin, giving Bryan his worst loss in three presidential campaigns. Taft defeated Bryan by 159 electoral votes; however, he garnered just 51% of the popular vote. Mrs. Taft was quoted quite prophetically, saying that, "There was nothing to criticize, except his not knowing or caring about the way the game of politics is played."
Presidency, 1909–1913
Taft did not enjoy the easy relationship with the press that Roosevelt had, choosing not to offer himself for interviews or photo opportunities as often as the previous president had done. When a reporter informed him he was no Teddy Roosevelt, Taft replied that his goal was to "try to accomplish just as much without any noise". Taft even made executive decisions (see below) demonstrating his indifference with the press. Indeed, Taft's administration marked a change in style from the political charisma of Roosevelt to the passion of Taft for the rule of law. Taft, in fashioning his cabinet, showed also that he was not unwilling to depart to some degree from Roosevelt's progressivism; he named an anti-progressive, Philander Chase Knox Secretary of State, who had primary influence over other appointments.Taft considered himself a progressive, in part from his belief in an expansive use of the rule of law, as the prevailing device that should be actively used by judges and others others in authority to solve society's, and even the world's, problems. But his devotion to the law also often made Taft a slave to precedent, and less than adroit in politics than Roosevelt; he therefore lacked the flexibility, creativity and personal magnetism of his mentor, not to mention the publicity devices, the dedicated supporters, and the broad base of public support that made Roosevelt so formidable.
The divergent views of the two men over the powers of the executive is well articulated in their respective memoirs. In summary, Roosevelt for his part believed 'the President has not just a right but a duty to do anything demanded by the needs of the nation, unless such action is forbidden by the Constitution or federal law." Taft's general opinion on the other hand was that "the President can exercise no power which cannot fairly be traced to some specific grant of power in the Constitution or act of Congress."
Domestic policies and politics

and big business, Taft claimed the responsibility, calling it the best bill to come from the Republican Party. Again, due to his results-oriented style, politically he had managed to alienate all sides. The Bureau of Trade Relations later concluded the act overall was moderately successful in lowering rates. Congress refused however to fund the Tariff Board which the President included in the Payne–Aldrich Bill, which would have removed the setting of rates from direct continual Congressional manipulation.
Taft was less likely to speak critically of big business than Roosevelt. Nevertheless, his rule of law orientation resulted in the filing of 90 antitrust
suits during his administration, compared to 54 such suits by Roosevelt's two-term Justice Department. Taft's efforts included one suit against the country's largest corporation, U.S. Steel
, for the acquisition of a Tennessee company during Roosevelt's tenure. The lawsuit even named Roosevelt personally without Taft's knowledge (another example of his excessive delegation and political ineptness.) This was responsible for a complete break with Roosevelt. Progressives within the Republican Party began to actively oppose against Taft. Senator Robert LaFollette
of Wisconsin
created the National Progressive Republican League to replace Taft on the national level; although, his campaign crashed after a disastrous speech. Most of LaFollette's supporters went over to Roosevelt. The business community and the conservative wing of the party were also alienated from Taft and contributions to the GOP dried up.
Taft's administration got a political boost after 25 western railroads announced an intent to raise rates by 20%, and Taft responded, first with a threat to enforce the Sherman Antitrust Act
against them; he then negotiated a settlement whereby they agreed to submit delayed rate requests to a new Interstate Commerce Commission having authority over rate requests.
Taft's obsession with the law over politics created more trouble for him in the well noted dispute between his Interior Secretary, Richard Achilles Ballinger
, and the Chief of the Forestry Service, Gifford Pinchot
. Ballinger's job was to assure the proper legal form of land withdrawals made from the private sector as part of Roosevelt's conservation policy. Ballinger's review in many instances concluded that the legalities were lacking and lands had to be returned to private owners. Pinchot led the objections to these returns, and even convinced an Interior Department subordinate, Louis Glavis
, to bring an accusation against Ballinger for fraud and collusion with corporate timber interests. Taft refused to intervene until the resulting discord in the cabinet forced him to act. The President reviewed the matter, then fired Glavis and Pinchot; Ballinger also tendered his resignation, which would have further served to end the matter, but Taft refused for the longest time before accepting it. By that time the political damage had been done, with further alienation of the Progressives from the administration.
Taft, ever reluctant to dismiss cabinet members, nevertheless used the resignations of Ballinger and War Secretary Dickinson to modify the complexion of the cabinet by appointing more progressive Republicans. Walter L. Fisher
, from the National Conservation League and an ally of Pinchot, replaced Ballinger. Henry L. Stimson
, another progressive, replaced Dickinson. Taft's overriding concern in making most appointments, however, was ability and experience, not party or faction alignment. This was particularly the case with respect to judiciary appointments, specifically in the south, where Taft felt the courts were the weakest. Taft's high standards, which reduced the influence of Senatorial courtesy in the selection process, resulted in the placement of over one hundred well qualified federal judges. Nevertheless, in the process Taft passed up yet another opportunity to embolden himself politically through the use of patronage.
In the area of federal spending, Taft initiated reforms which would revolutionize the Executive's role in the federal government's budget process. Previously, each executive department presented to the Treasury Dept. its own expense estimates, which were then forwarded to the Congress. Taft ordered each department to begin submitting its requests to the cabinet for review. The first such round of requests and cabinet reviews resulted in a reduction of $92 million, representing the first actual presidential budget in modern history. Taft then requested, and received, approval and funding to create the Commission on Economy and Efficiency to study the budgeting process. The study recommended the President be required early in the Congressional session to present the legislature with a comprehensive budget. This recommendation ultimately became law with passage of the Budget and Accounting Act of 1921.
Taft's "policy of harmony" with Congress facilitated passage of most of his legislative program. Nevertheless, in the 1910 midterm elections, the Democrats assumed control of the House for the first time in 16 years. At the same time, in the Senate, while the Republicans retained their majority, they lost 8 seats.
Corporate income tax
To solve an impasse during the 1909 tariff debate, Taft proposed income taxes for corporations and a constitutional amendment to remove the apportionment requirement for taxes on incomes from property (taxes on dividends, interest, and rents), on June 16, 1909. His proposed tax on corporate net income was 1% on net profits over $5,000. It was designated an excise on the privilege of doing business as a corporation whose stockholders enjoyed the privilege of limited liability, and not a tax on incomes as such. In 1911, the Supreme Court, in Flint v. Stone Tracy Co.
, upheld the tax. Receipts grew from $21 million in the fiscal year 1910 to $34.8 million in 1912.
In July 1909, a proposed amendment to allow the federal government to tax incomes was passed unanimously in the Senate and by a vote of 318 to 14 in the House. It was quickly ratified by the states, and on February 3, 1913, it became a part of the Constitution as the Sixteenth Amendment
.
Blacks and immigrants
Taft met with and publicly endorsed Booker T. Washington's program for uplifting the black race, advising them to stay out of politics at the time and emphasize education and entrepreneurship. A supporter of free immigration, Taft vetoed a law passed by Congress and supported by labor unions that would have restricted unskilled laborers by imposing a literacy test.
Foreign policy

, the Ambassador to France. The only suspected reason for this decision was that White was thought to have somehow slighted the President and his wife 25 years earlier on their honeymoon in Europe. Taft was oblivious to the serious damage which this decision caused his political reputation. (The following year White accepted Taft's appointment to head a delegation to the Pan-American Conference in Buenos Aires.)
The President made it a top priority to reorganize the State Department, saying, "It is organized on the basis of the needs of the government in 1800 instead of 1900." The Department was for the first time organized into geographical divisions, including the Far East, the Near East, Latin America and Western Europe. This reorganization was engineered in large part by Secretary of State Knox's First Assistant Secretary, Huntington Wilson, who served as de facto Secretary of State due to the frequent absence of Knox. Again displaying his inept administrative leadership, Taft, while not sharing any of Knox's respect for Wilson's ability, deferred to much of Wilson's policy making.
The President personally engaged in talks with the Chinese to provide American assistance in the expansion of the Chinese railroad industry; this was accomplished through participation in the multi-national Hukuang Loan. The effort was dubbed "shirt sleeves diplomacy". Initial success in China led to an extended effort by the President to effect the Open Door Policy, particularly in Manchuria; this was not successful due in large part to the President's reliance on the inexperienced Knox, who failed to properly assess the objections of Japan and Russia.
Taft actively promoted the nation's role in the economic development of Latin America, specifically through the Honduras and Nicaragua conventions. The concept, referred to as "Dollar Diplomacy", called for the State Department to coordinate loans to the countries for infrastructure improvement from the largest banks in the U.S. Strategically, this was designed to strengthen security for the Panama Canal, increase American trade, and diminish the presence of European nations in the area. Progressives and Insurgent Republicans in the Senate opposed the Wall Street connection, so the effort was largely a failure. The President was more successful in Argentina, where agreements were reached whereby the U.S. provided loans to enable Argentina to acquire battleships; some naval construction and design secrets were sacrificed in the arrangement.
Another of Taft's goals was the furtherance of world peace. He believed that international arbitration between adversarial nations could be utilized as the best means to avoid armed conflict. This was a logical extension of his boundless faith in the rule of law as a Progressive, and it therefore even superseded U.S nationalism as embodied in the Constitution. Hence, he found no objection to surrendering to an international body jurisdiction over the nation's rights in international affairs. As a result, he championed arbitration treaties with Britain and France. The Senate was not prepared to make such a surrender of the nation's interests, and approved the treaties but only with modifications that provided the Senate with a veto over any decisions made in arbitration.
In the 1911 Congressional session Taft's most potentially notable achievement was approval of a reciprocity agreement with Canada which proposed to drastically lower trade barriers. The passage was accomplished with the cooperation of some Democrats, and at a considerable cost of Republican unity. The President confessed to Roosevelt "I think it may break the Republican party for a while." Taft also responded to criticism from party leaders, saying, "I do not give a tinker's damn whether it injures my political prospects or not." Despite the potential benefits of the agreement to the country, which Roosevelt as well understood and anticipated, all was for naught when the Canadian legislature refused to approve it.
No foreign affairs controversy tested Taft's statesmanship and commitment to peace more than the uprising in Mexico against the authoritarian regime of the aging Porfirio Diaz
, which had attracted billions in capital investment for economic development, much of it from the U.S. Anti-regime (and anti-American) riots began in 1910 and were reported by Ambassador Henry Lane Wilson
to Knox, who failed to pass the information on to the President. Some months later Wilson met with Taft (Knox was out of town on vacation), and upon hearing the information, the President immediately and unilaterally ordered a mobilization of 25,000 troops to the Mexican border as well as naval maneuvers in the Gulf of Mexico. Taft publicly directed that no intervention of troops into Mexico was to occur without Congressional authorization. The President's restraint in the name of peace was difficult to maintain; in Arizona two citizens were killed and almost a dozen injured as a result of the uprising; but Taft would not be goaded into fighting and so instructed the Arizona governor.
1912 presidential campaign and election
The results of the 1910 elections made it clear to the President that Roosevelt had departed his camp, and that he might even contend for the party nomination in 1912. On his return from Europe, Roosevelt openly broke with Taft in one of the notable political feuds of the 20th century. To the surprise of observers who thought Roosevelt had unstoppable momentum, Taft determined he would not simply step aside for the popular ex-President, despite the diminished support he had in the party. Taft acknowledged this, saying, "the longer I am President, the less of a party man I seem to become." Roosevelt declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in February of 1912; Taft soon decided that he would focus on canvassing for delegates and not attempt at the outset to take on the more able campaigner one on one. As Roosevelt became more radical in his progressivism, Taft was hardened in his resolve to achieve re-nomination, as he was convinced that the Progressives threatened the very foundation of the government. Taft ultimately outmaneuvered Roosevelt and Senator Robert M. La Follette, Sr.in delegate count, regained control of the GOP convention; and defeated Roosevelt for the nomination.
Roosevelt and his group of disgruntled party delegates and members bolted from the party to create the Progressive Party
(or "Bull Moose") ticket, splitting the Republican vote in the 1912 election. Taft thought that, despite probable defeat, the party had been preserved as "the defender of conservative government and conservative institutions." He also felt that the expected defeat would remind the party of the need for for self-discipline in the face of populist rancor. Woodrow Wilson
, the Democrat, was elected with 41% of the popular vote; Roosevelt got 27%, and Taft garnered 25%. Taft won a mere eight electoral votes, in Utah
and Vermont
, making it the worst defeat in American history of an incumbent President seeking reelection.
The defeated President had long ago acknowledged his weakness as a campaigner and as well his failure to do the necessary political housekeeping when decisions were made. He also refused to recognize the need to publicize his policies and decisions, saying "After I have made a definite statement, I have to let it go at that until the time for action arises." Taft's indifference towards the press even extended to legislation, where he failed to recognize the press' need for reduced tariffs on print paper and wood pulp. He further alienated the press when recommending that a deficit in the post office be reduced by eliminating the lower second class rates afforded to magazines and newspapers. Taft commented as follows on the state of his party after the election, "...it behooves the Republicans to gather again to the party standard and pledge anew their faith in their party's principles and to organize again to defend the constitutional government handed down to us by our fathers. Without compromising our principles, we must convince and win back former Republicans, and we must reinforce our ranks with Constitution-loving Democrats."
In spite of his failure to be re-elected, Taft achieved what he felt were his main goals as President: keeping permanent control of the party and keeping the courts sacrosanct until they were next threatened
. While the strife during the election of 1912 devastated the once very close friendship between Taft and Theodore Roosevelt, the two eventually did reconcile not long before Roosevelt's death in 1919.
Administration and cabinet
OFFICE | NAME | TERM |
---|---|---|
President | William Howard Taft | 1909–1913 |
Vice President Vice President of the United States The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term... |
James S. Sherman James S. Sherman James Schoolcraft Sherman was a United States Representative from New York and the 27th Vice President of the United States . He was a member of the Baldwin, Hoar, and Sherman families.-Early life:... |
1909–1912 |
None | 1912–1913 | |
Secretary of State United States Secretary of State The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence... |
Philander C. Knox Philander C. Knox Philander Chase Knox was an American lawyer and politician who served as United States Attorney General , a Senator from Pennsylvania and Secretary of State .... |
1909–1913 |
Secretary of the Treasury United States Secretary of the Treasury The Secretary of the Treasury of the United States is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, which is concerned with financial and monetary matters, and, until 2003, also with some issues of national security and defense. This position in the Federal Government of the United... |
Franklin MacVeagh Franklin MacVeagh Franklin MacVeagh was an American banker and Treasury Secretary.Born in Chester County, Pennsylvania, he graduated from Yale University in 1858, where he was a member of Skull and Bones. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1864. He worked as a wholesale grocer and lawyer... |
1909–1913 |
Secretary of War United States Secretary of War The Secretary of War was a member of the United States President's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War," was appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation... |
Jacob M. Dickinson Jacob M. Dickinson Jacob McGavock Dickinson was United States Secretary of War under President William Howard Taft from 1909 to 1911. He was succeeded by Henry L. Stimson.-Biography:... |
1909–1911 |
Henry L. Stimson Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican Party politician and spokesman on foreign policy. He twice served as Secretary of War 1911–1913 under Republican William Howard Taft and 1940–1945, under Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt. In the latter role he was a leading hawk... |
1911–1913 | |
Attorney General United States Attorney General The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government... |
George W. Wickersham George W. Wickersham George Woodward Wickersham was an American lawyer and Presidential Cabinet Secretary.-Biography:Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, he graduated from the University of Pennsylvania... |
1909–1913 |
Postmaster General | Frank H. Hitchcock Frank H. Hitchcock Frank Harris Hitchcock , was chairman of Republican National Committee from 1908 to 1909. He was then Postmaster General of the United States under President William Howard Taft from 1909 to 1913.-Biography:... |
1909–1913 |
Secretary of the Navy United States Secretary of the Navy The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense... |
George von L. Meyer George von Lengerke Meyer George von Lengerke Meyer was a Massachusetts businessman and politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, as United States ambassador to Italy and Russia, as United States Postmaster General from 1907 to 1909 during the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt and... |
1909–1913 |
Secretary of the Interior United States Secretary of the Interior The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries... |
Richard A. Ballinger Richard Achilles Ballinger Richard Achilles Ballinger was mayor of Seattle, Washington, from 1904–1906 and U.S. Secretary of the Interior from 1909–1911.Ballinger was born in Boonesboro, Iowa... |
1909–1911 |
Walter L. Fisher Walter L. Fisher Walter Lowrie Fisher was United States Secretary of the Interior under President William Howard Taft from 1911 to 1913.... |
1911–1913 | |
Secretary of Agriculture United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other... |
James Wilson James Wilson (U.S. politician) James "Tama Jim" Wilson was a Scotland-born United States politician who served as United States Secretary of Agriculture for sixteen years during three presidencies, from 1897 to 1913. He holds the record as the longest-serving United States Cabinet member.-Personal background:Wilson was born in... |
1909–1913 |
Secretary of Commerce & Labor | Charles Nagel Charles Nagel Charles Nagel was a United States politician and lawyer from St. Louis, Missouri. He was Secretary of Commerce and Labor during President William Howard Taft's administration .-Biography:... |
1909–1913 |
Supreme Court
During his presidency, Taft appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:
- Horace Harmon LurtonHorace Harmon LurtonHorace Harmon Lurton was an American jurist who served for four years as a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Appointed at the age of 65, Lurton was the oldest justice appointed to the Court.-Life:...
– 1910
- Lurton had served on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit with Taft, and Taft's attorney general said that at 66, he was too old to become a Supreme Court justice, but Taft had always admired Lurton. According to the Complete Book of U.S. Presidents (2001 edition), Taft later said that "the chief pleasure of my administration" was the appointment of Lurton.
- Charles Evans HughesCharles Evans HughesCharles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
– 1910
- Charles Evans Hughes
- Even though Hughes resigned in 1916 to run in the presidential election that yearUnited States presidential election, 1916The United States presidential election of 1916 took place while Europe was embroiled in World War I. Public sentiment in the still neutral United States leaned towards the British and French forces, due to the harsh treatment of civilians by the German Army, which had invaded and occupied large...
, he became Taft's successor as Chief Justice.- Edward Douglass WhiteEdward Douglass WhiteEdward Douglass White, Jr. , American politician and jurist, was a United States senator, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court and the ninth Chief Justice of the United States. He was best known for formulating the Rule of Reason standard of antitrust law. He also sided with the...
– Chief Justice – 1910
- Edward Douglass White
- Already on the Court as an associate justice since 1894, White was the first Chief Justice to be elevated from an associate justiceship since President George WashingtonGeorge WashingtonGeorge Washington was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1799. He led the American victory over Great Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army from 1775 to 1783, and presided over the writing of...
appointed John RutledgeJohn RutledgeJohn Rutledge was an American statesman and judge. He was the first Governor of South Carolina following the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the 31st overall...
to Chief Justice in 1795. Taft succeeded White as Chief Justice in 1921.- Willis Van DevanterWillis Van DevanterWillis Van Devanter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, January 3, 1911 to June 2, 1937.- Early life and career :...
– 1911 - Joseph Rucker LamarJoseph Rucker LamarJoseph Rucker Lamar was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court appointed by President William Howard Taft...
– 1911 - Mahlon PitneyMahlon PitneyMahlon Pitney was an American jurist and Republican Party politician from New Jersey, who served in the United States Congress and as an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Biography:...
– 1912
- Willis Van Devanter
Taft's six appointments to the Court rank below only those of George Washington
(who appointed all six justices to the first Court), and of Franklin D. Roosevelt
(who was president for just over twelve years). Taft's appointment of five new justices tied the number appointed by both Andrew Jackson
and Abraham Lincoln
. Four of Taft's appointees were relatively young, aged 48, 51, 53, and 54.
The appointments of Edward Douglass White and Charles Evans Hughes also are notable because Taft essentially appointed both his predecessor and successor Chief Justices, respectively. Hughes initially was appointed an Associate Justice
, but later resigned to run for the Republican Party's presidential candidate in the 1916 election
, which he would lose. President Herbert Hoover
renominated Hughes to the Supreme Court as Chief Justice following Taft's retirement.
Other courts
Besides his Supreme Court appointments, Taft appointed 13 judges to the United States Courts of Appeals, and 38 judges to the United States district courts. Taft also appointed judges to various specialty courts, including the first five appointees each to the United States Commerce Court
and the United States Court of Customs Appeals
. The Commerce Court was abolished in 1913; Taft was thus the only President to appoint judges to that body.
States admitted to the Union
- New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
: January 6, 1912 - ArizonaArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
: Taft insisted on removing the recallRecall electionA recall election is a procedure by which voters can remove an elected official from office through a direct vote before his or her term has ended...
provision of the state constitution before he would approve it; It was removed, Taft signed the statehood bill on February 14, 1912, and state residents promptly put the provision back in.
Post-presidency
Upon leaving the White House in 1913, Taft was appointed the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School. At the same time, Taft was elected president of the American Bar Association
. He spent much of his time writing newspaper articles and books, most notably his series on American legal philosophy
. He was a vigorous opponent of prohibition in the United States
, predicting the undesirable situation that the Eighteenth Amendment
and prohibition would create. He also continued to advocate world peace through international arbitration, urging nations to enter into arbitration treaties with each other and promoting the idea of a League of Nations
even before the First World War began. Taft was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1914.
When World War I did break out in Europe in 1914, however, Taft founded the League to Enforce Peace
. He was a co-chairman of the powerful National War Labor Board
between 1917 and 1918. Although he continually advocated peace, he strongly favored conscription
once the United States entered the War, pleading publicly that the United States not fight a "finicky" war. He feared the war would be long, but was for fighting it out to a finish, given what he viewed as "Germany's brutality."
Nomination
On June 30, 1921, following the death of Chief Justice Edward Douglass White, President Warren G. Harding
nominated Taft to take his place. For a man who had once remarked, "there is nothing I would have loved more than being chief justice of the United States" the nomination to oversee the highest court in the land was like a dream come true. There was little opposition to the nomination, and the Senate
approved him 60-4 in a secret session on the day of his nomination, but the roll call
of the vote has never been made public. Taft received his commission immediately and readily took up the position, taking the oath of office on July 11, and serving until 1930. As such, he became the only President to serve as Chief Justice, and thus the only former President to swear in subsequent Presidents, giving the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge
(in 1925) and Herbert Hoover
(in 1929).
Taft enjoyed his years on the court and was respected by his peers. Justice Felix Frankfurter
once remarked to Justice Louis Brandeis
that it was "difficult for me to understand why a man who is so good a Chief Justice...could have been so bad as President. Taft remains the only person to have led both the Executive
and Judicial
branches of the United States government
. He considered his time as Chief Justice to be the highest point of his career; allegedly, he once remarked "I do not remember that I was ever President".

Accomplishments
In 1922, Taft traveled to Great Britain to study the procedural structure of the English courts and to learn how they dropped such a large number of cases quickly. During the trip, King George Vand Queen Mary
received Taft and his wife as state visitors.
With what he had learned in England, Taft decided to advocate the introduction and passage of the Judiciary Act of 1925
, which shifts the Supreme Court's appellate jurisdiction to be largely discretionary upon review of litigants' petitioning to be granted an appeal (see also writ of certiorari
). This allowed the Supreme Court to give preference to what they believed to be cases of national importance and allowed the Court to work more efficiently.
Besides giving the Supreme Court more control over its docket, supporting new legislation, and organizing the Judicial Conference, Taft gave the Supreme Court and the Chief Justice general supervisory power over the scattered and disorganized federal courts.
The legislation also brought the courts of the District of Columbia and of the Territories (and soon, the Commonwealths of the Philippines and Puerto Rico
) into the Federal Court system. This united the courts for the first time as an independent third branch of government under the administrative supervision of the Chief Justice. Taft was also the first Justice to employ two full-time law clerk
s to assist him.
In 1929, Taft successfully argued in favor of the construction of the first separate and spacious United States Supreme Court building
(the one that is still in use now), reasoning that the Supreme Court needed to distance itself from the Congress as a separate branch of the Federal Government. Until then, the Court had heard cases in Old Senate Chamber
of the Capitol Building. The Justices had no private chambers there, and their conferences were held in a room in the Capitol's basement. The building was completed in 1935, five years after Taft's death.
Opinions
While Chief Justice, Taft wrote the opinion for the Court in 256 cases out of the Court's ever-growing caseload. His philosophy of constitutional interpretationwas essentially historical contextualism. Some of his more notable opinions include:

- Balzac v. Porto RicoBalzac v. Porto RicoBalzac v. Porto Rico, , was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that certain provisions of the U.S. Constitution did not apply to territories not incorporated into the union. It originated when Jesús M. Balzac was prosecuted for criminal libel in a district court of Puerto...
, (opinion for the Court)- Ruling that the Fourteenth AmendmentFourteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
did not apply the criminal provisions of the Bill of RightsUnited States Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the government's power in judicial and other proceedings, and...
to overseas territories. This was one of the more famous of the Insular CasesInsular CasesThe Insular Cases are several U.S. Supreme Court cases concerning the status of territories acquired by the U.S. in the Spanish-American War . The name "insular" derives from the fact that these territories are islands and were administered by the War Department's Bureau of Insular Affairs...
.
- Ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment
- Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co.Child Labor Tax CaseBailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U.S. 20 , was a case in which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law unconstitutional as an improper attempt by Congress to penalize employers using child labor...
, (opinion for the Court)- Holding the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law unconstitutional.
- Hill v. WallaceHill v. WallaceThe Futures Trading Act of 1921, approved August 24, 1921. , c. 86 attempted to institute Federal regulation of grain futures contract trading by imposing a prohibitive tax on futures contracts traded on any market other than those that met the statute's requirements and were regulated by the...
, (opinion for the Court)- Holding the Future Trading ActFuture Trading ActThe Future Trading Act of 1921 was a United States Act of Congress intended to institute regulation of grain futures contracts and, particularly, the exchanges on which they were traded...
an unconstitutional use of Congress's taxing powerTaxing and Spending ClauseArticle I, Section 8, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution, is known as the Taxing and Spending Clause. It is the clause that gives the federal government of the United States its power of taxation...
- Holding the Future Trading Act
- Adkins v. Children's HospitalAdkins v. Children's HospitalAdkins v. Children's Hospital, , is a Supreme Court opinion holding that federal minimum wage legislation for women was an unconstitutional infringement of liberty of contract, as protected by the due process clause of the Fifth Amendment....
, (dissenting opinion)- Disapproving of the Court's upholding of Lochner v. New YorkLochner v. New YorkLochner vs. New York, , was a landmark United States Supreme Court case that held a "liberty of contract" was implicit in the due process clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. The case involved a New York law that limited the number of hours that a baker could work each day to ten, and limited the...
. In 1937, the Supreme Court agreed with Taft and overruled this decision permanently.
- Disapproving of the Court's upholding of Lochner v. New York
- Board of Trade of City of Chicago v. OlsenBoard of Trade of City of Chicago v. OlsenBoard of Trade of City of Chicago v. Olsen, 262 U.S. 1 , is a decision by the Supreme Court of the United States, in which it upheld the Grain Futures Act as constitutional under the Commerce Clause of the United States Constitution....
, (opinion for the Court)- Upholding the constitutionality of the Grain Futures ActGrain Futures ActThe Grain Futures Act , is a United States federal law enacted September 21, 1922 involving the regulation of trading in certain commodity futures, and causing the establishment of the Grain Futures Administration, a predecessor organization to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.The bill that...
under the Commerce ClauseCommerce ClauseThe Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
- Upholding the constitutionality of the Grain Futures Act
- Ex Parte Grossman, (opinion for the Court)
- Holding that the President's pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
power extends to pardoning people held for criminal contempt. While the Supreme Court rules provide for issuing writs of habeas corpusHabeas corpusis a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...
within the Court's original jurisdictionOriginal jurisdictionThe original jurisdiction of a court is the power to hear a case for the first time, as opposed to appellate jurisdiction, when a court has the power to review a lower court's decision.-France:...
, Taft's opinion in Grossman was the last time the Court did so.
- Holding that the President's pardon
- Carroll v. United StatesCarroll v. United StatesCarroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 , was a decision by the United States Supreme Court which upheld that the warrantless search of an automobile is known as the automobile exception...
, (opinion for the Court)- Holding that police searches of automobileAutomobileAn automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s without a warrant do not violate the Fourth AmendmentFourth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
when the police have probable causeProbable causeIn United States criminal law, probable cause is the standard by which an officer or agent of the law has the grounds to make an arrest, to conduct a personal or property search, or to obtain a warrant for arrest, etc. when criminal charges are being considered. It is also used to refer to the...
to believe that contrabandContrabandThe word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold....
would be found in the automobile
- Holding that police searches of automobile
- Myers v. United StatesMyers v. United StatesMyers v. United States, , was a United States Supreme Court decision ruling that the President has the exclusive power to remove executive branch officials, and does not need the approval of the Senate or any other legislative body....
, (opinion for the Court)- Ruling that the President of the United States had the power to unilaterally dismiss Executive Branch appointees who had been confirmed by the Senate.
- United States v. General Electric Co.United States v. General Electric Co.United States v. General Electric Co. is a 1926 decision of the United States Supreme Court holding that a patentee who has granted a single license to a competitor to manufacture the patented product may lawfully fix the price at which the licensee may sell the product.-Background:GE owned three...
, (opinion for the Court)- Ruling that a patentee who has granted a single license to a competitor to manufacture the patented product may lawfully fix the price at which the licensee may sell the product.
- Lum v. RiceLum v. RiceLum v. Rice, 275 U.S. 78 , is a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court held that the exclusion on account of race of a child of Chinese ancestry from a state high school did not violate the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution...
, (opinion for the Court)- Ruling that the Fourteenth AmendmentFourteenth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was adopted on July 9, 1868, as one of the Reconstruction Amendments.Its Citizenship Clause provides a broad definition of citizenship that overruled the Dred Scott v...
did not prohibit MississippiMississippiMississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
's prevention of Asian children attending whiteWhite peopleWhite people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
schools during racial segregationRacial segregationRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
. The Supreme Court overruled this opinion in 1954.
- Ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment
- Olmstead v. United StatesOlmstead v. United StatesOlmstead v. United States, , was a decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, in which the Court reviewed whether the use of wiretapped private telephone conversations, obtained by federal agents without judicial approval and subsequently used as evidence, constituted a violation of the...
, (opinion for the Court)- Ruling that the judicial practice of excluding evidence obtained without a warrant was based on the Fourth Amendment'sFourth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution is the part of the Bill of Rights which guards against unreasonable searches and seizures, along with requiring any warrant to be judicially sanctioned and supported by probable cause...
proscription on unreasonable search and seizureSearch and seizureSearch and seizure is a legal procedure used in many civil law and common law legal systems whereby police or other authorities and their agents, who suspect that a crime has been committed, do a search of a person's property and confiscate any relevant evidence to the crime.Some countries have...
but did not apply to telephone wiretappingTelephone tappingTelephone tapping is the monitoring of telephone and Internet conversations by a third party, often by covert means. The wire tap received its name because, historically, the monitoring connection was an actual electrical tap on the telephone line...
.
- Ruling that the judicial practice of excluding evidence obtained without a warrant was based on the Fourth Amendment's
- Wisconsin v. IllinoisWisconsin v. IllinoisWisconsin v. Illinois, also referred to as the Chicago Sanitary District Case, is an opinion of the Supreme Court of the United States which held that the equitable power of the United States can be utilized to impose positive action on one state in a situation in which nonaction would result in...
, (opinion for the Court)- Holding that the equitable power of the United States can be used to impose positive action on the states in a situation where non-action would result in damage to the interests of other states.
- Old Colony Trust Co. v. CommissionerOld Colony Trust Co. v. CommissionerOld Colony Trust Co. v. Commissioner, , was an income tax case before the Supreme Court of the United States.HELD:*When a third party purports to pay a person's income tax on his behalf, it must include the amount of the tax payment in the gross income on which it calculates his tax liability,...
, (opinion for the Court)- Holding that where a third party pays the income taxIncome tax in the United StatesIn the United States, a tax is imposed on income by the Federal, most states, and many local governments. The income tax is determined by applying a tax rate, which may increase as income increases, to taxable income as defined. Individuals and corporations are directly taxable, and estates and...
owed by an individual, the amount of tax paid constitutes additional income to the taxpayer.
- Holding that where a third party pays the income tax
Medical condition
Evidence from eyewitnesses, and from Taft himself, strongly suggests that during his presidency he had severe obstructive sleep apnea
because of his obesity. Within a year of leaving the presidency, Taft lost approximately 80 pounds (36.3 kg). His somnolence problem resolved and, less obviously, his systolic blood pressure
dropped 40–50 mmHg (from 210 mmHg). Undoubtedly, this weight loss extended his life. Soon after his weight loss, he had a revival of interest in the outdoors; this led him to explore Alaska. Beginning in 1920, Taft used a cane; this was a gift from Professor of Geology W.S. Foster, and was made of 250,000-year-old wood.
Death and legacy

, whom he had appointed to the Court while president, succeeded him.
Five weeks following his retirement, Taft died, on March 8, 1930, the same date as Associate Justice Edward Terry Sanford
(who died unexpectedly). As it was customary for members of the court to attend the funeral of deceased members, this posed a "logistical nightmare", necessitating cross-country travel.
Three days following his demise, on March 11, he became the first president to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery
. James Earle Fraser sculpted his grave marker out of Stony Creek granite. Taft is one of two presidents buried at Arlington National Cemetery, and is one of four Chief Justices buried there. Taft was the only Chief Justice to have had a state funeral
.
In 1938, a third generation of the Taft family entered the national political stage with the election of the former President's oldest son Robert A. Taft I
to the Senate, where he became a leader of the conservative Republicans. President Taft's other son, Charles Phelps Taft II
, served as the mayor of Cincinnati from 1955 to 1957.
Two more generations of the Taft family later entered politics. The President's grandson, Robert Taft, Jr.
, served a term as a Senator from Ohio from 1971 to 1977, and the President's great-grandson, Robert A. "Bob" Taft III
, served as the Governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007. William Howard Taft III
was the U.S. ambassador to Ireland from 1953 to 1957.
William Howard Taft IV
, currently in private law practice, was the general counsel in the former United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in the 1970s, was the Deputy Secretary of Defense under Caspar Weinberger
and Frank Carlucci
in the 1980s, and acted as the United States Secretary of Defense
during its vacancy from January to March 1989. In addition, he was a high-level official in the Department of State from 2000 to 2006.
President Taft's enduring legacy includes many things named after him. The William Howard Taft National Historic Site
is the Taft boyhood home. The house in which he was born has been restored to its original appearance. It includes four period rooms reflecting family life during Taft's boyhood, and second-floor exhibits highlighting Taft's life.Others include the courthouse of the Ohio Court of Appeals for the First District in Cincinnati; streets in Cincinnati, Arlington, Virginia; and Manila
, Philippines; a law school in Santa Ana, California
; and high schools in San Antonio, Texas; Woodland Hills
, California; Chicago, Illinois; and The Bronx
. Taft, Eastern Samar
, a town in the Philippines was named after him. After a fire burned much of the town of Moron
, California, in the 1920s, it was renamed Taft, California, in his honor.
George Burroughs Torrey
painted a portrait of him. Taft is the last President to have sported facial hair while in office.
Media
See also
- Demographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesDemographics of the Supreme Court of the United StatesThe demographics of the Supreme Court of the United States encompass the gender, ethnic, religious, geographic, and economic backgrounds of the 112 justices appointed to the Supreme Court. Certain of these characteristics have been raised as an issue since the Court was established in 1789. For its...
- Dollar DiplomacyDollar DiplomacyDollar Diplomacy is a term used to describe the effort of the United States—particularly under President William Howard Taft—to further its aims in Latin America and East Asia through use of its economic power by guaranteeing loans made to foreign countries. The term was originally coined by...
- History of the United States (1865–1918)History of the United States (1865–1918)The History of the United States covers Reconstruction, the Gilded Age, and the Progressive Era, and includes the rise of industrialization and the resulting surge of immigration in the United States. This period of rapid economic growth and soaring prosperity in North and West saw the U.S...
- List of Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States
- List of United States Chief Justices by time in office
- List of U.S. Supreme Court Justices by time in office
- Taft familyTaft familyThe Taft family of the United States hails from Cincinnati, Ohio, with historic origins in Massachusetts; its members have served Ohio, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and the United States in various positions, such as Governor of Ohio, Governor of Rhode Island, U.S. Senator , U.S...
- United States Supreme Court cases during the Taft Court
- List of Presidents of the United States
- US Presidents on US postage stamps
External links
- William Howard Taft: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
- Extensive essay on William Howard Taft and shorter essays on each member of his cabinet and the First Lady from the Miller Center of Public Affairs
- Inaugural Address
- Audio clips of Taft's speeches
- Taft's sleep apnea
- Taft's medical history
- White House biography
- Presidential Biography by Stanley L. Klos
- ArlingtonCemetery.Net citing New York Times Obituary
- William Howard Taft cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectCylinder Preservation and Digitization ProjectThe Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Libraries with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid 1920s.- History :The project began...
at the University of California, Santa BarbaraUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraThe University of California, Santa Barbara, commonly known as UCSB or UC Santa Barbara, is a public research university and one of the 10 general campuses of the University of California system. The main campus is located on a site in Goleta, California, from Santa Barbara and northwest of Los...
Library. - Discography of William Howard Taft on Victor RecordsVictor Talking Machine CompanyThe Victor Talking Machine Company was an American corporation, the leading American producer of phonographs and phonograph records and one of the leading phonograph companies in the world at the time. It was headquartered in Camden, New Jersey....
from the Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) - W.H. Taft Pages: Taft Humor and Anecdotes
- William Taft National Historic Site
- The Taft Museum, an art museum in Taft's former home in downtown Cincinnati
- "Growing into Public Service: William Howard Taft's Boyhood Home", a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson plan
- The Last Salute: Civil and Military Funeral, 1921–1969, CHAPTER II, Former President William Howard Taft, State Funeral, 8 – March 11, 1930 by B. C. Mossman and M. W. Stark. United States Army Center of Military History.
- The Taft Chair at the Mission Inn
- Bibliography, William Howard Taft Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Biography, William Howard Taft Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- Location of Papers William Howard Taft Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
- William Howard Taft, The first golfing President
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