William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States, born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1857. He was a good student and graduated from Yale University in 1878. Taft quickly passed the Ohio bar exam and became an assistant solicitor of Hamilton County. In 1900, President McKinley sent Taft to serve as chief civil administrator in the Philippines. After McKinley’s assassination, President Theodore Roosevelt assigned Taft to the position of secretary of war. Taft won the 1908 presidential election but lacked Roosevelt’s political flair. Taft’s presidency was characterized by advocacy for worldwide arbitration, “dollar diplomacy,” and the dissolution of trusts. In the 1912 election, Taft and Roosevelt were engaged in a personal battle, and Woodrow Wilson won the election. Taft taught law at Yale Law School and was elected president of the American Bar Association. In 1921, he was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by President Warren Harding. Taft died in 1930 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
William Howard Taft, 27th president of the United States of America, was born on September 15, 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Louise Torrey Taft, his mother, was originally from Massachusetts and second wife of Alphonso Taft. Alphonso, father of William Howard Taft, was a Vermont citizen who had moved to Cincinnati 20 years before his son’s birth to establish a law firm. He became a judge and eventually held the positions of secretary of war and attorney general during the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant.
Growing up, William Howard Taft was a good student. In 1874 he was admitted to Yale University. At Yale he was studious and well liked. He graduated as saluter of his class in 1878 and returned to Ohio to enter Cincinnati Law School.
After graduating from law school in 1880, things moved quickly for Taft. He quickly passed the Ohio bar exam and in 1881 was appointed assistant solicitor of Hamilton County, Ohio. From 1883 to 1887, Taft spent a few years in Cincinnati, working as an attorney in private practice. During this time he became an assistant solicitor of Hamilton County.
On June 19, 1886, Taft married Helen Herron. Helen, whom Taft nicknamed “Nellie,” was an intelligent woman whose ambitions for her husband would be central to the evolution of her career. During their marriage, Taft and Nellie had three children: Robert Alphonso (1889-1953), Helen Herron (1891-1987), and Charles Phelps (1897-1983).
In 1900, President McKinley sent Taft to serve as chief civil administrator in the Philippines. Taft built schools and roads, improved the economy, and looked for other ways to help the Filipino people. In 1901, Taft became the first civilian governor of the Philippines and continued his work to achieve Philippine independence.
After McKinley’s assassination, President Theodore Roosevelt saw Taft as a valuable asset and assigned him to the position of secretary of war. From 1904 to 1908, Taft supervised the construction of the Panama Canal.
By the time the 1908 presidential election came, Taft had closely identified with Roosevelt. Roosevelt declined to run for president and instead used his influence to secure Taft’s nomination. William Howard Taft won this election, becoming the 27th president of the United States.
Unfortunately for Taft, Roosevelt proved a tough act to follow. Taft lacked Roosevelt’s political flair and genius for public speaking. Taft’s presidency was greatly haunted by the specter of his first and greatest love: the law. His great faith in the law was evidenced by the 80 antitrust cases he filed during his tenure. One such lawsuit was filed against US Steel, in direct contradiction to a settlement that Roosevelt had agreed to. Roosevelt was greatly displeased with the actions of the man he had helped put into office, and the relationship between the two men deteriorated precipitously.
Taft’s presidency was characterized by advocacy for worldwide arbitration to resolve conflicts, a foreign policy that embraced the practice of “dollar diplomacy,” and the dissolution of trusts. Taft supported the 16th amendment to the Constitution and appointed six justices to the US Supreme Court.
Though he pursued world peace, in the 1912 election, Taft and Roosevelt were engaged in a personal battle. Frustrated and fed up, Roosevelt decided to wrest control from Taft. Taft did, however, win the Republican Party nomination. Undaunted, Roosevelt formed his own party, the Progressive, or Bull Moose, Party. Eventually, the Republican vote split and Woodrow Wilson, the Democratic nominee, took the election.
In his post-presidential career, Taft taught law at Yale Law School. He was elected president of the American Bar Association. In 1921, he was appointed Chief Justice of the United States by President Warren Harding. Taft is the only U.S. president to date to hold the office of Chief Justice and the only individual to lead both the judicial and executive branches of government.
By the end, Taft was once again doing the job he loved, enjoying his tenure on the Supreme Court immensely. Eventually, however, in February 1930, suffering from a heart condition, he had no choice but to retire. William Howard Taft died almost exactly one month later on March 8, 1930, and became the first U.S. president to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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