William Howard Taft

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William Howard Taft (b. on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio) was the 27th president of the United States. He served from 1909 until 1913, when he was defeated in his re-election bid by Woodrow Wilson (D). Taft was a member of the Republican Party, and his vice president was James Sherman.^[1]

Taft was also the 10th chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He joined the Supreme Court in 1921 after a nomination from President Warren Harding. Taft served on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit from 1892 to 1900 after being nominated by Benjamin Harrison.^[2]

Taft was the only Supreme Court justice to also serve as president and thus the only justice to nominate another justice. He was also the youngest judge appointed to a federal court of appeals at the time of his appointment. He was 34 when he was commissioned for the Sixth Circuit.^[3]

Taft died on March 8, 1930, at the age of 72.^[4]

Biography

Timeline of life events

Below is an abbreviated outline of Taft's academic, professional, and political career:^[2][5][6]

• 1857: Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
• 1874: Graduated from Woodward High School
• 1878: Graduated from Yale University with a B.A.
• 1880: Graduated from Cincinnati Law School with a J.D.
• 1881-1883: Worked as assistant prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio
• 1882: Worked as collector of internal revenue for the city of Cincinnati
• 1883-1887: Worked as attorney in private practice
• 1885-1887: Worked as assistant county solicitor for Hamilton County
• 1887-1890: Served as judge on the Cincinnati Superior Court
• 1890-1892: Served as United States solicitor general
• 1892-1900: Served as judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit
• 1896-1900: Worked as professor and dean at the University of Cincinnati
• 1900-1901: Served as president of the U.S. Philippine Commission
• 1901-1904: Served as civil governor of the Philippine Islands
• 1904-1908: Served as United States secretary of war under Theodore Roosevelt
• 1909-1913: Served as president of the United States
• 1913-1921: Worked as Kent professor of constitutional law at Yale University
• 1918: Appointed joint chairman of the National War Labor Board
• 1921-1930: Served as chief justice on the United States Supreme Court
• 1930: Died of a heart attack in Washington, D.C., and was buried at Arlington National Cemetery

Before the presidency

Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alphonso Taft and Louisa Maria Torrey. Alphonso was a lawyer and judge who served as the secretary of war and U.S. attorney general under President Ulysses Grant.^[7] Taft had two half-brothers from his father's previous marriage and three full siblings.

In 1874, Taft graduated second in his class at Woodward High School, a private school in Cincinnati. He then attended Yale University, graduating second in his college class as well.^[8] Taft went on to graduate from the University of Cincinnati Law School, passing the bar in May 1880.

Taft began working as the assistant prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1881. After leaving that position, he spent a few years in private practice, followed by an appointment to a judgeship on the Cincinnati Superior Court. When President Benjamin Harrison appointed him U.S. solicitor general at the age of 32, Taft became the youngest person to serve in that position.^[4] Harrison later nominated Taft for another position—judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit—on December 16, 1891. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892, and received commission that same day. Taft was the youngest judge appointed to a federal court of appeals at the time of his appointment. He was 34 when he was commissioned for the Sixth Circuit. Taft resigned on March 15, 1900. He was succeeded to this post by Henry Franklin Severens.

After the Spanish-American War, President William McKinley offered Taft a position as governor general of the Philippines. Taft and his family lived in the Philippines for four years. During this time, President Theodore Roosevelt offered to appoint Taft to the U.S. Supreme Court, but he declined, stating that he believed his work was still needed in the Philippines. However, in 1904, he accepted Roosevelt's offer to serve as secretary of war; in this post, Taft oversaw the creation of the Panama Canal.

Roosevelt, having served two terms as president, encouraged Taft to run for president in 1908.^[9] Taft won the presidency with 321 electoral votes to William Jennings Bryan's 162.^[10]

Presidency

President Theodore Roosevelt, who supported Taft's 1908 run for the presidency, had gained support as a progressive Republican. Taft's voters expected him to follow suit and continue Roosevelt's progressive reform programs.

Shortly after taking office, Taft called for a congressional special session to reduce tariffs on imported goods. This sparked a backlash from the conservative faction of the Republican Party, which led to Congress passing the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act. While the act did lower tariffs, the reductions were lower than what progressive Republicans wanted. Taft signed the bill in June 1909, leading to accusations from the progressive wing of the party that he had reversed his position on tariff reform.^[11][12]

Taft's early emphasis on reducing tariffs went along with the progressive goal of breaking up monopolies trusts—commonly referred to as trust busting. Taft initiated over 80 antitrust lawsuits—more than had taken place under Roosevelt.^[9] Around 1911, however, Taft began to place less of an emphasis on breaking up trusts, which further alienated the progressives who had gotten him into office.

Taft signed the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, which allowed the Interstate Commerce Commission to set rates for railroads. He also signed the Postal Savings Depository Act of 1910, which set up the Postal Savings System. In January 1912, New Mexico became the 47th state—though Taft first vetoed the inclusion of both New Mexico and Arizona because their constitutions contained clauses allowing the recall of judges.

In 1913, Taft signed both the 16th Amendment and the 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 16th Amendment instituted the income tax, while the 17th Amendment allowed for the direct election of U.S. senators.

Though Taft sought re-election to a second term in the presidency, Taft's policies had isolated him from the progressive Republicans, including Roosevelt. Roosevelt launched a minor-party bid under the Bull Moose Party, and the divide between conservative and progressive Republicans solidified Democrat Woodrow Wilson's victory. Wilson took 435 of 531 electoral votes, leaving Roosevelt with 88 and Taft with eight.

Post-presidency

Following his presidency, Taft worked as a law professor at Yale University.

Taft served as the U.S. Supreme Court's 10th chief justice from 1921 to 1930. He was nominated by President Warren Harding on June 30, 1921. He was confirmed by the Senate on June 30, 1921, and received commission that same day. He resigned on February 3, 1930. He was succeeded to this post by Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes.

Taft died in Washington, D.C., on March 8, 1930, from complications due to heart disease. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery—the first U.S. president to be buried there.^[13]

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
In 1886, Taft married Helen Herron. They had three children together.^[14]

According to Biography.com, Taft was "the first president to be buried in Arlington Cemetery, and the first to have a funeral broadcast on the radio. ... He was the first president to have a presidential automobile, converting the White House stables into garages; the first to occupy the Oval Office, which was operational as of October 1909; the first to throw the ceremonial first pitch at a baseball game; and the first to play golf as a hobby."^[4]

Taft was also known for being a large man—about six feet tall and weighing up to 340 lbs.^[15]

Elections

1912 presidential election

In 1912, Taft was defeated in his re-election bid for the United States presidency by Woodrow Wilson.

U.S. presidential election, 1912
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Republican	William Taft/Nicholas Butler Incumbent	23.2%	3,487,939	8
	Democratic	Woodrow Wilson/Thomas Marshall	41.8%	6,294,384	435
	Progressive	Theodore Roosevelt/Hiram Johnson	27.4%	4,121,609	88
	Socialist	Eugene Debs/Emil Seidel	6%	900,743	0
	N/A	Other	1.6%	241,865	0
Total Votes	15,046,540	531
Election results via: David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

1908 presidential election

In 1908, Taft defeated William Jennings Bryan in the general election for the United States presidency.

U.S. presidential election, 1908
Party	Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Republican	William Taft/James Sherman	51.6%	7,678,174	321
	Democratic	William Bryan/John Kern	43%	6,409,007	162
	Socialist	Eugene Debs/Benjamin Hanford	2.8%	420,856	0
	Prohibition	Eugene Chafin/Aaron Watkins	1.7%	254,081	0
	N/A	Other	0.9%	126,991	0
Total Votes	14,889,109	483
Election results via: David Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections

State of the Union addresses

Every year in office, the president of the United States addresses Congress on the present state of affairs as well as the administration's goals for the coming year.^[16] Following are transcripts from Taft's State of the Union addresses.

• December 7, 1909
• December 6, 1910
• December 5, 1911
• December 3, 1912

See also

• Theodore Roosevelt
• Woodrow Wilson
• Ohio
• Federal judges nominated by William Howard Taft
• History of the Supreme Court
• Adkins v. Children's Hospital

External links

• William Howard Taft National Historic Site
• Official White House biography
• C-Span video on the Taft presidency
• White House Historical Association, William Howard Taft biography
• Biography.com, William Howard Taft biography
• History.com, William Howard Taft biography
• Encyclopædia Britannica

Footnotes

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Glossary	Appointment confirmation process • United States Constitution • Electoral College • Deferred action • Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) • Deferred Action for Parents of U.S. Citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (DAPA) • Impeachment of federal officials • Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) • North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) • P5+1 and E3+3 • Trade adjustment assistance (TAA) • Trade promotion authority (TPA)