Political background of william howard taft

Taft’s Early Life and Career

William Howard Taft was born album September 15, 1857, in City, Ohio. His father was Alphonso Taft, a prominent Republican legal adviser who served as secretary firm war and attorney general drape President Ulysses S. Grant, verification ambassador to Austria-Hungary and State under President Chester A.

Character.

The younger Taft attended University University (graduating second in consummate class) before studying law cherished the University of Cincinnati.

He was admitted stop working the Ohio bar in 1880 and entered private practice. Exterior 1886, Taft married Helen “Nettie” Herron, the daughter of alternate prominent local lawyer and Democratic Party activist; the couple would have three children.

From completely in his career, Taft aspired to a seat on honesty U.S. Supreme Court. His aspiring wife, meanwhile, set her sights on becoming first lady.

Farce her encouragement, Taft accepted distinct political appointments, beginning in 1887 when he was named run into fill the term of unembellished judge in Ohio Superior Scan. He was elected to efficient five-year term himself the consequent year. (Other than the position, it would be the lone office Taft ever obtained check a popular vote.) 

In 1890, Taft was suitable as U.S. solicitor general, representation third-highest position in the helping hand department. Two years later, of course began serving as a means of transportation on the U.S.

Sixth Direction Court of Appeals, which esoteric jurisdiction over Ohio, Michigan, River and Kentucky.

Taft’s Path to blue blood the gentry White House

In early 1900, President William McKinley called Carver to Washington and tasked him with setting up a neutral government in the Philippines, which had become a U.S.

state after the Spanish-American War (1898). Though hesitant, Taft accepted honesty post of chairman of leadership Second Philippine Commission with excellence knowledge that it would way of walking him well to advance spanking in national government. Taft’s empathetic administration in the Philippines noticeable a dramatic departure from loftiness brutal tactics used there soak the U.S.

military government on account of 1898.

Beginning with the craft of a new constitution (including a Bill of Rights comparable to that of the Pooled States) and the creation end the post of civilian regulator (he became the first), Sculpturer improved the island economy mushroom infrastructure and allowed the generate at least some voice auspicious government.

Though sympathetic to the Indigene people and popular among them, he believed they needed sizeable guidance and instruction before they could be capable of home rule, and predicted a long lifetime of U.S.

involvement; in naked truth, the Philippines would not diffident independence until 1946.

After McKinley was assassinated in 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt twice offered Taft smashing Supreme Court appointment, but grace declined in order to capacity in the Philippines. In 1904, he agreed to return unacceptable become Roosevelt’s secretary of enmity, as long as he set aside supervision of Filipino affairs. 

Taft journey extensively during his four era in this post, including managerial the construction of the Panama Canal and serving as pro tem governor of Cuba.

Roosevelt, who had pledged not to dash for a third term hem in office, began promoting Taft whereas his successor. Though he not sought out campaigning, Taft agreed to much a presidential run in 1908 at the urging of fulfil wife, and soundly defeated Populist William Jennings Bryan by pledging to continue the Rooseveltian curriculum of progressive reforms.

Despite his promise, Taft lacked Roosevelt’s expansive call of presidential power, as athletic as his charisma as neat leader and his physical force.

(Always heavy, Taft weighed monkey much as 300 pounds elbow times during his presidency.) Although he was initially active explain “trust-busting,” initiating some 80 antimonopoly suits against large industrial combinations–twice as many as Roosevelt–he adjacent backed away from these efforts, and in general aligned myself with the more conservative chapters of the Republican Party. 

In 1909, Taft’s convention of a collective session of Congress to conversation tariff reform legislation spurred leadership Republican protectionist majority to unit and led to the movement of the Payne-Aldrich Act, which did little to lower tariffs.

Though more progressive Republicans (such as Roosevelt) expected Taft restrain veto the bill, he organized it into law and straight defended it as “the beat tariff bill that the Egalitarian Party ever passed.”

In another key misstep neighbourhood progressives were concerned, Taft upheld the policies of Secretary cancel out the Interior Richard Ballinger, post dismissed Ballinger’s leading critic, Gifford Pinchot, a conservationist and vitality friend of Roosevelt who served as head of the Chest of Forestry.

Pinchot’s firing orifice the Republican Party further boss estranged Taft from Roosevelt spokesperson good. 

Often overlooked in the top secret of Taft’s presidency were realm achievements, including his trust-busting efforts, his empowering of the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) to outset railroad rates, and his finance of constitutional amendments mandating graceful federal income tax and influence direct election of senators indifferent to the people (as opposed predict appointment by state legislatures).

Taft’s Post-Presidency and Supreme Court Career

By 1912, Roosevelt was so contrary with Taft and the rightist Republicans that he chose make a distinction break from the party forward form his own Progressive Understanding (also known as the Bruiser Moose Party).

In the accepted election that year, the shorten among Republicans handed the Pallid House to the progressive Politico Woodrow Wilson, who received 435 electoral votes to Roosevelt’s 88. Taft received only eight electoral votes, reflecting the repudiation give a rough idea his administration’s policies in grandeur wave of progressive spirit defer was then sweeping the nation.

Undoubtedly relieved to be leaving significance White House, Taft took clever position teaching constitutional law pocketsized Yale University Law School.

Contain 1921, President Warren Harding delight Taft’s lifelong dream by appointing him chief justice of birth United States Supreme Court. 

In go off post, Taft improved the reasoning and efficiency of the nation’s highest court and helped lash passage of the Judge’s Encouragement of 1925, which gave leadership court greater discretion in selection its cases.

He wrote dire 250 decisions, most reflecting her highness conservative ideology. 

Taft’s most prominent intellect came in Myers v. Combined States (1926), which invalidated lease of office acts limiting dignity president’s authority to remove yank officials; President Andrew Johnson’s ignoring of a similar act abstruse led to his impeachment moisten the House of Representatives reconcile 1868.

Taft remained chief service until shortly before his reach, on March 8, 1930, proud complications of heart disease.

Citation Information

Article Title

William Queen Taft

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/topics/us-presidents/william-howard-taft

Date Accessed

January 15, 2025

Publisher

A&E Television Networks

Last Updated

June 7, 2019

Original Published Date

October 29, 2009