William Howard Taft

I

Introduction

William Howard Taft (1857-1930), 27th president of the United States (1909-1913) and tenth chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States (1921-1930). Taft was the only person in U.S. history to hold those two offices. He succeeded President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909), who expected Taft to continue his crusade for reform. Instead Taft was more conservative, and the domestic reforms of the early 20th century slowed. Taft also replaced Roosevelt's aggressive foreign policy with one that was more measured. Taft's conservatism irritated Roosevelt, split the Republican Party, and ensured a Democratic victory for Woodrow Wilson in the presidential election of 1912.

II

Early Life

William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Alphonso and Louisa Torrey Taft. Both parents were descendants of old and substantial New England families of British origin. His father, a native of Vermont and the son of a judge, had moved to Cincinnati in 1837 to practice law. His mother came to Ohio from Massachusetts years later as Alphonso's second wife. Their first son died in infancy, but in 1857, William Howard Taft was born, healthy and strong. In time there were six children, including William, his two brothers, his sister, and his two half brothers by his father's first marriage. Traditions revering education and public service ran strong in the family. Alphonso Taft himself served as a judge in Ohio, as attorney general and secretary of war in the administration of Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877), and as U.S. minister to Austria and to Russia. He set an example that his son William was to emulate and exceed.

Taft received his early education at local public schools. Even-tempered and intelligent, he had little difficulty in meeting his parents' exacting standards. In 1874 he entered Yale College (now Yale University), where he was both successful and popular. When he graduated in 1878, he ranked second in his class. After Yale he went home to attend the Cincinnati Law School. He graduated in 1880 and passed the Ohio bar examinations the same year.

III

Early Career

Although Taft was successful in his first job as court reporter for the Cincinnati Commercial Gazette, only a few months passed between his graduation from law school and his first public appointment as assistant prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio, in 1881. The next year he was appointed Cincinnati's collector of internal revenue, but later resigned to pursue a private law practice.

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In 1885 Taft returned to public service as assistant county solicitor in Hamilton County. The following year he married Helen Herron, whom he called Nellie, the daughter of a well-known Cincinnati lawyer. The couple had three children, Helen, Charles Phelps, and Robert Alphonso Taft, later a United States senator from Ohio. An intelligent and ambitious woman, Nellie Taft played an important role in Taft's choice of career and in his advancement.

A

Judicial Appointment

Taft wanted a career in law. As he once said, “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.” His first opportunity to serve as a judge came in 1887, when Ohio Governor Joseph Foraker chose Taft to complete an unfinished term on the Ohio Supreme Court. The following year, Taft was elected to a full term on the court. In 1889, although Taft was only 32 years old, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him United States solicitor general. Much later, Taft attributed his success in these early years to his father being well known, his own good standing with the Republican Party, and the fact that “like every well-trained Ohio man I had my plate the right side up when offices were falling.”

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