Robert Taft
United States Senator from Ohio
In office January 3, 1939 – July 31, 1953
Preceded by	Robert J. Bulkley
Succeeded by	Thomas A. Burke
9th United States Senate Majority Leader
In office January 3, 1953 – July 31, 1953
Preceded by	Ernest McFarland
Succeeded by	William F. Knowland
Personal details
Born	Robert Alphonso Taft (1889-09-08)September 8, 1889 Cincinnati, Ohio
Died	July 31, 1953(1953-07-31) (aged 63) New York City, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Martha Wheaton Bowers
Alma mater	Yale University, Harvard Law School
Religion	Episcopalian
Signature

Robert Alphonso Taft (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953), of the Taft political family of Cincinnati and the son of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft, was a Republican United States Senator and a prominent conservative statesman. As the leading opponent of the New Deal in the Senate from 1939 to 1953, he led the successful effort by the conservative coalition to curb the power of labor unions, and was a major proponent of the foreign policy of non-interventionism. However, he failed in his quest to win the presidential nomination of the Republican Party in 1940, 1948 and 1952. From 1940 to 1952 he battled New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey, the leader of the GOP's moderate "Eastern Establishment" for control of the Republican Party. In 1957, a Senate committee chaired by John F. Kennedy named Taft as one of the five greatest senators in American history, along with Henry Clay, Daniel Webster, John C. Calhoun, and Robert La Follette.^[1]

Family[link]

Taft was a product of one of America's most prominent political families. He was the grandson of Attorney General and Secretary of War Alphonso Taft, and the son of President and Chief Justice William Howard Taft and Helen Herron Taft. His younger brother, Charles Taft, served as the Mayor of Cincinnati and was the unsuccessful Republican candidate for Governor of Ohio in 1952. As a boy he spent four years in the Philippines, where his father was governor. He was first in his class at the Taft School (run by his uncle), at Yale College (1910) and at Harvard Law School (1913). He was a member of Skull and Bones,^[2] and he edited the Harvard Law Review. In 1913 Taft scored the highest in the state on the Ohio bar exam. He then practiced for four years with the firm of Maxwell and Ramsey (now Graydon Head & Ritchey LLP) in Cincinnati, Ohio, his family's ancestral city. After a two-year stint in Washington working for the Food and Drug Administration, he returned to Cincinnati and opened his own law office. In 1924, he and his brother Charles helped form the law partnership Taft, Stettinius, and Hollister, with whom he continued to be associated until his death and which continues to carry his name today.

On October 17, 1914, he married Martha Wheaton Bowers, the heiress daughter of Lloyd Wheaton Bowers, who had served as the United States Solicitor General under his father. Taft himself appeared taciturn and coldly intellectual, characteristics that were offset by his gregarious wife, who served the same role his mother had for his father, as a confidante and powerful asset to her husband's political career. In 1949 Martha suffered a severe stroke which left her an invalid; after her stroke Taft faithfully assisted his wife, even helping to feed and take care of her at public functions, a fact which, his admirers noted, belied his public image as a cold and uncaring person. They had four sons: Robert Taft Jr. (1917–1993), who was also elected to the U.S. Senate; Horace Dwight Taft, who became a professor of physics and dean at Yale; William Howard Taft III (1915–1991), who became ambassador to Ireland; and Lloyd Taft (1923–1985), who worked as an investment banker in Cincinnati.^[3] Two of Taft's grandsons are Robert Alphonso Taft II (born 1942), Governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007, William Howard Taft IV (born 1945), and Deputy Secretary of Defense from 1984 to 1989.

Early public career[link]

Robert A. Taft

When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, Taft attempted to join the U.S. Army, but he was rejected by the Army due to his poor eyesight. Instead, he joined the legal staff of the Food and Drug Administration where he met Herbert Hoover, who became his idol. In 1918–1919 he was in Paris as legal adviser for the American Relief Administration, Hoover's agency which distributed food to war-torn Europe. He learned to distrust governmental bureaucracy as inefficient and detrimental to the rights of the individual principles he promoted throughout his career. He strongly urged membership in the League of Nations,^[4] but generally distrusted European politicians. He strongly endorsed the idea of a powerful World Court that would enforce international law, but no such idealized court ever existed during his lifetime. He returned to Cincinnati in late 1919, promoted Hoover for president in 1920, and opened a law firm with his brother Charles Taft. In 1920 he was elected to the Ohio House of Representatives, where he served as Speaker of the House in 1926. In 1930 he was elected to the state senate, but was defeated for reelection in 1932; it would be the only defeat in a general election he would suffer in his political career. His period of service in the Ohio state legislature was most notable for his efforts to modernize the state's antiquated tax laws. He was an outspoken opponent of the Ku Klux Klan and he did not support prohibition.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Taft was a powerful figure in local and state political and legal circles, and was known as a loyal Republican who never threatened to bolt the party. He confessed in 1922 that "while I have no difficulty talking, I don't know how to do any of the eloquence business which makes for enthusiasm or applause."^[5] A lackluster speaker who did not mix well or glad-hand supporters, nevertheless Taft was a tireless worker with a broad range of policy and political interests. His total grasp of the complex details of every issue impressed reporters and politicians. (Democrats joked that "Taft has the best mind in Washington, until he makes it up.") Taft's loyalty to the conservative politicians who controlled Ohio's Republican Party had a price, as it often caused conflict with his younger brother Charles, who as a local politician in Cincinnati had gained a reputation as a party maverick and liberal. However, despite their occasional policy disagreements, Charles loyally supported all three of his brother's presidential bids.

In 1917 Taft and his wife Martha bought a 46-acre (190,000 m²) farm in Indian Hill, Ohio, a well-to-do suburb of Cincinnati. Called "Sky Farm", it would serve as Taft's primary residence for the rest of his life. The Tafts gradually made extensive renovations that turned the small farmhouse into a sixteen-room mansion. On the farm Taft enjoyed growing strawberries, asparagus, and potatoes for profit. During the summer Taft often vacationed with his wife and children at the Taft family's summer home at Murray Bay, located in the Canadian province of Quebec.^[6]

U.S. Senator[link]

Taft was elected to the first of his three terms as U.S. Senator in 1938 when he defeated the Democratic incumbent, Robert Bulkley. Taft engaged Bulkley in several debates and was generally regarded as the winner.^[7] He struggled in the earlier debates, but later came out on top through assistance from his wife Martha;^[7] Martha would be regarded as the most valuable asset in his campaign. ^[8] As a result, Taft gained the upper hand against Bulkley, who had earlier been regarded as the frontrunner in the race,^[7] and won the election.

Opposition to New Deal[link]

Cooperating with conservative southern Democrats, he led the Conservative Coalition that opposed the New Deal. The Republican gains in the 1938 congressional elections, combined with the creation of the Conservative Coalition, had stopped the expansion of the New Deal. However, Taft saw his mission as not only stopping the growth of the New Deal but also eliminating many of the government programs that had already come from it.

During his first term in the Senate, Taft criticized what he believed was the inefficiency and waste of many New Deal programs and of the need to let private enterprise and businesses restore the nation's economy instead of relying upon government programs to end the Great Depression. He condemned the New Deal as socialist and attacked deficit spending, high farm subsidies, governmental bureaucracy, the National Labor Relations Board, and nationalized health insurance. However, he did not always follow conservative ideology; for instance, after investigating the lack of adequate housing in the nation he supported public housing programs.^[9] He also supported the Social Security program.

Taft set forward a conservative program that promoted economic growth, individual economic opportunity, adequate social welfare, strong national defense (primarily the Navy and Air Force), and noninvolvement in European wars. He also strongly opposed the military draft on the principle that it limited a young man's freedom of choice. Broadly speaking, in terms of political philosophy Taft was a libertarian; he opposed nearly all forms of governmental interference in both the national economy and in the private lives of citizens.^[10]

Opposition to World War II[link]

Taft's greatest prominence during his first term came not from his fight against the New Deal and President Franklin Roosevelt, but rather from his vigorous and outspoken opposition to US involvement in the Second World War. A staunch non-interventionist, Taft believed that America should avoid any involvement in European or Asian wars and concentrate instead on solving its domestic problems. He believed that a strong U.S. military, combined with the natural geographic protection of the broad Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, would be adequate to protect America even if the Nazis overran all of Europe. Between the outbreak of war in September 1939 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 Taft opposed nearly all attempts to aid Allied forces fighting the Nazis in Europe. His outspoken opposition to aiding the Allied forces earned him strong criticism from many liberal Republicans, such as Wendell Willkie and Thomas E. Dewey, who felt that America could best protect itself by fully supporting the British and their allies. Although Taft fully supported the American war effort after Pearl Harbor and the declaration of war on Japan by the U.S. Congress on December 8, 1941, he continued to harbor a deep suspicion of American involvement in postwar military alliances with other nations, including NATO.

1944 re-election[link]

In 1944 Taft was nearly defeated in his bid for a second term in the Senate; his Democratic opponent, William G. Pickrel, received major support from Ohio's labor unions and internationalists and nearly won the upset victory. Following his re-election, Taft became chairman of the Senate Republican Conference in 1944.

Condemnation of the Nuremberg Trials[link]

Taft condemned the postwar Nuremberg Trials as victor's justice under ex post facto laws, in which the people who won the war were the prosecutors, the judges and the alleged victims, all at the same time. Taft condemned the trials as a violation of the most basic principles of American justice and internationally accepted standards in favor of a politicized version of justice, in which court proceedings became an excuse for vengeance against the defeated.^[11] His opposition to the trials was strongly criticized by Republicans and Democrats alike and is sometimes alleged as a main reason for his failure to secure the Republican nomination for president. Other observers, such as Senator John F. Kennedy in his bestselling Profiles in Courage, applauded Taft's principled stand even in the face of great bipartisan criticism.

1947 Taft–Hartley Labor Act[link]

When the Republicans took control of Congress in 1947, Taft focused on labor-management relations as Chair of the Senate Labor Committee. Decrying the effect of the Wagner Act in tilting the balance toward labor unions, he wrote the 1947 Taft–Hartley Act, which remains the basic labor law. It bans "unfair" union practices, outlaws closed shops, and authorizes the President to seek federal court injunctions to impose an eighty-day cooling-off period if a strike threatened the national interest. Taft displayed all of his parliamentary skills in getting the bill through Congress; when President Harry Truman vetoed it, Taft then convinced both houses of Congress to override the veto.

Second term issues[link]

From 1947 to 1949, when the Republicans controlled the Senate, Taft was his party's leading voice in domestic policy. He was reluctant to support farm subsidies, a position that hurt the GOP in rural areas (especially in the Midwest) in the 1948 elections. Taft engineered the passage of the 1949 National Housing Act, which funded slum clearance and the construction of 810,000 units of low-income housing over a period of six years. It was one of the few Fair Deal proposals of President Truman he liked.^[12]

In terms of foreign policy, he was non-interventionist and did not see Stalin's Soviet Union as a major threat. Nor did he pay much attention to domestic Communism. The true danger, he believed, was big government and runaway spending. He supported the Truman Doctrine, reluctantly approved the Marshall Plan, and opposed NATO as unnecessary and provocative to the Soviets. He took the lead among Republicans in condemning President Harry S Truman's handling of the Korean War and questioning the constitutionality of the war itself, saying: "My conclusion, therefore, is that in the case of Korea, where a war was already under way, we had no right to send troops to a nation, with whom we had no treaty, to defend it against attack by another nation, no matter how unprincipled that aggression might be, unless the whole matter was submitted to Congress and a declaration of war or some other direct authority obtained."^[13]

In the wake of the Independence of the State of Israel, Senator Taft was a supporter of the new state, and called to lift the arms embargo to the Middle East, and for the shipment of military aid for the new country.^[14]

1950 re-election[link]

In 1950, Taft ran a more effective campaign in which he wooed factory workers; he won a third term by a wide margin.

By the start of his third term in the Senate, Taft had been given the nickname "Mr. Republican";^[13] he was the chief ideologue and spokesperson for the conservatism of the Republican Party of that era, and he was the acknowledged national leader of the GOP's conservative faction. (Patterson, p. 335)

Presidential ambitions[link]

1940 and 1944[link]

Taft first sought the Republican (GOP) presidential nomination in 1940, but lost to Wendell Willkie. Taft was regarded as a strong contender, but his outspoken support of non-interventionist foreign policies, and his opposition to the New Deal in domestic policy led many liberal Republicans to reject his candidacy. At the 1940 GOP Convention Willkie—a onetime Democrat and corporate executive who had never run for political office—came from behind to beat Taft and several other candidates for the nomination. In the 1944 presidential campaign Taft was not a candidate, instead he supported Governor John Bricker of Ohio, a fellow conservative, for the GOP nomination. However, Bricker was defeated by New York Governor Thomas E. Dewey; Bricker then became Dewey's running mate.

1948 and 1952[link]

In 1948 Taft made a second try for the GOP nomination, but was defeated by his arch-rival, Governor Dewey, who led the GOP's moderate/liberal wing.

Taft sought to reach out to southern Democratic voters in his 1952 campaign. It was his third and final try for the GOP nomination; it also proved to be his strongest effort. At the Republican State Convention in Little Rock, he declared:

I believe a Republican could carry a number of southern states if he conducts the right kind of campaign...Whether we win or lose in the South, we cannot afford to ignore public opinion in the southern states, because it influences national public opinion, and that opinion finally decides the election....It is said that southern Democrats will not vote for a Reublican candidate. They have frequently done so. They did so in Little Rock last November [1951] when they elected Pratt Remmel mayor. I refuse to admit that if the issues are clearly presented, the southern voters will not vote on the basis of principle....^[15]

Taft had the solid backing of the party's conservative wing. Former U.S. Representative Howard Buffett of Nebraska (father of billionaire Warren Buffett) served as his campaign manager.^[16] With Dewey no longer an active candidate many political pundits regarded Taft as the frontrunner. However, the race changed when Dewey and other GOP moderates were able to convince Dwight D. Eisenhower, the most popular general of World War II, to run for the nomination. According to biographer Stephen Ambrose, Eisenhower agreed to run in part because of his fear that Taft's non-interventionist views in foreign policy might unintentionally benefit the Soviet Union in the Cold War.^{[citation needed]}

The fight between Taft and Eisenhower for the GOP nomination was one of the closest and most bitter in American political history. When the Republican Convention opened in Chicago in July 1952, Taft and Eisenhower were neck-and-neck in delegate votes, and the nomination was still up for grabs as neither had a majority. On the convention's first day, Eisenhower's managers complained that Taft's forces had unfairly denied Eisenhower supporters delegate slots in several Southern states, including Texas, where the state chairman, Orville Bullington, was committed to Taft, and also in Georgia. The Eisenhower partisans proposed to remove pro-Taft delegates in these states and replace them with pro-Eisenhower delegates; they called their proposal "Fair Play". Although Taft angrily denied having stolen any delegate votes, the convention voted to support Fair Play 658 to 548, and the Texans voted 33-5 for Eisenhower as a result. In addition, several uncommitted state delegations, such as Michigan and Pennsylvania, agreed to support Eisenhower. There were rumors after the convention that the chairmen of these uncommitted states, such as Arthur Summerfield of Michigan, were secretly pressured by Dewey and the GOP's Eastern Establishment to support Eisenhower; however, these rumors were never proved. (Summerfield did become Eisenhower's Postmaster General.)

The addition of these formerly uncommitted state delegations, combined with Taft's loss of many Southern delegates due to the Fair Play proposal, decided the nomination in Eisenhower's favor. Despite his bitterness at his narrow defeat and his belief that he had been unfairly ambushed by the Eisenhower forces (including Governor Dewey), after the convention Taft issued a brief statement conveying his congratulations and support to Eisenhower. Thereafter, however, he brooded in silence at his summer home in Quebec, complaining that "Every Republican candidate for President since 1936 has been nominated by the Chase National Bank."^[17] As the weeks passed, Eisenhower's aides worried that Taft and his supporters would sit on their hands during the campaign, and that as a result Eisenhower might lose the election. In September 1952, Taft finally agreed to meet with Eisenhower, at Morningside Heights in New York City. There, in order to gain Taft's support in the campaign, Eisenhower promised he would take no reprisals against Taft partisans, would cut federal spending, and would fight "creeping socialism in every domestic field." In fact, Eisenhower and Taft agreed on most domestic issues; their disagreements were primarily in foreign policy. Eisenhower firmly believed in NATO and was committed to the U.S. supporting anti-Communism in the Cold War.

Senate Majority Leader[link]

Following Eisenhower's election and the GOP takeover of Congress, Taft served as Senate Majority Leader in 1953, and he strongly supported Eisenhower's domestic proposals. He worked hard to assist the inexperienced new officials of the administration. He even tried—with little success—to curb the excesses of red-baiting U.S. Senator Joseph McCarthy. By April the President and Taft were friends and golfing companions, and Taft was praising his former adversary. Defeat in 1952, it seemed, had softened Taft. No longer burdened by presidential ambitions, he had become less partisan, less abrasive, and more conciliatory; during this time he was widely regarded as the most powerful man in Congress.

On May 26, 1953, Taft delivered his final speech, in which he presciently warned of the dangers of America's emerging Cold War foreign policy, and specifically U.S. military involvement in Southeast Asia:

Death and legacy[link]

In early 1953 Taft began to feel pain in his hips, and after a painful golf outing with President Eisenhower in April 1953 he entered Walter Reed Hospital for initial tests which led doctors to suspect a tumor or arthritis. Tests in May at Holmes Memorial Hospital near Cincinnati revealed that his body was full of cancer.^[19] In late May 1953, Taft transferred his duties as Senate Majority Leader to Senator William Knowland of California,^{[citation needed]} but he did not resign his Senate seat and told reporters that he expected to recover and return to work. However, his condition rapidly worsened, and Taft returned to New York Hospital for surgery on July 4 during a Senate recess. He died on July 31, suffering a final brain hemorrhage just hours after his wife Martha's final visit.^[19] President Eisenhower and many prominent politicians from both parties attended his funeral. He is buried at Indian Hill Episcopal Church Cemetery in Cincinnati.

In 1957, a committee led by Senator John F. Kennedy selected Taft as one of five of their greatest Senate predecessors whose oval portraits would adorn the President's Room off the Senate floor. Kennedy would profile him in his book Profiles in Courage, and Taft continues to be regarded by historians as one of the most powerful U.S. Senators of the twentieth century. (Patterson, p. 617)

Memorial[link]

The Robert A. Taft Memorial, featuring a 10-foot (3.0 m) statue by the sculptor Wheeler Williams and a bell tower, is located north of the Capitol on Constitution Avenue. The inscription on the tower reads:

"This Memorial to Robert A. Taft, presented by the people to the Congress of the United States, stands as a tribute to the honesty, indomitable courage, and high principles of free government symbolized by his life."^[20]

Electoral history[link]

References[link]

Secondary sources[link]

• Armstrong John P. "The Enigma of Senator Taft and American Foreign Policy." Review of Politics 17:2 (1955): 206–231. in JSTOR
• Berger Henry. "A Conservative Critique of Containment: Senator Taft on the Early Cold War Program." In David Horowitz, ed., Containment and Revolution. (1967), pp 132–39
• Berger, Henry. "Senator Robert A. Taft Dissents from Military Escalation." In Thomas G. Paterson, ed., Cold War Critics: Alternatives to American Foreign Policy in the Truman Years. (1971)
• Doenecke, Justus D. Not to the Swift: The Old Isolationists in the Cold War Era (1979), by a conservative historian
• Farber, David. The Rise and Fall of Modern American Conservatism: A Short History (2010) pp 9–38
• Hayes, Michael T. The Republican Road Not Taken: The Foreign-Policy Vision of Robert A. Taft, Independent Review [1]
• Kirk, Russell, and James McClellan. The Political Principles of Robert A. Taft (1967), by a leading conservative
• Malsberger, John W. From Obstruction to Moderation: The Transformation of Senate Conservatism, 1938–1952 (2000)
• Matthews, Geoffrey. "Robert A. Taft, the Constitution, and American Foreign Policy, 1939–53," Journal of Contemporary History, 17 (July, 1982),
• Moore, John Robert. "The Conservative Coalition in the United States Senate, 1942–45." Journal of Southern History 1967 33(3): 369–376. uses roll calls in JSTOR
• Moser, John E. "Principles Without Program: Senator Robert A. Taft and American Foreign Policy," Ohio History (1999) 108#2 pp 177–92 online edition, by a conservative historian
• Patterson, James T. "A Conservative Coalition Forms in Congress, 1933–1939," The Journal of American History, Vol. 52, No. 4. (Mar., 1966), pp. 757–772. in JSTOR
• Patterson, James T. Congressional Conservatism and the New Deal: The Growth of the Conservative Coalition in Congress, 1933–39 (1967)
• Patterson, James T. "Robert Alphonso Taft". Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 5: 1951–1955. American Council of Learned Societies, 1977.
• Patterson, James T. Mr. Republican: A Biography of Robert A. Taft (1972), standard scholarly biography
• Radosh. Ronald. Prophets on the right: Profiles of conservative critics of American globalism (1978)
• Reinhard, David W. The Republican Right Since 1945 (1983) online edition
• Van Dyke, Vernon, and Edward Lane Davis. "Senator Taft and American Security." Journal of Politics 14 (1952): 177–202. online edition
• White; William S. The Taft Story (1954). Pulitzer prize online edition
• Wunderlin, Clarence E. Robert A Taft: Ideas, Tradition, And Party In U.S. Foreign Policy (2005).

Primary sources[link]

• Kirk, Russell and James McClellan, eds. The Political Principles of Robert A. Taft (1967).
• Wunderlin, Clarence E. Jr., et al. eds. The Papers of Robert A. Taft vol 1, 1889–1939 (1998); vol 2, 1940–1944 (2001); vol 3, 1945–1948 (2003); vol 4, 1949–1953 (2006).
• Robert A. Taft, A Foreign Policy for Americans

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Robert Taft

v t e United States Senators from Ohio Class 1 Smith Meigs Worthington Kerr Ruggles Morris Tappan Corwin Ewing Wade Thurman Sherman Hanna Dick Pomerene Fess Donahey H. Burton Huffman K. Taft Bricker Young R. Taft, Jr. Metzenbaum DeWine S. Brown Class 3 Worthington Tiffin Griswold Campbell Morrow Trimble E. Brown Harrison Burnet Ewing Allen Chase Pugh Chase Sherman Matthews Pendleton Payne Brice Foraker T. Burton Harding Willis Locher T. Burton McCulloch Bulkley R. Taft, Sr. Burke Bender Lausche Saxbe Metzenbaum Glenn Voinovich Portman

v t e United States Senate Majority Leaders Lodge • Curtis • Watson • Robinson • Barkley • White • Lucas • McFarland • Taft • Knowland • Johnson • Mansfield • Byrd • Baker • Dole • Byrd • Mitchell • Dole • Lott • Daschle • Lott • Daschle • Frist • Reid

v t e Republican Party Leaders in the United States Senate Lodge • Curtis • Watson • McNary • Austin • McNary • White • Wherry • Bridges • Taft • Knowland • Dirksen • Scott • Baker • Dole • Lott • Frist • McConnell

William Howard Taft
27th President of the United States
In office March 4, 1909 – March 4, 1913
Vice President	James Sherman
Preceded by	Theodore Roosevelt
Succeeded by	Woodrow Wilson
10th Chief Justice of the United States
In office July 11, 1921[1] – February 3, 1930
Nominated by	Warren Harding
Preceded by	Edward White
Succeeded by	Charles Hughes
Provisional Governor of Cuba
In office September 29, 1906 – October 13, 1906
Appointed by	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Tomás Estrada Palma (President)
Succeeded by	Charles Magoon
42nd United States Secretary of War
In office February 1, 1904 – June 30, 1908
President	Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by	Elihu Root
Succeeded by	Luke Wright
Governor-General of the Philippines
In office July 4, 1901 – December 23, 1903
Appointed by	William McKinley
Preceded by	Arthur MacArthur
Succeeded by	Luke Wright
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
In office March 17, 1892 – March 15, 1900
Nominated by	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Seat established
Succeeded by	Henry Severens
5th United States Solicitor General
In office February 1890 – March 1892
President	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Orlow Chapman
Succeeded by	Charles Aldrich
Personal details
Born	(1857-09-15)September 15, 1857 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.
Died	March 8, 1930(1930-03-08) (aged 72) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Helen Herron
Children	Robert Helen Charles
Alma mater	Yale University University of Cincinnati
Profession	Lawyer Jurist
Religion	Unitarianism
Signature

William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was the 27th President of the United States (1909–1913) and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States (1921–1930). He is the only person to have served in both of these two offices.

Before becoming President, Taft was selected to serve on the Ohio Superior 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.^[2]

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 surveys of presidential scholars, Taft is usually ranked in the second or third quartile of all Presidents.

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.

Early life and education[link]

Yale College photograph of Taft

William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, near Cincinnati, Ohio as ^[3]the son of Louisa Torrey and 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,^[4] and was a prominent Republican who served as Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant.^[5]

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.^[6]

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).^[7] Like others in his family, he attended Yale College in New Haven, Connecticut.^[8] 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".^[9] Taft received comments, sometimes humorous, about his weight.^[10] Making positive use of his stature, Taft was Yale's intramural heavyweight wrestling champion.^[11] In 1878, Taft graduated, ranking second in his class out of 121.^[9] 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.^[9]

Legal career and early politics[link]

Helen Herron Taft

After admission to the Ohio bar, Taft was appointed Assistant Prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio,^[12] based in Cincinnati. In 1882, he was appointed local Collector of Internal Revenue.^[13] Taft married his longtime sweetheart, Helen Herron, in Cincinnati in 1886.^[12] In 1887, he was appointed a judge of the Ohio Superior Court.^[12] In 1890, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him Solicitor General of the United States;^[12] at age 32, he was the youngest-ever Solicitor General.^[14] Taft then began serving on the newly created United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in 1891;^[12] he was confirmed by the Senate on March 17, 1892, and received his commission that same day.^[15] In about 1893, Taft decided in favor of the processing aluminium patents belonging to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, now known as Alcoa.^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[12] 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.^[18][19]

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.^[18] 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.^[18] 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.^[18] 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.^[20]) This dedication to the task at hand was the source of much frustration of his political colleagues.^[21] 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.^[22]

Secretary of War (1904–1908)[link]

William Howard Taft addressing the audience at the Philippine Assembly in the Manila Grand Opera House.

In 1904, Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War.^[12] 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.^[23] 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." ^[23] 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.^[24]

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.^[25]

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.^[25] 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.^[26] 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.^[27] 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.^[28] 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.^[29] 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.^[30]

Presidential election of 1908[link]

Electoral votes by state, 1908.

After serving for nearly two full terms, the popular Theodore Roosevelt refused to run in the 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."^[31] But,Taft conceded, with his extensive involvement as the most prominent member of the cabinet, that he was the most "available" man;^[32] thus he agreed that were he to be nominated for president, he would put his personal convictions aside and run a vigorous campaign.^[33]

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.^[34] 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.^[35] 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.^[36] Despite the difference in styles, Taft had demonstrated for the most part that the substance of his policies echoed those of Roosevelt.^[37] 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.^[38] 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."^[39]

Presidency, 1909–1913[link]

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.^[40] When a reporter informed him he was no Teddy Roosevelt, Taft replied that his main goal was to "try to accomplish just as much without any noise".^[40] 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.^[41] 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.^[42]

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 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 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."^[43]

Domestic policies and politics[link]

Official White House portrait of William Howard Taft (1911)

When Roosevelt realized that lowering the tariff would divide the Republican Party, he assumed a low profile on that issue. Taft ignored the political effects and kept the tariff rates on his agenda (he had raised expectations of lower rates in the campaign); he passively encouraged congressional reformers to draft bills including lower rates, while broadcasting a willingness to compromise with conservative leaders in the Congress, who wanted to keep tariff rates high. Taft described this approach as his "policy of harmony" with the Congress.^[44] The President displayed a more aggressive role early in the drafting of tariff legislation as it regarded the Philippines. He also assumed a similar role in pushing for a corporate income tax. On other matters, he was content to wait until legislation reached its final stage in a joint House–Senate conference committee. Once there, however, he jumped in with both feet, calling each and every member of the committee for a one-on-one meeting at the White House.^[44] The resulting tariff rates in the Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 were too high for the progressives, based in part on Taft's campaign promises; but instead of blaming the act's shortcomings on Senator Nelson W. Aldrich 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.^[45] The Bureau of Trade Relations later concluded the act overall was moderately successful in lowering rates.^[46] 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.^[47]

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.^[48] The lawsuit even named Roosevelt personally without Taft's knowledge. This was responsible for a complete break with Roosevelt.^[49] 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.^[50]

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.^[51]

In late 1911, President Taft called for a “central organization in touch with associations and chambers of commerce throughout the country.” Just four months later, on April 12, 1912, Taft created the United States Chamber of Commerce as a counterbalance to the rise of the labor movement at the time.^[52]

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.^[53] 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^{[clarification needed]} before accepting it. By that time the political damage had been done, with further alienation of the Progressives from the administration.^[54]

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.^[55] 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.^[56] 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.^{[citation needed]} Nevertheless, in the process Taft passed up yet another opportunity to embolden himself politically through the use of patronage.^[57]

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.^[58] 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.^[59]

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.^[60]

Corporate income tax[link]

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.^[61] 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[link]

Taft met with and publicly endorsed Booker T. Washington's program for uplifting the African American 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.^[62]

Foreign policy[link]

President William Howard Taft.

The President surprised the diplomatic arena with his early dismissal of one of the State Department's most experienced diplomats, Henry White, 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 that this decision caused his political reputation.^[63] (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."^[64] 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.^[65]

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".^[66] 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.^[67]

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.^[68] 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.^[69]

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.^[70] 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.^[71]

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.^[72] 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."^[73] 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.^[74]

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.^[75] 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.^[76] 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.^[77]

1912 presidential campaign and election[link]

Taft and Roosevelt – political enemies in 1912

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.^[78] 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."^[79] Roosevelt declared his candidacy for the Republican nomination in February 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.^[80] 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.^[81] 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.^[82]

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.^[83] 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 self-discipline in the face of populist rancor.^[84] 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.^[85]

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."^[86] 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.^[87] 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.^[88] 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." ^[89]

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.^[90]

Administration and cabinet[link]

Judicial appointments[link]

Supreme Court[link]

During his presidency, Taft appointed the following Justices to the Supreme Court of the United States:

• Horace Harmon Lurton – 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 Hughes – 1910

Even though Hughes resigned in 1916 to run in the presidential election that year, he became Taft's successor as Chief Justice.

• Edward Douglass White – Chief Justice – 1910

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 Washington appointed John Rutledge to Chief Justice in 1795. Taft succeeded White as Chief Justice in 1921.

• Willis Van Devanter – 1911
• Joseph Rucker Lamar – 1911
• Mahlon Pitney – 1912

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[link]

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[link]

• New Mexico: January 6, 1912
• Arizona: Taft insisted on removing the recall provision for judges 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.^[91]

Post-presidency[link]

Upon leaving the White House in 1913, Taft was appointed the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School.^[8] While at Yale, Taft was initiated as an honorary member of the Acacia Fraternity. 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.^[92] 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.^[93]

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."

Chief Justice, 1921–1930[link]

Nomination[link]

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.^[94] 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.^[95] 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.^[94] 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".^[96]

Chief Justice Taft with President Warren G. Harding and former Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln, around 1922

Accomplishments[link]

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 V and 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 clerks 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[link]

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 interpretation was essentially historical contextualism. Some of his more notable opinions include:

The U.S. Supreme Court in 1925. Taft is seated in the bottom row, middle.

• Balzac v. Porto Rico, 258 U.S. 298 (1922) (opinion for the Court)
  • Ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment did not apply the criminal provisions of the Bill of Rights to overseas territories. This was one of the more famous of the Insular Cases.
• Bailey v. Drexel Furniture Co., 259 U.S. 20 (1922) (opinion for the Court)
  • Holding the 1919 Child Labor Tax Law unconstitutional.
• Hill v. Wallace, 259 U.S. 44 (1922) (opinion for the Court)
  • Holding the Future Trading Act an unconstitutional use of Congress's taxing power
• Adkins v. Children's Hospital, 261 U.S. 525 (1923) (dissenting opinion)
  • Disapproving of the Court's upholding of Lochner v. New York. In 1937, the Supreme Court agreed with Taft and overruled this decision permanently.
• Board of Trade of City of Chicago v. Olsen, 262 U.S. 1 (1923) (opinion for the Court)
  • Upholding the constitutionality of the Grain Futures Act under the Commerce Clause
• Ex Parte Grossman, 267 U.S. 87 (1925) (opinion for the Court)
  • Holding that the President's pardon power extends to pardoning people held for criminal contempt. While the Supreme Court rules provide for issuing writs of habeas corpus within the Court's original jurisdiction, Taft's opinion in Grossman was the last time the Court did so.^[97]
• Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (1925) (opinion for the Court)
  • Holding that police searches of automobiles without a warrant do not violate the Fourth Amendment when the police have probable cause to believe that contraband would be found in the automobile
• Myers v. United States, 272 U.S. 52 (1926) (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., 272 U.S. 476 (1926) (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. Rice, 275 U.S. 78 (1927) (opinion for the Court)
  • Ruling that the Fourteenth Amendment did not prohibit Mississippi's prevention of Asian children attending white schools during racial segregation. The Supreme Court overruled this opinion in 1954.
• Olmstead v. United States, 277 U.S. 438 (1928) (opinion for the Court)
  • Ruling that the judicial practice of excluding evidence obtained without a warrant was based on the Fourth Amendment's proscription on unreasonable search and seizure but did not apply to telephone wiretapping.
• Wisconsin v. Illinois, 278 U.S. 367 (1929) (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. Commissioner, 279 U.S. 716 (1929) (opinion for the Court)
  • Holding that where a third party pays the income tax owed by an individual, the amount of tax paid constitutes additional income to the taxpayer.

Medical condition[link]

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 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.^[98] Soon after his weight loss, he had a revival of interest in the outdoors; this led him to explore Alaska.^[99] 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 petrified wood.^[100]

Death and legacy[link]

Taft retired as Chief Justice on February 3, 1930 because of ill health. Charles Evans Hughes, 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 earlier that same day). 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.^[101][102]

Three days following his demise, on March 11, he became the first president to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.^[101][103] James Earle Fraser sculpted his grave marker out of Stony Creek granite.^[103] 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.^[104] 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;^[105] 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[link]

Collection of video clips of the president

Speech: "The Farmer and the Republican Party", Kansas City, Missouri, 1908

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	Government of the United States portal
	Politics portal

Notes[link]

References[link]

Secondary sources

• Abraham, Henry J. (1992). Justices and Presidents: A Political History of Appointments to the Supreme Court (3rd ed.). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-506557-3. }
• Anderson, Donald F. (1973). 'William Howard Taft: A Conservative's Conception of the Presidency. 
• Anderson, Judith Icke. William Howard Taft: An Intimate History (1981).
• Anthony, Carl Sferrazza. Nellie Taft: The Unconventional First Lady of the Ragtime Era (2005)
• Bromley, Michael L. William Howard Taft and the First Motoring Presidency (2003)
• Burton, David H. Taft, Holmes, and the 1920s Court: An Appraisal (1998)
• Burton, David H., Taft, Roosevelt, and the Limits of Friendship (2005)
• Burton, David H. William Howard Taft, Confident Peacemaker (2005)
• Chace, James. 1912: Wilson, Roosevelt, Taft and Debs – The Election that Changed the Country (2004)
• Coletta, Paolo Enrico. The Presidency of William Howard Taft (1973), standard survey
• Conner Valerie. The National War Labor Board' '(1983)
• Cushman, Clare (2001). The Supreme Court Justices: Illustrated Biographies, 1789–1995 (2nd ed.). (Supreme Court Historical Society, Congressional Quarterly Books). ISBN 1-56802-126-7; ISBN 978-1-56802-126-3.. 
• Duffy, Herbert S. William Howard Taft (1930).
• Frank, John P.; Leon Friedman and Fred L. Israel, editors (1995). The Justices of the United States Supreme Court: Their Lives and Major Opinions. Chelsea House Publishers. ISBN 0-7910-1377-4; ISBN 978-0-7910-1377-9. 
• Gould, Lewis L. The William Howard Taft Presidency(2010)
• Hall, Kermit L., ed. (1992). The Oxford Companion to the Supreme Court of the United States. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-505835-6; ISBN 978-0-19-505835-2.. 
• Hechler, Kenneth S. Insurgency: Personalities and Politics of the Taft Era 1940.
• Michael J. Korzi, Our chief magistrate and his powers: a reconsideration of William Howard Taft's "Whig" theory of presidential leadership (2003)
• Manners, William. TR and Will: A Friendship that Split the Republican Party 1969.
• Martin, Fenton S.; Goehlert, Robert U. (1990). The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Books. ISBN 0-87187-554-3. 
• Martin, Fenton S.; Goehlert, Robert U. (1990). The U.S. Supreme Court: A Bibliography. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly Books. ISBN 0-87187-554-3. 
• Minger Ralph E. William Howard Taft and United States Diplomacy: The Apprenticeship Years. 1900–1908 (1975)
• Mowry George E. The Era of Theodore Roosevelt (1958)
• Pringle, Henry F. The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography 2 vol (1939); Pulitzer prize; the standard biography
• Renstrom, Peter G. The Taft Court: Justices, Rulings and Legacy ABC-CLIO, 2003
• Scholes, Walter V. and Marie V. Scholes. The Foreign Policies of the Taft Administration 1970.
• Schweikart, Larry; Michael Allen (2004). A Patriot's History of the United States. Easton Press. 
• Solvick, Stanley D. (December 1, 1963). "William Howard Taft and the Payne-Aldrich Tariff". Mississippi Valley Historical Review 50 (3): 424–442. DOI:10.2307/1902605. ISSN 0161391X. JSTOR 1902605. 
• Sternberg, Jonathan (2008). "Deciding Not to Decide: The Judiciary Act of 1925 and the Discretionary Court". Journal of Supreme Court History 33 (1): 1–16. DOI:10.1111/j.1540-5818.2008.00176.x. 
• Urofsky, Melvin I. (1994). The Supreme Court Justices: A Biographical Dictionary. New York: Garland Publishing. pp. 590. ISBN 0-8153-1176-1; ISBN 978-0-8153-1176-8.. 
• Warren, Charles. (1928) The Supreme Court in United States History, 2 vols. at Google books.
• Wilensky, Norman N. Conservatives in the Progressive Era: The Taft Republicans of 1912 (1965).

Primary sources

• Butt, Archie. Taft and Roosevelt: The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt (1930)
• Taft, William Howard
  • Liberty Under Law Yale University Press, 1922.
  • Popular Government Yale University Press, 1913.
  • Present Day Problems Collection of speeches, 1908.
  • The Anti-Trust Act and the Supreme Court Harper and Row, 1914.
  • The Collected Works of William Howard Taft. Edited by David H. Burton. Ohio University Press, 2001–. 6 of 8 volumes have appeared.
  • The President and His Powers. Columbia University Press, 1924.
• Taft, Mrs. William Howard, Recollections of Full Years (1914)
• William Howard Taft at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.

Wikisource has original works written by or about: William Howard Taft

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: William Howard Taft

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: William Howard Taft

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: William Howard Taft

• William Howard Taft: A Resource Guide from the Library of Congress
• William Howard Taft at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
• Works by William Howard Taft at Project Gutenberg
• 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
• William Howard Taft cylinder recordings, from the Cylinder Preservation and Digitization Project at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
• Discography of William Howard Taft on Victor Records 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
• William Howard Taft at C-SPAN's American Presidents: Life Portraits

Articles and topics related to William Taft v t e Presidents of the United States George Washington John Adams Thomas Jefferson James Madison James Monroe John Quincy Adams Andrew Jackson Martin Van Buren William Henry Harrison John Tyler James K. Polk Zachary Taylor Millard Fillmore Franklin Pierce James Buchanan Abraham Lincoln Andrew Johnson Ulysses S. Grant Rutherford B. Hayes James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland Benjamin Harrison Grover Cleveland William McKinley Theodore Roosevelt William Howard Taft Woodrow Wilson Warren G. Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman Dwight D. Eisenhower John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson Richard Nixon Gerald Ford Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Bush Barack Obama v t e Secretaries of War and Secretaries of the Army Secretaries at War B. Lincoln Knox Secretaries of War Knox Pickering McHenry Dexter Dearborn Eustis Armstrong Monroe W. Crawford Calhoun Barbour P. Porter Eaton Cass Poinsett Bell Spencer J. Porter Wilkins Marcy G. Crawford Conrad J. Davis Floyd Holt S. Cameron Stanton Schofield Rawlins Belknap A. Taft J. Cameron McCrary Ramsey R. Lincoln Endicott Proctor Elkins Lamont Alger Root W. Taft Wright Dickinson Stimson Garrison Baker Weeks D. Davis Good Hurley Dern Woodring Stimson Patterson Royall Secretaries of the Army Royall Gray Pace Stevens Brucker Stahr Vance Ailes Resor Froehlke Callaway Hoffmann C. Alexander Marsh Stone West Caldera White Harvey Geren McHugh Assistant Secretaries of War Scott Dana Eckert Grant Doe Meiklejohn Sanger Oliver Breckinridge Ingraham Crowell Williams Wainwright D. Davis MacNider Hurley Payne Woodring L. Johnson Patterson McCloy Petersen Under Secretaries of the Army Draper Gray Voorhees A. Alexander Bendetsen E. Johnson Slezak Finucane Milton Ailes Ignatius Resor McGiffert Beal BeLieu Staudt Augustine LaBerge Ambrose Stone Shannon Reeder Walker Rostker Dahlberg Brownlee Geren Ford Westphal v t e United States Solicitors General Bristow • Phillips • Goode • Jenks • Chapman • Taft • Aldrich • Maxwell • Conrad • Richards • Hoyt • Bowers • Lehmann • Bullitt • Davis • King • Frierson • Beck • Mitchell • Hughes • Thacher • Biggs • Reed • Jackson • Biddle • Fahy • McGrath • Perlman • Cummings • Sobeloff • Rankin • Cox • Marshall • Griswold • Bork • McCree • Lee • Fried • Starr • Days • Dellinger (acting) • Waxman • Barbara Underwood (acting) • Olson • Clement • Garre • Kneedler (acting) • Kagan • Katyal (acting) • Verrilli v t e Chief Justices of the United States John Jay John Rutledge Oliver Ellsworth John Marshall Roger B. Taney Salmon P. Chase Morrison Waite Melville Fuller Edward Douglass White William Howard Taft Charles Evans Hughes Harlan F. Stone Fred M. Vinson Earl Warren Warren E. Burger William Rehnquist John Roberts v t e American Governors-General of the Philippines Merritt Otis MacArthur Chaffee Taft Wright Ide Smith Forbes Gilbert Harrison Yeater Wood Gilmore Stimson Gilmore Davis Butte Roosevelt Murphy Smallcaps indicate military governors Italics indicate acting governors v t e Cabinet of President Theodore Roosevelt (1901–1909) Vice President None (1901–1905) Charles W. Fairbanks (1905–1909) Secretary of State John M. Hay (1901–1905) Elihu Root (1905–1909) Robert Bacon (1909) Secretary of the Treasury Lyman J. Gage (1901–1902) Leslie M. Shaw (1902–1907) George B. Cortelyou (1907–1909) Secretary of War Elihu Root (1901–1904) William H. Taft (1904–1908) Luke E. Wright (1908–1909) Attorney General Philander C. Knox (1901–1904) William H. Moody (1904–1906) Charles J. Bonaparte (1906–1909) Postmaster General Charles E. Smith (1901–1902) Henry C. Payne (1902–1904) Robert J. Wynne (1904–1905) George B. Cortelyou (1905–1907) George von L. Meyer (1907–1909) Secretary of the Navy John D. Long (1901–1902) William H. Moody (1902–1904) Paul Morton (1904–1905) Charles J. Bonaparte (1905–1906) Victor H. Metcalf (1906–1908) Truman H. Newberry (1908–1909) Secretary of the Interior Ethan A. Hitchcock (1901–1907) James R. Garfield (1907–1909) Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson (1901–1909) Secretary of Commerce and Labor George B. Cortelyou (1903–1904) Victor H. Metcalf (1904–1906) Oscar S. Straus (1906–1909) v t e Republican Party Chairpersons of the RNC Morgan Raymond Ward Claflin Morgan Chandler Cameron Jewell Sabin Jones Quay Clarkson Carter Hanna Payne Cortelyou New Hitchcock Hill Rosewater Hilles Wilcox Hays Adams Butler Work Huston Fess Sanders Fletcher Hamilton Martin Walsh Spangler Brownell Reece Scott Gabrielson Summerfield Roberts Hall Alcorn T. B. Morton Miller Burch Bliss R. Morton Dole Bush Smith Brock Richards Fahrenkopf Atwater Yeutter Bond Barbour Nicholson Gilmore Racicot Gillespie Mehlman Martinez Duncan Steele Priebus Presidential tickets Frémont/Dayton Lincoln/Hamlin Lincoln/Johnson Grant/Colfax Grant/Wilson Hayes/Wheeler Garfield/Arthur Blaine/Logan Harrison/Morton Harrison/Reid McKinley/Hobart McKinley/Roosevelt Roosevelt/Fairbanks Taft/Sherman Taft/Sherman/Butler Hughes/Fairbanks Harding/Coolidge Coolidge/Dawes Hoover/Curtis (twice) Landon/Knox Willkie/McNary Dewey/Bricker Dewey/Warren Eisenhower/Nixon (twice) Nixon/Lodge Goldwater/Miller Nixon/Agnew (twice) Ford/Dole Reagan/G. H. W. Bush (twice) G. H. W. Bush/Quayle (twice) Dole/Kemp G. W. Bush/Cheney (twice) McCain/Palin Romney/TBD (presumptive) Parties by state and territory State Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming Territory District of Columbia Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico Virgin Islands Conventions (List) 1856 (Philadelphia) 1860 (Chicago) 1864 (Baltimore) 1868 (Chicago) 1872 (Philadelphia) 1876 (Cincinnati) 1880 (Chicago) 1884 (Chicago) 1888 (Chicago) 1892 (Minneapolis) 1896 (Saint Louis) 1900 (Philadelphia) 1904 (Chicago) 1908 (Chicago) 1912 (Chicago) 1916 (Chicago) 1920 (Chicago) 1924 (Cleveland) 1928 (Kansas City) 1932 (Chicago) 1936 (Cleveland) 1940 (Philadelphia) 1944 (Chicago) 1948 (Philadelphia) 1952 (Chicago) 1956 (San Francisco) 1960 (Chicago) 1964 (San Francisco) 1968 (Miami Beach) 1972 (Miami Beach) 1976 (Kansas City) 1980 (Detroit) 1984 (Dallas) 1988 (New Orleans) 1992 (Houston) 1996 (San Diego) 2000 (Philadelphia) 2004 (New York) 2008 (St. Paul) 2012 (Tampa) Affiliated organizations College Republicans Congressional Hispanic Conference International Democrat Union Log Cabin Republicans National Republican Congressional Committee National Republican Senatorial Committee Republican Conference of the United States House of Representatives Republican Conference of the United States Senate Republican Governors Association Republican Jewish Coalition Republican Liberty Caucus Republican Main Street Partnership Republican Majority for Choice Republican National Coalition for Life Republican National Hispanic Assembly Republican Study Committee Republicans Abroad Republicans for Environmental Protection The Ripon Society Teenage Republicans The Wish List Young Republicans Related articles History 2009 chairmanship election 2011 chairmanship election Bibliography Timeline of modern American conservatism Conservatism Portal v t e Cabinet of President William Howard Taft (1909–1913) Vice President James S. Sherman (1909–1912) None (1912–1913) Secretary of State Philander C. Knox (1909–1913) Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh (1909–1913) Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson (1909–1911) Henry L. Stimson (1911–1913) Attorney General George W. Wickersham (1909–1913) Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock (1909–1913) Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer (1909–1913) Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger (1909–1911) Walter L. Fisher (1911–1913) Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson (1909–1913) Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel (1909–1913)   Supreme Court of the United States The Taft Court Chief Justice: William Howard Taft (1921–1930) 1921–1922: J. McKenna | O.W. Holmes | Wm. R. Day | W. Van Devanter | M. Pitney | J.C. McReynolds | L.D. Brandeis | J.H. Clarke 1922: J. McKenna | O.W. Holmes | Wm. R. Day | W. Van Devanter | M. Pitney | J.C. McReynolds | L.D. Brandeis | Geo. Sutherland 1923–1925: J. McKenna | O.W. Holmes | W. Van Devanter | J.C. McReynolds | L.D. Brandeis | Geo. Sutherland | P. Butler | E.T. Sanford 1925–1930: O.W. Holmes | W. Van Devanter | J.C. McReynolds | L.D. Brandeis | Geo. Sutherland | P. Butler | E.T. Sanford | H.F. Stone