Remembering William Howard Taft
On March 8, 1930 (94 years ago today) William Howard Taft, the 27th President of the United States and the 10th Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, died in Washington D.C. at the age of 72. He is the only person to have served in both of these offices.
William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, near Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Louisa Torrey and Alphonso Taft. His father was a prominent Republican who served as Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. Before becoming President, Taft was appointed to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States in the Benjamin Harrison administration and in 1891 he was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1900, Taft left the bench to take an appointment by President William McKinley as Governor-General of the Philippines. He performed well in that position and was highly regarded by the local population.
In 1904, Taft's good friend Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War in an effort to groom Taft, then his close political ally, into succeeding Roosevelt as President. Besides managing his own department, Taft assumed a troubleshooter's role for Roosevelt, on some occasions acting as Secretary of State. He reluctantly turned down two offers from Roosevelt to serve on the Supreme Court, even though serving on the court had been a longtime dream of his.
Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency, defeating his opponent William Jennings Bryan. As President, 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, which allowed the imposition of income tax. In foreign relations, Taft sought to further the economic development of nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy", and showed decisiveness and restraint in response to revolution in Mexico, when he mobilized troops at the border. Taft seemed oblivious to the political ramifications of his decisions, many of which offended his former mentor Theodore Roosevelt, who challenged Taft for the GOP nomination in 1912 and who ran against Taft as a third party candidate.
Taft was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid for a second term in the presidential election of 1912. After leaving office, Taft spent his time as a law school professor, as an arbitrator, and the pursuit of world peace through his self-founded League to Enforce Peace. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States. He served in this capacity until shortly before his death in 1930. Taft seemed much happier in his new role. He lost approximately 74 pounds, dropping from 354 pounds to 280.
Following is an accounting of the end of Taft's life by his biographer Harry F. Pringle in the second of the two volume set William Howard Taft: His Life and Times at page 1079:
Taft could take little nourishment. He recognized hardly anybody. But a fragment of life would linger for a month. On February 11, Secretary Mischler came into the bedroom with the draft of a letter which must, if conceivably possible, be signed. It was to the justices of the Supreme Court and it was in answer to a final, moving tribute.
"We call you Chief Justice still, for we cannot give up the title by which we have known you for all these later years and which you have made dear to us," wrote Justice Holmes, and all the members signed it. "We cannot let you leave us without trying to tell you how dear you have made it. You came to us from achievement in other fields and with the prestige of the illustrious place that you lately had held and you showed us in new form your voluminous capacity for getting work done, your humor that smoothed the tough places, your golden heart that brought you love from every side and most of all from your brethren whose tasks you have made happy and light. We grieve at your illness, but your spirit has given life an impulse that will abide whether you are with us or away."
With difficulty, the former Chief Justice scratched his signature to the reply which had been drafted for him. The phrases were conventional. He could not "adequately say how deeply I am touched." His chief regret in leaving the court had been "the ending of those pleasant associations with each and all of you, which during the past nine years have been so dear to me. Only the advice of my doctors and my own conviction that I would be unable to continue adequately the great work of the court, forced me to leave you. That work, in your hands, will go on well without me."
He died on Saturday night, March 8, 1930.
William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, near Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Louisa Torrey and Alphonso Taft. His father was a prominent Republican who served as Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. Before becoming President, Taft was appointed to serve as a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati in 1887. In 1890, Taft was appointed Solicitor General of the United States in the Benjamin Harrison administration and in 1891 he was appointed as a judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In 1900, Taft left the bench to take an appointment by President William McKinley as Governor-General of the Philippines. He performed well in that position and was highly regarded by the local population.
In 1904, Taft's good friend Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War in an effort to groom Taft, then his close political ally, into succeeding Roosevelt as President. Besides managing his own department, Taft assumed a troubleshooter's role for Roosevelt, on some occasions acting as Secretary of State. He reluctantly turned down two offers from Roosevelt to serve on the Supreme Court, even though serving on the court had been a longtime dream of his.
Riding a wave of popular support for fellow Republican Roosevelt, Taft won an easy victory in his 1908 bid for the presidency, defeating his opponent William Jennings Bryan. As President, 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, which allowed the imposition of income tax. In foreign relations, Taft sought to further the economic development of nations in Latin America and Asia through "Dollar Diplomacy", and showed decisiveness and restraint in response to revolution in Mexico, when he mobilized troops at the border. Taft seemed oblivious to the political ramifications of his decisions, many of which offended his former mentor Theodore Roosevelt, who challenged Taft for the GOP nomination in 1912 and who ran against Taft as a third party candidate.
Taft was overwhelmingly defeated in his bid for a second term in the presidential election of 1912. After leaving office, Taft spent his time as a law school professor, as an arbitrator, and the pursuit of world peace through his self-founded League to Enforce Peace. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States. He served in this capacity until shortly before his death in 1930. Taft seemed much happier in his new role. He lost approximately 74 pounds, dropping from 354 pounds to 280.
Following is an accounting of the end of Taft's life by his biographer Harry F. Pringle in the second of the two volume set William Howard Taft: His Life and Times at page 1079:
Taft could take little nourishment. He recognized hardly anybody. But a fragment of life would linger for a month. On February 11, Secretary Mischler came into the bedroom with the draft of a letter which must, if conceivably possible, be signed. It was to the justices of the Supreme Court and it was in answer to a final, moving tribute.
"We call you Chief Justice still, for we cannot give up the title by which we have known you for all these later years and which you have made dear to us," wrote Justice Holmes, and all the members signed it. "We cannot let you leave us without trying to tell you how dear you have made it. You came to us from achievement in other fields and with the prestige of the illustrious place that you lately had held and you showed us in new form your voluminous capacity for getting work done, your humor that smoothed the tough places, your golden heart that brought you love from every side and most of all from your brethren whose tasks you have made happy and light. We grieve at your illness, but your spirit has given life an impulse that will abide whether you are with us or away."
With difficulty, the former Chief Justice scratched his signature to the reply which had been drafted for him. The phrases were conventional. He could not "adequately say how deeply I am touched." His chief regret in leaving the court had been "the ending of those pleasant associations with each and all of you, which during the past nine years have been so dear to me. Only the advice of my doctors and my own conviction that I would be unable to continue adequately the great work of the court, forced me to leave you. That work, in your hands, will go on well without me."
He died on Saturday night, March 8, 1930.