Taft, William Howard

Taft, William Howard (1857–1930)27th president of the United States, born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft came from a politically active family; his father was secretary of war under President Ulysses S. Grant. Taft studied law and also entered Republican party politics while still young; he was named a judge on the superior court of Ohio in 1887 and elected to the position the following year; he was appointed solicitor general by President Benjamin Harrison in 1890 and named to the Sixth District federal court in 1892. In 1900 President William McKinley appointed him to head the Philippine Commission; Taft became civil governor of the Philippines the following year. During his four years in the Philippines Taft proved a gifted administrator; he dealt fairly with the Philippine population and materially improved their standard of living. In 1904 Taft declined offers of a Supreme Court appointment but agreed to become secretary of war to President Theodore Roosevelt. Taft developed a close and trusting relationship with Roosevelt and became his logical successor; he easily won the presidency in 1908, defeating William Jennings Bryan by a 2-to-1 margin in the Electoral College. Taft's rejection of Roosevelt's progressive, reform-minded cabinet rapidly cooled their relationship; Taft held a more limited view of presidential power than his predecessor and differed with him on policy areas, including preservation of the protective tariff and conservation. As relations between Taft and Roosevelt deteriorated and the Republicans suffered losses in Congress in 1910, Roosevelt decided to run for president in 1912 and, after losing out at the Republican convention, bolted the party; in a bitterly fought campaign, Woodrow Wilson, the Democrat, emerged victorious, with Roosevelt second, and Taft far behind, carrying only Vermont and Utah, for a total of 8 electoral votes. Taft's presidential record included some notable successes, including initiation of constitutional amendments in favor of an income tax and direct election of senators. After leaving the presidency, Taft taught law at Yale, lobbied for a League of Nations, and, in 1920, was appointed to the Supreme Court, where he was an effective chief justice who greatly improved the efficiency and coordination of the court; his votes on the Court were largely but not entirely conservative and anti-labor; he did support increased federal regulation of interstate commerce and a minimum wage for women. He served until 1930, when he retired because of ill health.

Taft's loss in the popular vote in the presidential election was the worst ever suffered by an incumbent president.