William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft was President Theodore Roosevelt 's (1858–1919; served 1901–09) secretary of war prior to being elected the twenty-seventh president of the United States.

Son of a judge

Taft was born in 1857 to an Ohio judge and his wife. Eager to please his parents, Taft was an anxious child whose weight fluctuated according to the degree of his anxiety. He graduated from Yale University and returned to Cincinnati, Ohio, to open his own law firm. Throughout his law-practicing years, Taft held numerous judiciary appointments.

By the age of thirty-four, Taft was appointed a federal circuit judge, and hoped to one day serve on the U.S. Supreme Court. His wife, Helen, had other plans for his career, however.

To the White House

In 1900, President William McKinley (1843–1901; served 1897–1901) sent Taft to the Philippines as chief civil administrator of America's newly acquired colony in the Pacific Ocean. In that capacity, Taft improved the economy, oversaw the development of both roads and schools, and made sure the people had a voice in government.

President Roosevelt named Taft to be his Secretary of War in 1904, a job he would keep until his election to the presidency. As the Republican candidate, Taft ran against Democratic Party nominee William Jennings Bryan (1860–1925) in the 1908 presidential election and won with 51.6 percent of the popular vote. By this time, Taft was 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 320 pounds. He had to have a bath tub specially made for him in the White House.

After eight years of Teddy Roosevelt, America had grown accustomed to its president being loud and outspoken. Taft was reserved, uncomfortable with crowds and attention. This was just one difference between the two leaders. Whereas Roosevelt focused on pushing through legislation, Taft concentrated on administration. He saw his job as one that should enforce the laws already in place, regardless of his personal agreement or disagreement with those laws.

Accomplishments and controversy

Taft did not ignore the need for reform, however. One of the first reform acts of his administration was the reduction of tariffs (taxes on products imported from other countries). High taxes brought in extra money but also impeded global commerce because foreign manufacturers did not always want to pay those high tariffs.

Taft also passed the Mann-Elkins Act of 1910, which gave the Interstate Commerce Commission the authority to suspend railroad rate hikes and set rates. It also expanded their power beyond railroads to include telephones, telegraphs, and radio.

Taft was the president responsible for getting the Sixteenth Amendment passed into law in 1913; with this, Americans were now required to pay income tax. He was not as enthusiastic in the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment , which allowed senators to be directly elected by citizens of a state. Prior to that, senators were always appointed by the state legislature.

Until Taft's administration, each agency of the federal government submitted its own budget. Taft decided the president should be the one to submit a government budget to Congress for approval. Although the 1921 Budget and Accounting Act was passed too late to affect the authority of Taft (he was out of office eight years by that time), the law gave all future presidents expanded power in the control of the executive branch of government.

Breaks ties with Roosevelt

In those early days of big business, corporations sometimes formed trusts (the name given to the practice when dominant companies from the same industry banded together to reduce competition and set prices). Trusts were eventually outlawed because they were unfair to the smaller businesses. Theodore Roosevelt had been known as the trust-busting president, but more antitrust lawsuits (nearly one hundred) were pursued during Taft's presidency.

Two of the more famous cases were begun under Roosevelt: Standard Oil Company and American Tobacco Company. Both ended in victory under Taft. He was less successful in his efforts against U.S. Steel. The suit found Taft pitted against Roosevelt, who had approved of the company's formation in 1901. Roosevelt accused Taft of not being able to distinguish between “good” and “bad” trusts, and the friendship fell apart. In 1920, the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. Steel was not in violation of antitrust laws. The verdict came seven years after Taft left office.

More mistakes

Many Republicans felt betrayed by Taft when he signed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act in 1909. Republicans as a group were in favor of more severe reductions than the Act allowed. Taft, however, felt the reform was the best tariff bill ever passed by Congress. Those Republicans he angered later formed a political party called the Progressives; they would be joined by Theodore Roosevelt.

Taft fired Gifford Pinchot (1865–1946), leader of the National Forest Service and close friend of Theodore Roosevelt, in 1910. The firing was a direct result of a public controversy between Pinchot and one of Taft's appointees. The majority of America sympathized with Pinchot.

International relations

Foreign relations deteriorated under Taft. Trade with China decreased, and Central America resented the president's efforts to “rescue” them by encouraging American investors to pour money into their economy. This program was known as “dollar diplomacy.”

The failure to maintain foreign relations prompted a Pan-American (relating to North, South, and Central America) Conference in 1910. The purpose of the conference was to find a way to keep the United States from intervening in the affairs of South and Central America. Not long after the conference, Taft ordered two thousand troops to the border of Mexico. Their mission was to intervene in a revolution taking place there so that U.S. investments would be protected. Congress refused to approve this move and Taft backed down.

Loses the 1912 election

America had mixed feelings about Taft. His size affected his image and offended some. Those who were not offended were amused; he was hard to take seriously. What started off as light teasing in the early years of his administration became hostile comments as his administration faltered. Furthermore, the president often fell asleep at public functions and embarrassed his family and friends. Modern doctors believe he probably suffered from a sleep disorder, made worse by his obesity.

Taft lacked the leadership skills necessary to run the country. He was incapable of making sound decisions on the spot, but considered every issue from all sides, a habit that led to indecisiveness. He also tended to let others influence his leadership. A good example of this is his initial tariff reform package: Congress made 847 amendments to it, and he approved them. As a result, the reform meant almost nothing.

Taft ran for reelection in 1912 only because he felt the need to defend himself against Theodore Roosevelt's many public attacks on his character and judgment. This caused Roosevelt to leave the Republican Party and join the Progressives, a move that guaranteed Taft would not win. He lost the election to Democrat Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924; served 1913–21), New Jersey's governor.

Taft was relieved to leave the White House and took a job teaching law at Yale. He then accepted an appointment as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court, a position he kept until his death in 1930. It was the job William Taft was most honored to have in his lifetime.