President William Howard Taft

 

When you think of William Howard Taft, two things probably come to mind: he was the 27th President of the United States and the infamous story about him getting stuck in the White House bathtub. But there’s more to Taft than those headlines.

Born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio, Taft grew up in a politically connected family. His father, Alphonso Taft, served as Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant. Young Will, as he was known, was a smart and affable kid, but wasn’t particularly interested in politics.

He had his sights set on the law. After graduating from Yale, Taft studied law and quickly made a name for himself as a talented lawyer and judge.

Taft’s legal career was impressive—he served as a federal judge and the first civilian governor of the Philippines after the Spanish-American War. But it was his close relationship with President Theodore Roosevelt that set him on the path to the White House. Roosevelt and Taft were good friends, and when Roosevelt’s second term ended, he handpicked Taft as his successor, expecting him to carry on his progressive legacy.

Taft won the presidency in 1908, but his time in office wasn’t exactly a walk in the park. Taft struggled to live up to the larger-than-life persona of his predecessor. He was more cautious and less dynamic than Roosevelt, which didn’t win him any points with the more progressive members of the Republican Party. Still, Taft’s presidency wasn’t without its achievements—he busted trusts, supported the establishment of the income tax, and made strides in civil service reform.

Taft’s biggest challenge as president was his personality. He found the constant demands of the presidency exhausting and often longed to return to the more predictable world of law and order. His reluctance to play the political game led to a rift with Roosevelt, who felt Taft betrayed the progressive cause. In 1912, Roosevelt challenged Taft for the presidency, leading to a bitter three-way race between Taft, Roosevelt, and Woodrow Wilson. The split in the Republican Party handed the election to Wilson, and Taft’s presidency ended after just one term.

Taft got his dream job in 1921 when President Warren G. Harding appointed him as Chief Justice of the United States, making him the only person to have served as both President and Chief Justice. That put Taft back in his element, and he thrived in his new role, serving on the Supreme Court until shortly before his death in 1930.