The Rise of William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was born to a prominent family in Cincinnati, Ohio (the seventh of eight total Presidents from this state so far). His father, Alphonso, had been Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant and a nationally prominent member of the Republican party.

Taft, therefore, had some high expectations to live up to (and some credit this stress as part of the reason for his legendary obesity). He was more than capable, however.

His early life demonstrated that Taft had the makings for success, to be sure. He did well in school, following his father's footsteps in attending Yale University (where he was a member of Skull and Bones and othe secret societies), where he graduated second in his class, then proceeded to the University of Cincinnati law school, passing the bar exam in 1880, at the age of 23.

Lawyer and Judge

While the majority of the would-be Presidents who had come before him tended to spend much of their lives attempting to win election to one position or another (apart from those whose success arose from military fame), Taft's road to the Presidency took a slightly different route.

In fact, William Taft's rise to national prominency did not find him running for any election at all. His focus was rather on his law career, and his greatest dream of one day becoming Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (he would not settle for a mere Associate Justice position).

While his wife, Helen (who was called "Nellie"), desired more from her husband, though, and urged him toward success in Washington politics, in hopes of living a stylish, Washington lifestyle.

With these as his stimuli, Taft quickly began his ascent, beginning in Ohio:

In 1881, only a year out of college, Taft earned an appointment (it is thought partly due to his father's influence) to the position of Assistant Prosecuter in Hamilton County, Ohio. In 1887, after also working as a lawyer for several years, he was appointed to the state Superior Court.

Three years, later Taft finally earned an appointment which led him away from Ohio, to Washington D.C. as U.S. Solicitor General under President Benjamin Harrison in 1890. It is here that the future President met and befriended his predecessor - Theodore Roosevelt.

Under President McKinley in 1892, Taft accepted an appointment to the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which held jurisdiction over Ohio, Michigan, Kentuky and Tennessee. Apart from the Supreme Court, Taft had at this point (at only 35 years old) nearly reached the pinnicle of the United States judicial system. He had only one more step to take.

Unfortunately, complications arose which delayed that final step considerably.

The Phillipenes

After the short Spanish-American War under President McKinley (wherein Teddy Roosevelt became a hero, paving his way to the Presidency), America found themselves in control of several foreign territories, including The Phillipenes off the southern coast of Asia.

McKinley called on Taft to head up a commission which would set up a government in the Phillipenes - helping them draft a constitution and impliment a civilian government and beaurocracy. Taft thus left his judicial career temporarily and headed off to the Phillipenes in 1900, where he would remain for four years, serving with great distinction and becoming very popular both overseas and in America.

With the death of President McKinley and the arrival of Roosevelt as President, Taft had a new friend in the White House, who even offered him a position on the Supreme Court in 1903, though Taft chose to finish his work in the Phillipenes, dispite being offered his dream job (or, at least, a step away from it - Roosevelt had offered him an Associate Justice position).

Secretary of War

A year later, Taft was called back to Washington again, this time to serve in Roosevelt's cabinet during his second term as Secretary of War, following, once again, in his father's footsteps.

In this capacity, Taft became the most important member of Roosevelt's cabinet - administering all foreign affairs, including the continuing situations in the Phillipenes and in Cuba. Taft travelled all over the world to speak for his country, and for a time even served as "acting" Secretary of State for a few weeks after the death of John Hay.

As Roosevelt's advisor, Taft earned the President's trust, and was a natural choice to become the successor to the Presidency. Roosevelt, who had promised not to run for reelection again, threw his entire political weight (which was considerable) behind the "heir to the Progressive crown."

On the weight of this support, William Howard Taft easily won the Republican nomination, and, much to Nellie's delight, became the 27th President of the United States.

For More Information:

The Presidency of William Howard Taft

William Taft on the Supreme Court

References:

"William Howard Taft." American Presidents: An Online Reference Resource.

"Ohio Presidents." About.com.

"Biography of Willim Howard Taft." The White House.

William Howard Taft

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