Early political career The son of Alphonso Taft, secretary of war and attorney general (1876–77) under Pres. Ulysses S. Grant, and Louisa Maria Torrey, Taft graduated second in his Yale class of 1878, studied law, and was admitted to the Ohio bar in 1880. Drawn to politics in the Republican Party, he served in several minor appointive offices until 1887, when he was named to fill the unfinished term of a judge of the superior court of Ohio. The following year he was elected to a five-year term of his own, the only time he ever attained office via popular vote other than his election to the presidency. From 1892 to 1900 he served as a judge of the United States Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, where he made several decisions hostile to organized labour. He upheld the use of an injunction to stop a strike by railroad workers, and he declared illegal the use of a secondary boycott. On the other hand, he upheld the rights of workers to organize, to join a union, and to strike, and he extended the power of the injunction to enforce antitrust laws. Taft, William Howard William Howard Taft. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Taft resigned his judgeship on March 15, 1900, to accept appointment by Pres. William McKinley to serve as chairman of the Second Philippine Commission. Charged with organizing civil government in the islands following the Spanish-American War (1898), Taft displayed considerable talent as an executive and administrator. In 1901 he became the first civilian governor of the Philippines, concentrating in that post on the economic development of the islands. Fond of and very popular among the Philippine people, Taft twice refused to leave the islands when offered appointment to the Supreme Court by Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. In 1904 he agreed to return to Washington to serve as Roosevelt’s secretary of war, with the stipulation that he could continue to supervise Philippine affairs. Secretary of War William Howard Taft and Alice Roosevelt on a goodwill mission to Japan and the Philippines in 1905. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Taft, William Howard; Roosevelt, Alice William Howard Taft (seated centre right, in white) with Alice Roosevelt (seated centre left, with hat) as guests of the Philippine government, 1905. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Although dissimilar in both physique and temperament, the rotund, easygoing Taft and the muscular, almost-manic Roosevelt nonetheless became close friends; the president regarded his secretary of war as a trusted adviser. When Roosevelt declined to run for reelection, he threw his support to Taft, who won the 1908 Republican nomination and defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the electoral college by 321 votes to 162. Progressive Republicans, who had found their champion in Theodore Roosevelt, now expected Roosevelt’s handpicked successor to carry forward their reform agenda. Taft, William Howard: Campaign card Card from the William Howard Taft presidential campaign, c. 1908. Americana/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Get exclusive access to content from our 1768 First Edition with your subscription. Subscribe today

Presidency However, progressives soon found abundant reason to be disappointed with Taft. Temperamentally, he lacked Roosevelt’s compelling leadership qualities, which had inspired people to charge into battle against all that was wrong in American society. Politically, Taft offended progressives when he failed to appoint any from their ranks to his cabinet. He further angered progressives when he backed the Payne-Aldrich Tariff of 1909, a highly protectionist measure that ironically was the product of a special session of Congress called (by Taft) to revise tariff rates downward. Progressives, who favoured lower tariffs, expected a veto. When Taft not only signed the tariff but called it “the best bill that the party has ever passed,” the rupture in Republican ranks seemed unlikely to be mended. Taft, William Howard; Taft, Charles P. William Howard Taft with his son Charles at the family cottage in Beverly, Mass. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

Taft's tariff support “Saved,” cartoon by W.A. Rogers for the New York Herald, depicting William Howard Taft's support for the Payne-Aldrich Tariff, 1909. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. Despite his close relationship with Roosevelt, Taft as president aligned himself with the more conservative members in the Republican Party. He did prove to be a vigorous trustbuster, however, launching twice as many antitrust prosecutions as had his progressive predecessor. He also backed conservation of natural resources, another key component of the progressive reform program. But when he fired Gifford Pinchot—head of the Bureau of Forestry, ardent conservationist, and close friend of Roosevelt—Taft severed whatever support he still had among Republican progressives. Taft, William Howard: inspection of Panama Canal William Howard Taft (centre) at an inspection during construction of the Panama Canal. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. Roosevelt returned from an African safari in 1910, and progressives quickly urged him to come out publicly in opposition to his political protégé. At first Roosevelt declined to criticize Taft by name, but by 1912 a breach between the former friends was clearly evident. When Roosevelt decided to challenge Taft for the Republican presidential nomination, the two attacked each other mercilessly in the Republican primary elections. The primary results proved beyond doubt that Republican voters wanted Roosevelt to be the party’s standard-bearer in 1912, but Taft’s forces controlled the convention and secured the nomination for the incumbent. Believing that the convention had been rigged and that their man had been cheated out of the nomination he deserved, Republican progressives bolted their party to form the Bull Moose (or Progressive) Party and nominated Roosevelt as their presidential candidate. Taft, William Howard: ceremony opening the Gunnison Tunnel Pres. William Howard Taft ceremonially opening the Gunnison Tunnel, part of an irrigation project in Montrose, Colo., 1909. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. The split in Republican ranks assured the election of Democrat Woodrow Wilson. Roosevelt came in a distant second, and Taft, capturing less than a quarter of the popular vote, won just two states—Utah and Vermont. In the electoral college, Taft set a record for the poorest performance by an incumbent president seeking reelection: He won a mere 8 electoral votes compared with 88 for Roosevelt and 435 for Wilson. Cartoon depicting William Howard Taft and Theodore Roosevelt lying exhausted after the 1912 presidential campaign and saying, “Cheer up! I might have won.” Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. As president, Taft frequently claimed that “politics makes me sick.” Never eager for the office, he had been prodded to pursue it by his wife, Helen Herron Taft, whom he had married in 1886. As first lady, she was a key political adviser to her husband. Taft, William Howard; Taft, Helen Herron William Howard Taft and Helen Herron Taft at the family cottage in Beverly, Mass. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.