William Howard Taft
At a Glance
Term: 27th President of the United States (1909-1913)
Born: September 15, 1857, Cincinnati, Ohio
Nickname: None
Education: Yale College (graduated 1878), Cincinnati Law School (LL.B., 1880)
Religion: Unitarian
Marriage: June 19, 1886, to Helen Herron (1861-1943)
Children: Robert Alphonso (1889-1953), Helen Herron (1891-1987), Charles Phelps (1897-1983)
Career: Lawyer, Public Official
Political Party: Republican
Writings: The Anti-Trust and the Supreme Court (1914), The United States and Peace (1914), Our Chief Magistrate and His Powers (1916)
Died: March 8, 1930, Washington, D.C.
Buried: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Virginia
A Life in Brief: William Howard Taft faced the difficult task as President of living up to the legacy of Theodore Roosevelt. Taft so disappointed his predecessor, former mentor, and friend, that Roosevelt opposed his renomination in 1912 and bolted from the Republican Party to form his own "Bull-Moose" party, creating an opening for Democrat Woodrow Wilson in the 1912 presidential election. More....
Essays on William Howard Taft and His Administration
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William Howard Taft
A Life in Brief • Life Before the Presidency • Campaigns and Elections • Domestic Affairs • Foreign Affairs • Life After the Presidency • Family Life • The American Franchise • Impact and Legacy • Key Events |
| First Lady Helen Taft |
| Vice President James S. Sherman |
| Secretary of State Philander C. Knox (1909 - 1913) |
| Secretary of War Jacob M. Dickinson (1909 - 1911) • Henry L. Stimson (1911 - 1913) |
| Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock (1909 - 1913) |
| Secretary of the Interior Richard A. Ballinger (1909 - 1911) • Walter L. Fisher (1911 - 1913) |
| Secretary of the Treasury Franklin MacVeagh (1909 - 1913) |
| Attorney General George W. Wickersham |
| Secretary of the Navy George von L. Meyer (1909 - 1913) |
| Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson (1909 - 1913) |
| Secretary of Commerce and Labor Charles Nagel (1909 - 1913) |
Consulting Editor: Peri E. Arnold
Professor Arnold is a professor in the Department of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. His writings include:
Making the Managerial Presidency: Comprehensive Reorganization Planning, 1905-1996 (University Press of Kansas, 1986)
Presidential Speeches
Below are selections from the Miller Center's William Howard Taft speech collection. To view the Miller Center's other speeches by William Howard Taft or by another President, please click the link below.
Miller Center Scholarship and Speakers
The Miller Center of Public Affairs is a national nonpartisan center to research, reflect, and report on American government, with special attention to the central role and history of the presidency. Below is a selection of Miller Center resources on William Howard Taft.
Listen to Peter Schultz’s 1978 presentation at the Miller Center on Taft’s Conception of the Powers of the Presidency.
Click here to learn more about the Center’s National Commission on the Selection of Federal Judges and its relationship to Taft.
Scripps Library Reference Resources
Below are links to reference resources prepared by the Miller Center's Scripps Library that are designed to help students and scholars quickly conduct their research.
Bibliography on William Howard Taft and his Administration
Information on William Howard Taft's Private and Public Papers