Taft was the scion of a powerful Republican family based in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was elected president in 1908, and in 1921 became [[Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court]]. Taft's sister Helen Taft Manning was a professor, and his brother Charles Taft was a leading reformer in Cincinnati. As a boy he spent three years in the [[Philippines]], where his father was governor. | Taft was the scion of a powerful Republican family based in Cincinnati, Ohio. His father was elected president in 1908, and in 1921 became [[Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court]]. Taft's sister Helen Taft Manning was a professor, and his brother Charles Taft was a leading reformer in Cincinnati. As a boy he spent three years in the [[Philippines]], where his father was governor. |