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| | '''William Howard Taft''' was the 27th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1909 to 1913, and served as the 10th [[Chief Justice of the United States]]. A leader of the conservative half of the [[Progressive Era|progressive]] wing of the [[Republican Party]] in the early 20th century, his greatest achievement was to expel the left wing of the GOP in 1912 and to move the party, and the Supreme Court, to the right, for a generation. | | '''William Howard Taft''' was the 27th [[President of the United States of America]], serving from 1909 to 1913, and served as the 10th [[Chief Justice of the United States]]. A leader of the conservative half of the [[Progressive Era|progressive]] wing of the [[Republican Party]] in the early 20th century, his greatest achievement was to expel the left wing of the GOP in 1912 and to move the party, and the Supreme Court, to the right, for a generation. |
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| − | Taft served as [[Solicitor General of the United States]], a federal judge, [[Governor-General of the Philippines]], and Secretary of War before being nominated for President by the 1908 Republican National Convention with the critical backing of the incumbent President and Taft's close friend [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. | + | Taft served as Solicitor General of the United States, a federal judge, Governor-General of the Philippines, and Secretary of War before being nominated for President by the 1908 Republican National Convention with the critical backing of the incumbent President and Taft's close friend [[Theodore Roosevelt]]. |
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| | Taft, scion of the leading political family in Ohio, pioneered in [[international arbitration]]; his advocacy of [[world peace]] verging on [[pacifism]]. | | Taft, scion of the leading political family in Ohio, pioneered in [[international arbitration]]; his advocacy of [[world peace]] verging on [[pacifism]]. |
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| | Taft was brought up in the [[Unitarian]] church and remained a faithful Unitarian his entire life.<ref>He said, "I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe."</ref> At age 18, he met his future wife, Helen Herron, in Cincinnati; she and Taft courted while he was away at college. The [[William Howard Taft National Historic Site]] is the Taft boyhood home. The house in which he was born has been restored to its original appearance. It includes four period rooms which reflect the family life during Taft's boyhood. The home also includes second floor exhibits highlighting Taft's life and career, as well as an educational center.<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/wiho ''http://www.nps.gov/wiho'']</ref> | | Taft was brought up in the [[Unitarian]] church and remained a faithful Unitarian his entire life.<ref>He said, "I do not believe in the divinity of Christ, and there are many other of the postulates of the orthodox creed to which I cannot subscribe."</ref> At age 18, he met his future wife, Helen Herron, in Cincinnati; she and Taft courted while he was away at college. The [[William Howard Taft National Historic Site]] is the Taft boyhood home. The house in which he was born has been restored to its original appearance. It includes four period rooms which reflect the family life during Taft's boyhood. The home also includes second floor exhibits highlighting Taft's life and career, as well as an educational center.<ref>[http://www.nps.gov/wiho ''http://www.nps.gov/wiho'']</ref> |
| − | | + | [[File:Taft and Libbie Custer.png|left|200px|thumb|Taft speaking at the unveiling of a statue for George Custer in 1910 in Michigan.]] |
| | ===Education=== | | ===Education=== |
| | Taft attended public schools in Cincinnati, then (like most Tafts) he attended [[Yale College]] in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a member of "Skull and Bones", the secret society co-founded by his father in 1832. In 1878, Taft graduated from Yale, ranking second in his class out of 121. He then attended Cincinnati Law School, a third-rate institution, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1880. While in law school, he worked on the local GOP newspaper ''[[The Cincinnati Commercial]]''.<ref>Pringle (1939) v. 1</ref> | | Taft attended public schools in Cincinnati, then (like most Tafts) he attended [[Yale College]] in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a member of "Skull and Bones", the secret society co-founded by his father in 1832. In 1878, Taft graduated from Yale, ranking second in his class out of 121. He then attended Cincinnati Law School, a third-rate institution, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws in 1880. While in law school, he worked on the local GOP newspaper ''[[The Cincinnati Commercial]]''.<ref>Pringle (1939) v. 1</ref> |