Quest For Knowledge Mini History Lesson For Today: On September - TopicsExpress



          

Quest For Knowledge Mini History Lesson For Today: On September 15, 1857, United States President William Howard Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati, finishing second in his class. He followed family tradition and went to Yale, again finishing as salutatorian: he was nothing if not consistent. He was a heavyweight wrestling champion at Yale. He then returned home and attended Cincinnati Law School, earning his law degree in 1880. Taft would have been happy to serve out his career in the judiciary, but his wife, Helen Herron (Nellie) Taft, and perhaps history, had other plans. After this, he soon entered politics when he was made Solicitor General during President Benjamin Harrison’s administration. In 1900, Taft received an appointment as Governor of the Philippines, a position he served in until 1904, at which point President Theodore Roosevelt made Taft his Secretary of War. Taft and James Monroe were the only two Presidents to serve as Secretary of War. From this position, he was then launched into the Presidency in 1909. While president; Taft set about busting monopolies in the steel and railroad industries. In addition, Taft also established the federal Department of Labor whose objective it was to promote the welfare of the nation’s working people. But Taft much preferred law to politics. Tafts presidency is remembered as honest, civilized, and middle-of-the-road. After his presidency Taft became dean of Yale Law School Taft continued to serve the United States as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, as named by President Warren Harding, serving for nine years until he was finally forced to resign due to health problems. To Taft, this appointment was his greatest honor; he wrote: I dont remember that I ever was President. Most legal scholars rate Taft as a good, conservative, Chief Justice. He would usually side with property rights over labor and government power over civil rights. He is the only person to have served in both of these offices. Taft died on March 8, 1930, at the age of 72, of heart failure and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, becoming one of only two presidents buried at the cemetery. John F. Kennedy was the other. A few notable facts from the Taft administration are that he had the first presidential automobile and the largest bathtub. While Taft was a big guy, standing 64 and weighing more than 300 pounds, he had a special tub put in the White House before he became President. The myth started decades later. But despite his distinguished career, many people best remember Taft because of the bath tub myth. He began the presidential tradition of throwing out the first pitch of the baseball year at the season opener between the Washington Senators and the Philadelphia Athletics on April 14, 1910. His wife, first lady Helen Herron Taft, was responsible for the Japanese cherry trees in Washington D.C., planting the first saplings (out of 3,000) with the Japanese ambassadors wife. The most visible legacy of Tafts Chief Justiceship is the Supreme Court Building, for which he lobbied. Prior to having its own building, the Supreme Court heard arguments in the Capitol, and the justices, having no offices, worked from their homes. The new structure, complete with offices, was completed after Tafts death. The Taft legacy of public service continues to this day. William Howard and Nellies son, Robert A. Taft, Mr. Republican, became a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and thrice sought the Republican nomination for President. Another son, Charles P. Taft II, was mayor of Cincinnati. Robert A.s son, Robert Taft, Jr., served in the U.S. House of Representatives and then the Senate. William Howards great-grandson, Robert A. Taft II, was elected Governor of Ohio in 1998. youtube/watch?v=C8-T4z9GA2w
Posted on: Tue, 16 Sep 2014 12:05:14 +0000

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