William Howard Taft: The American Presidents Series: The 27th President, 1909-1913

by Jeffrey Rosen, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. (Editor), Sean Wilentz (Editor)

Overview

The only man to serve as president and chief justice, who approached every decision in constitutional terms, defending the Founders’ vision against new populist threats to American democracy

William Howard Taft never wanted to be president and yearned instead to serve as chief justice of the United States. But despite his ambivalence about politics, the former federal judge found success in the executive branch as governor of the Philippines and secretary of war, and he won a resounding victory in the presidential election of 1908 as Theodore Roosevelt’s handpicked successor.

In this provocative assessment, Jeffrey Rosen reveals Taft’s crucial role in shaping how America balances populism against the rule of law. Taft approached each decision as president by asking whether it comported with the Constitution, seeking to put Roosevelt’s activist executive orders on firm legal grounds. But unlike Roosevelt, who thought the president could do anything the Constitution didn’t forbid, Taft insisted he could do only what the Constitution explicitly allowed. This led to a dramatic breach with Roosevelt in the historic election of 1912, which Taft viewed as a crusade to defend the Constitution against the demagogic populism of Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

Nine years later, Taft achieved his lifelong dream when President Warren Harding appointed him chief justice, and during his years on the Court he promoted consensus among the justices and transformed the judiciary into a modern, fully equal branch. Though he had chafed in the White House as a judicial president, he thrived as a presidential chief justice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780805069549
Publisher:	Holt, Henry & Company, Inc.
Publication date:	03/20/2018
Series:	American Presidents Series
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	218,747
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Jeffrey Rosen is the author of several books, including Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet. He is the president and CEO of the National Constitution Center, a law professor at George Washington University, and a contributing editor for The Atlantic. He was previously the legal affairs editor of The New Republic and a staff writer for The New Yorker.

Table of Contents

Editor's Note xv

Introduction: Judicial President and Presidential Chief Justice 1

1 "A Judicial Temperament": The Education of Judge Taft 17

2 "We Want Taft": Civil Governor, Secretary of War, and President-Elect 31

3 "The Best Tariff Bill": The President, Tax Reform, and Free Trade 50

4 "Within the Law": The Environment, Monopolies, and Foreign Affairs 70

5 "Popular Unrest": The Election of 1912 and the Battle for the Constitution 94

6 "I Love Judges and I Love Courts": Chief Justice at Last 110

Epilogue: Our Constitutional President 129

Notes 139

Milestones 165

Selected Bibliography 169

Acknowledgments 171

Index 173

Editorial Reviews

"Rosen aptly observes that by some measures — trusts prosecuted, acreage protected, tariffs reduced — Taft was more progressive than Roosevelt. Yet his style could hardly have been less Rooseveltian. Rosen, a law professor and a biographer of Louis Brandeis, makes a compelling argument for Taft’s importance as a conservator of the Constitution on the subject of presidential powers."—The Washington Post

"Rosen’s writing is clear and his research shines. This well-written and well-told story is in some ways more relevant today than when it happened. Do not miss this one."—San Francisco Book Review

"This slim, well-researched and well-written biography substantially beefs up Taft's reputation."—Forbes

From the Publisher

2018-07-05
A perceptive biography of William Howard Taft (1857-1930).Serving from 1909 to 1913, Taft was never the most admired president, but he was an intelligent man dogged by strict principles and a lack of political acumen. So argues Atlantic contributing editor Rosen (Law/George Washington Univ.; Louis D. Brandeis: American Prophet, 2016), the CEO of the National Constitution Center, who does not conceal his admiration, describing him as a likable figure who preferred the law to politics. An excellent solicitor general and federal judge, he became a popular figure after William McKinley appointed him governor of the Philippines in 1900 where he proved a superb administrator. Already a friend, Theodore Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of War in 1903, and he became the president's right-hand man, troubleshooter, and chosen successor. Roosevelt was not aware that Taft, who loved the law above all, believed that a president must never exercise powers beyond those specifically granted by the Constitution. Within a year of taking office, when Taft made this clear and fired Roosevelt's more activist officials, the former president took bitter offense. Rosen emphasizes that Taft shared Roosevelt's progressive views on conservation and trust-busting and sometimes went far beyond (he favored a world court). Sadly, Roosevelt's hostility and Congress' delight at a president they could safely ignore made his administration a painful experience. When Roosevelt announced his candidacy for the 1912 Republican nomination, he remained America's most popular figure, but party leaders, immune to his charm, engineered Taft's renomination. Roosevelt ran anyway, and Taft finished a poor third in a three-way race, but the story had a happy ending when President Warren Harding appointed him Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921 where he did an outstanding job.A legal scholar, Rosen sympathizes with Taft's strict constitutionalism more than many readers will, but he makes a convincing case that he was a conscientious president who did his best.

Kirkus Reviews