87-577: Taft most commonly refers to William Howard Taft (1857–1930), 27th president of the United States and 10th Chief Justice of the United States. Taft may also refer to: William Howard Taft Defunct Newspapers Journals TV channels Websites Other Economics Gun rights Identity politics Nativist Religion Watchdog groups Youth/student groups Miscellaneous Other William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930)
174-458: A Bachelor of Laws in 1880. While in law school, he worked on The Cincinnati Commercial newspaper, edited by Murat Halstead . Taft was assigned to cover the local courts, and also spent time reading law in his father's office; both activities gave him practical knowledge of the law that was not taught in class. Shortly before graduating from law school, Taft went to Columbus to take the bar examination and easily passed. After admission to
261-476: A Bryan victory, but he could do nothing but worry. McKinley was elected ; when a place on the Supreme Court opened in 1898, the only one under McKinley, the president named Joseph McKenna . From the 1890s until his death, Taft played a major role in the international legal community. He was active in many organizations, was a leader in the worldwide arbitration movement , and taught international law at
348-635: A chief engineer, and when in February 1907 John F. Stevens submitted his resignation, Taft recommended an army engineer, George W. Goethals . Under Goethals, the project moved ahead smoothly. Another colony lost by Spain in 1898 was Cuba, but as freedom for Cuba had been a major purpose of the war, it was not annexed by the U.S., but was, after a period of occupation, given independence in 1902. Election fraud and corruption followed, as did factional conflict. In September 1906, President Tomás Estrada Palma asked for U.S. intervention. Taft traveled to Cuba with
435-495: A drop in recent Republican presidents' scores by speculating that respondents put more weight towards a president's fealty towards political and institutional norms. The first version of this poll was conducted in 2015. The 2018 Siena poll of 157 presidential scholars reported George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson as the top five US presidents, with SCRI director Don Levy stating, "The top five, Mount Rushmore plus FDR,
522-414: A group of presidential historians and biographers. The C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership has taken place four times: in 2000, 2009, 2017 , and 2021 . The 2021 survey was of 142 presidential historians, surveyed by C-SPAN's Academic Advisor Team, made up of Douglas G. Brinkley , Edna Greene Medford , Richard Norton Smith , and Amity Shlaes . In the survey, each historian rates each president on
609-706: A month before the Portsmouth Peace Conference , which would end the Russo-Japanese War with the Treaty of Portsmouth . Taft met with Japanese Prime Minister Katsura Tarō . After that meeting, the two signed a memorandum . It contained nothing new but instead reaffirmed official positions: Japan had no intention to invade the Philippines, and the U.S. that it did not object to Japanese control of Korea . There were U.S. concerns about
696-740: A new judgeship for each of the United States Courts of Appeal and Harrison appointed him to the Sixth Circuit , based in Cincinnati. In March 1892, Taft resigned as Solicitor General to resume his judicial career. Taft's federal judgeship was a lifetime appointment, and one from which promotion to the Supreme Court might come. Taft's older half-brother Charles , successful in business, supplemented Taft's government salary, allowing William and Nellie Taft and their family to live in comfort. Taft's duties involved hearing trials in
783-547: A panel of historians to rank the ten best presidents since 1900. The results showed that historians had ranked Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Lyndon B. Johnson, Woodrow Wilson , Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton , Ronald Reagan , and Barack Obama as the best since that year. A 2015 poll administered by the American Political Science Association (APSA) among political scientists specializing in
870-516: A pledge he quickly regretted. But he felt bound by his word. Roosevelt believed Taft was his logical successor, although the War Secretary had initially been reluctant to run. Roosevelt used his control of the party machinery to aid his heir apparent. On pain of the loss of their jobs, political appointees were required to support Taft or remain silent. A number of Republican politicians, such as Treasury Secretary George Cortelyou , tested
957-499: A poll and in 1997, an accompanying book on the poll results. 719 people took part in the poll, primarily academic historians and political scientists, although some politicians and celebrities also took part. Participants from every state were included and emphasis was placed upon getting input from female historians and "specialists in African American studies " as well as a few non-American historians. Poll respondents rated
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#17327657697221044-542: A scale of one ("not effective") to 10 ("very effective") on presidential leadership in ten categories: Public Persuasion, Crisis Leadership, Economic Management, Moral Authority, International Relations, Administrative Skills, Relations with Congress, Vision/Setting An Agenda, Pursued Equal Justice for All and Performance Within the Context of His Times—with each category equally weighed. The results of all four C-SPAN surveys have been fairly consistent. Abraham Lincoln has taken
1131-678: A small American force, and on September 29, 1906, under the terms of the Cuban–American Treaty of Relations of 1903 , declared himself Provisional Governor of Cuba, a post he held for two weeks before being succeeded by Charles Edward Magoon . In his time in Cuba, Taft worked to persuade Cubans that the U.S. intended stability, not occupation. Taft remained involved in Philippine affairs. During Roosevelt's election campaign in 1904, he urged that Philippine agricultural products be admitted to
1218-528: Is carved in granite with presidential historians...." Donald Trump—entering the SCRI survey for the first time—joined Andrew Johnson and James Buchanan among the bottom three US presidents. George W. Bush, whom presidential scholars had rated fifth lowest in the previous 2010 survey , improved in position to 12th lowest. The 2022 Siena poll had Franklin Roosevelt first, Lincoln second, and Washington third, with
1305-744: Is ranked according to its averaged numerical score (in parentheses). Source: In 2016, the Presidential History Network surveyed 71 named British and Irish specialists. The questions were the same as in the USPC survey, which was directed by some of the same people. Some respondents did not rate presidents that they were not familiar with. The minimum number of responses (62) were for the rather obscure and inconsequential presidents Hayes, Arthur, Cleveland, and Benjamin Harrison. 69–70 rated all recent presidents, from FDR on. Each category
1392-622: Is ranked according to its averaged numerical score. Source: Source: On February 13, 2019, Siena released its sixth presidential poll. The poll was initiated in 1982 and occurs one year into the term of each new president. It is currently a survey of 157 presidential scholars across a range of leadership parameters. The ranking awarded the top five spots to George Washington, Franklin Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and Thomas Jefferson, in keeping with prior surveys. Washington had been ranked fourth in all previous surveys, and Franklin Roosevelt first. (The numbers below do not match
1479-593: The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty , the United States had secured rights to build a canal in the Isthmus of Panama . Legislation authorizing construction did not specify which government department would be responsible, and Roosevelt designated the Department of War. Taft journeyed to Panama in 1904, viewing the canal site and meeting with Panamanian officials. The Isthmian Canal Commission had trouble keeping
1566-730: The Institute for the Study of the Americas (located in the University of London 's School of Advanced Study). This polled the opinion of British specialists in American history and politics to assess presidential performance. They also gave an interim assessment of Barack Obama , but his then-unfinished presidency was not included in the survey. (Had he been included, he would have attained eighth place overall.) In 2012, Newsweek asked
1653-1024: The Ohio bar , Taft devoted himself to his job at the Commercial full-time. Halstead was willing to take him on permanently at an increased salary if he would give up the law, but Taft declined. In October 1880, Taft was appointed assistant prosecutor for Hamilton County, Ohio , where Cincinnati is. He took office in January 1881. Taft served for a year as assistant prosecutor, trying his share of routine cases. He resigned in January 1882 after President Chester A. Arthur appointed him Collector of Internal Revenue for Ohio's First District, an area centered on Cincinnati. Taft refused to dismiss competent employees who were politically out of favor, and resigned effective in March 1883, writing to Arthur that he wished to begin private practice in Cincinnati. In 1884, Taft campaigned for
1740-404: The University of London surveyed 47 British specialists on American history and politics. Presidents were rated from 1 to 10 in five categories: William Henry Harrison (1841) and James Garfield (1881) were not rated because they died shortly after taking office. Barack Obama (2009–) ranked 8th in interim ranking as of January 2011, but was not counted in the final results (and thus did not affect
1827-414: The ranking order for each president in that survey. Scroll in the center of the table. The headers will remain in view. To instead display the whole table at once, click "[disable]" at top left. The Murray–Blessing 1982 survey asked historians whether they were liberal or conservative on domestic, social, and economic issues. The table below shows that the two groups had only small differences in ranking
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#17327657697221914-416: The 1907 Tillman Act , and Bryan proposed that contributions by officers and directors of corporations be similarly banned, or at least disclosed when made. Taft was only willing to see the contributions disclosed after the election, and tried to ensure that officers and directors of corporations litigating with the government were not among his contributors. Taft began the campaign on the wrong foot, fueling
2001-413: The American presidency had Abraham Lincoln in the top spot, with George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, Thomas Jefferson, Harry S. Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Bill Clinton, Andrew Jackson , and Woodrow Wilson making the top 10. A 2016 survey of 71 British specialists by the Presidential History Network produced similar results to the 2011 USPC survey, with Barack Obama placed in
2088-741: The Cincinnati Law School, a post that required him to prepare and give two hour-long lectures each week. He was devoted to his law school, and was deeply committed to legal education, introducing the case method to the curriculum. As a federal judge, Taft could not involve himself with politics, but followed it closely, remaining a Republican supporter. He watched with some disbelief as the campaign of Ohio Governor William McKinley developed in 1894 and 1895, writing "I cannot find anybody in Washington who wants him". By March 1896, Taft realized that McKinley would likely be nominated, and
2175-562: The Filipinos partners in a venture that would lead to their self-government; he saw independence as something decades off. Many Americans in the Philippines viewed the locals as racial inferiors, but Taft wrote soon before his arrival, "we propose to banish this idea from their minds". Taft did not impose racial segregation at official events, and treated the Filipinos as social equals. Nellie Taft recalled that "neither politics nor race should influence our hospitality in any way". McKinley
2262-497: The Filipinos. Roosevelt had Taft go to Rome to negotiate with Pope Leo XIII , to purchase the lands and to arrange the withdrawal of the Spanish priests, with Americans replacing them and training locals as clergy. Taft did not succeed in resolving these issues on his visit to Rome, but an agreement on both points was made in 1903. In late 1902, Taft had heard from Roosevelt that a seat on the Supreme Court would soon fall vacant on
2349-603: The Philippines . In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and he became Roosevelt's hand-picked successor. Despite his personal ambition to become chief justice, Taft declined repeated offers of appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States , believing his political work to be more important. With Roosevelt's help, Taft had little opposition for the Republican nomination for president in 1908 and easily defeated William Jennings Bryan for
2436-548: The Republican Party's conservative wing, with which Taft often sympathized, and its progressive wing, toward which Roosevelt moved more and more. Controversies over conservation and antitrust cases filed by the Taft administration served to further separate the two men. Roosevelt challenged Taft for renomination in 1912. Taft used his control of the party machinery to gain a bare majority of delegates and Roosevelt bolted
2523-543: The Republican candidate for president, Maine Senator James G. Blaine , who lost to New York Governor Grover Cleveland . In 1887, Taft, then aged 29, was appointed to a vacancy on the Superior Court of Cincinnati by Governor Joseph B. Foraker . The appointment was good for just over a year, after which he would have to face the voters, and in April 1888, he sought election for the first of three times in his lifetime,
2610-605: The Taft effort. In April, Taft made a speaking tour, traveling as far west as Omaha before being recalled to straighten out a contested election in Panama . He had no serious opposition at the 1908 Republican National Convention in Chicago in June, and gained a first-ballot victory. Yet Taft did not have things his own way: he had hoped his running mate would be a midwestern progressive like Iowa Senator Jonathan Dolliver , but instead
2697-582: The U.S. without duty. This caused growers of U.S. sugar and tobacco to complain to Roosevelt, who remonstrated with his Secretary of War. Taft expressed unwillingness to change his position, and threatened to resign; Roosevelt hastily dropped the matter. Taft returned to the islands in 1905, leading a delegation of congressmen, and again in 1907, to open the first Philippine Assembly . On both of his Philippine trips as Secretary of War , Taft went to Japan, and met with officials there. The meeting in July 1905 came
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2784-549: The United States In political studies , surveys have been conducted in order to construct historical rankings of the success of the presidents of the United States . Ranking systems are usually based on surveys of academic historians and political scientists or popular opinion. The scholarly rankings focus on presidential achievements, leadership qualities, failures, and faults. Popular-opinion polls typically focus on recent or well-known presidents. A 1948 poll
2871-494: The United States . They met again when Taft went to Washington in January 1902 to recuperate after two operations caused by an infection. There, Taft testified before the Senate Committee on the Philippines . Taft wanted Filipino farmers to have a stake in the new government through land ownership, but much of the arable land was held by Catholic religious orders of mostly Spanish priests, which were often resented by
2958-547: The United States . When Taft arrived in Washington in February 1890, the office had been vacant for two months, with the work piling up. He worked to eliminate the backlog, while simultaneously educating himself on federal law and procedure he had not needed as an Ohio state judge. New York Senator William M. Evarts , a former Secretary of State, had been a classmate of Alphonso Taft at Yale. Evarts called to see his friend's son as soon as Taft took office, and William and Nellie Taft were launched into Washington society. Nellie Taft
3045-509: The United States in December 1903. When Taft took office as Secretary of War in January 1904, he was not called upon to spend much time administering the army, which the president was content to do himself—Roosevelt wanted Taft as a troubleshooter in difficult situations, as a legal adviser, and to be able to give campaign speeches as he sought election in his own right. Taft strongly defended Roosevelt's record in his addresses, and wrote of
3132-477: The Yale Law School. Taft advocated the establishment of a world court of arbitration supported by an international police force and is considered a major proponent of "world peace through law" movement. One of the reasons for his bitter break with Roosevelt in 1910–12 was Roosevelt's insistence that arbitration was naïve and that only war could decide major international disputes. In January 1900, Taft
3219-436: The aging incumbent, Melville Fuller , who turned 75 in 1908. Taft believed Fuller likely to live many years. Roosevelt had indicated he was likely to appoint Taft if the opportunity came to fill the court's center seat, but some considered Attorney General Philander Knox a better candidate. In any event, Fuller remained chief justice throughout Roosevelt's presidency. Through the 1903 separation of Panama from Colombia and
3306-477: The arguments of those who said he was not his own man by traveling to Roosevelt's home at Sagamore Hill for advice on his acceptance speech, saying that he needed "the President's judgment and criticism". Taft supported most of Roosevelt's policies. He argued that labor had a right to organize, but not boycott, and that corporations and the wealthy must also obey the law. Bryan wanted the railroads to be owned by
3393-545: The best and worst presidents. Both groups agreed on the composition of nine of the top ten presidents (and were split over the inclusion of either Lyndon B. Johnson or Dwight D. Eisenhower) and six of the worst seven (split over Jimmy Carter or Calvin Coolidge ). Source: In September/October 2010, the United States Presidency Centre (USPC) of the Institute for the Study of the Americas at
3480-409: The bottom three as Trump, Buchanan, and Johnson. The 2021 C-SPAN poll showed a continued recent rehabilitation of Ulysses Grant, showed George W. Bush improving, Obama remaining high, and Trump with the fourth lowest ranking. Within each column At leftmost column head, click "triangles" to view the in-office order of each president. At each survey column head, click on "triangles" to view
3567-466: The circuit, which included Ohio, Michigan, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and participating with Supreme Court Justice John Marshall Harlan , the circuit justice , and judges of the Sixth Circuit in hearing appeals. Taft spent these years, from 1892 to 1900, in personal and professional contentment. According to historian Louis L. Gould, "while Taft shared the fears about social unrest that dominated
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3654-399: The commission was a nuisance, and their mission a quixotic attempt to impose self-government on a people unready for it. The general was forced to co-operate with Taft, as McKinley had given the commission control over the islands' military budget. The commission took executive power in the Philippines on September 1, 1900; on July 4, 1901, Taft became civilian governor . MacArthur, until then
3741-429: The continuing rehabilitation of Lyndon Johnson, up 8 places into the first quartile, and of Ulysses Grant, up 3 places (up 8 in the individual evaluations) into the second quartile; and the lessening appreciation of Andrew Jackson, down 4 places to the median (down 7, into the third quartile, in the individual evaluations); Ronald Reagan, down 5 places, remaining in the second quartile; and Zachary Taylor, down 6 places into
3828-623: The convention named Congressman James S. Sherman of New York, a conservative. Taft resigned as Secretary of War on June 30 to devote himself full-time to the campaign. Taft's opponent in the general election was Bryan, the Democratic nominee for the third time in four presidential elections. As many of Roosevelt's reforms stemmed from proposals by Bryan, the Democrat argued that he was the true heir to Roosevelt's mantle. Corporate contributions to federal political campaigns had been outlawed by
3915-527: The corrosive effect of Vietnam on his foreign policy and moral authority scores." As with US polls, the bottom five (other than Harding) were president before and after the Civil War. One of the more significant differences from American polls is the relatively low ranking of John F. Kennedy (1961–1963), who placed fifteenth. British academics "seemingly faulted JFK for the gap between his rhetoric and his substantive achievements as president." Each category
4002-492: The court below but that the solicitor general thought it should have lost. At Taft's request, the Supreme Court reversed a murder conviction that Taft said had been based on inadmissible evidence. The policy continues to this day. Although Taft was successful as Solicitor General, winning 15 of the 18 cases he argued before the Supreme Court, he was glad when in March 1891, the United States Congress created
4089-437: The current president and whether each was a good or bad president. A Gallup poll taken November 7–10, 2013, asked 1,039 American adults the following question: "How do you think each of the following presidents will go down in history—as an outstanding president, above average, average, below average, or poor?". A Quinnipiac University poll taken June 24–30, 2014, asked 1,446 American registered voters who they believed were
4176-476: The eldest, Robert , became a U.S. senator. There was a seat vacant on the U.S. Supreme Court in 1889, and Governor Foraker suggested President Harrison appoint Taft to fill it. Taft was 32 and his professional goal was always a seat on the Supreme Court. He actively sought the appointment, writing to Foraker to urge the governor to press his case, while stating to others it was unlikely he would get it. Instead, in 1890, Harrison appointed him Solicitor General of
4263-524: The first quartile. A second Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey was sent to members of the Presidents and Executive Politics section of the APSA in 2018, ranked Donald Trump for the first time, putting him in last position. In the 2024 edition, Trump scored 10.92 out of 100, easily the worst, while self-identified Republican historians rated Trump in the bottom five. The study organizers noted
4350-464: The following month. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery , the first president and first Supreme Court justice to be interred there. Taft is generally listed near the middle in historians' rankings of U.S. presidents . William Howard Taft was born September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio , to Alphonso Taft and Louise Torrey . The Taft family was not wealthy, living in a modest home in
4437-584: The following question: "Who do you regard as the greatest United States president?" In addition, "Other" received 1%, "None" received 1% and "No opinion" received 5%. A Public Policy Polling poll taken between September 8–11, 2011, asked 665 American voters, based on what they know or remember about the nine then-most recent former presidents, whether they hold favorable or unfavorable views of how each handled his job in office. A Vision Critical / Angus Reid Public Opinion poll taken on February 18–19, 2011, asked 1,010 respondents about 11 former presidents plus
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#17327657697224524-476: The fourth quartile. Source: Siena College Research Institute: 2022 Survey of U.S. Presidents Professors Hanes Walton Jr. and Robert Smith in their book American Politics and the African American Quest for Universal Freedom , ranked presidents for their views and actions on the topic of race. Presidents can be ranked twice since "White supremacist" refers only to personal belief ; while
4611-614: The government, but Taft preferred that they remain in the private sector, with their maximum rates set by the Interstate Commerce Commission , subject to judicial review . Taft attributed blame for the recent recession, the Panic of 1907 , to stock speculation and other abuses, and felt some reform of the currency (the U.S. was on the gold standard ) was needed to allow flexibility in the government's response to poor economic times, that specific legislation on trusts
4698-546: The heavyset, jovial Taft was popular and an intramural heavyweight wrestling champion. One classmate said he succeeded through hard work rather than by being the smartest, and had integrity. He was elected a member of Skull and Bones , the Yale secret society co-founded by his father, one of three future presidents (with George H. W. Bush and George W. Bush ) to be a member. In 1878, Taft graduated second in his class of 121. He attended Cincinnati Law School , and graduated with
4785-459: The highest ranking in each survey and George Washington, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Theodore Roosevelt have always ranked in the top five while James Buchanan , Andrew Johnson , and Franklin Pierce have been ranked at the bottom of all four surveys. The 2011 survey , the first poll asking UK academics to rate American presidents, was conducted by the United States Presidency Centre (USPC) at
4872-408: The middle classes during the 1890s, he was not as conservative as his critics believed. He supported the right of labor to organize and strike, and he ruled against employers in several negligence cases." Among these was Voight v. Baltimore & Ohio Southwestern Railway Co. Taft's decision for a worker injured in a railway accident violated the contemporary doctrine of liberty of contract , and he
4959-569: The military governor, was relieved by General Adna Chaffee , who was designated only as commander of American forces. As Governor-General, Taft oversaw the final months of the primary phase of the Philippine–American War. He approved of General James Franklin Bell 's use of concentration camps in the provinces of Batangas and Laguna , and accepted the surrender of Filipino general Miguel Malvar on April 16, 1902. Taft sought to make
5046-481: The national average, "with only 13 percent of the respondents describing themselves as either moderate, slightly conservative, or conservative." A Gallup poll taken on November 19–21, 2010, asked 1,037 Americans to say, based on what they know or remember about the nine most recent former presidents, whether they approve or disapprove of how each handled his job in office. A Gallup poll about presidential greatness taken February 2–5, 2011, asked 1,015 American adults
5133-531: The number of Japanese laborers coming to the American West Coast, and during Taft's second visit, in September 1907, Tadasu Hayashi , the foreign minister, informally agreed to issue fewer passports to them . Roosevelt had served almost three and a half years of McKinley's term. On the night of his own election in 1904, Roosevelt publicly declared that he would not run for reelection in 1908 ,
5220-588: The other categories incorporate policy actions as well. In May 2019, Alvin Tillery of the Center for the Study of Diversity and Democracy at Northwestern University and Christina Greer of Fordham University "conducted a poll of 113 academic researchers and asked them to rate the 14 modern presidents on both their overall leadership and rhetoric on diversity and inclusion using a scale ranging from 0 to 100." Survey respondents were significantly more liberal than
5307-459: The other two being for the presidency. He was elected to a full five-year term. Some two dozen of Taft's opinions as a state judge survive, the most significant being Moores & Co. v. Bricklayers' Union No. 1 (1889) if only because it was used against him when he ran for president in 1908. The case involved bricklayers who refused to work for any firm that dealt with a company called Parker Brothers, with which they were in dispute. Taft ruled that
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#17327657697225394-629: The party. The split left Taft with little chance of reelection, and he took only Utah and Vermont in Wilson's victory. After leaving office, Taft returned to Yale as a professor, continuing his political activity and working against war through the League to Enforce Peace . In 1921, Harding appointed Taft chief justice, an office he had long sought. Chief Justice Taft was a conservative on business issues, and under him there were advances in individual rights. In poor health, he resigned in February 1930, and died
5481-543: The poll was conducted during the worst economic troubles since the 1930s. Of presidents since 1960, only Ronald Reagan and (in interim results) Barack Obama placed in the top ten; Obama was the highest-ranked president since Harry Truman (1945–1953). Most of the other recent presidents held middling positions, though George W. Bush placed in the bottom ten, the lowest-ranked president since Warren Harding (1921–1923). Lyndon Johnson (1963–1969) "would have been placed much higher in recognition of his civil rights achievement but for
5568-460: The presidency in that November's election . In the White House, he focused on East Asia more than European affairs and repeatedly intervened to prop up or remove Latin American governments. Taft sought reductions to trade tariffs , then a major source of governmental income, but the resulting bill was heavily influenced by special interests. His administration was filled with conflict between
5655-419: The president's successful but strenuous efforts to gain election, "I would not run for president if you guaranteed the office. It is awful to be afraid of one's shadow." Between 1905 and 1907, Taft came to terms with the likelihood he would be the next Republican nominee for president, though he did not plan to actively campaign for it. When Justice Henry Billings Brown resigned in 1906, Taft would not accept
5742-515: The presidents in five categories (leadership qualities, accomplishments, crisis management, political skill, appointments, and character and integrity) and the results were tabulated to create the overall ranking. A 2005 presidential poll was conducted by James Lindgren for the Federalist Society and The Wall Street Journal . As in the 2000 survey, the editors sought to balance the opinions of liberals and conservatives, adjusting
5829-404: The rankings of other presidents) because he had yet to complete a term. Franklin D. Roosevelt (1933–1945) came in first overall and in the categories of vision/agenda, domestic leadership, and foreign policy leadership. Washington came in first for moral authority; Lincoln for his legacy. Morgan believes it is likely that Roosevelt's ranking (which only marginally surpassed Lincoln's) rose because
5916-433: The rankings, while George W. Bush and Donald Trump moved down, though part of the downward shift was due to the addition of a new president to the poll. Counting from the other direction, Trump remained unchanged at third place from last. The changes were relatively small (one or two places), apart from Obama, who moved up six places (14%) to eleventh place, in the first quartile. Notable shifts among earlier presidents included
6003-672: The resignation of Justice George Shiras , and Roosevelt desired that Taft fill it. Although this was Taft's professional goal, he refused as he felt his work as governor was not yet done. The following year, Roosevelt asked Taft to become Secretary of War . As the War Department administered the Philippines, Taft would remain responsible for the islands, and Elihu Root , the incumbent, was willing to postpone his departure until 1904, allowing Taft time to wrap up his work in Manila. After consulting with his family, Taft agreed, and sailed for
6090-611: The results "to give Democratic- and Republican-leaning scholars equal weight". Franklin D. Roosevelt still ranked in the top three, but editor James Taranto noted that Democratic-leaning scholars rated George W. Bush the sixth-worst president of all time while Republican scholars rated him the sixth-best, giving him a split-decision rating of "average". In 2008, The Times daily newspaper of London asked eight of its own "top international and political commentators" to rank all 42 presidents "in order of greatness". The C-SPAN Survey of Presidential Leadership consists of rankings from
6177-487: The scholars polled said that if a president were to be added to Mount Rushmore, it should be FDR. 63% believed that the president should be elected by a national popular vote; whereas, 17% supported the Electoral College. A year into his term, Joe Biden entered the ranking in the second quartile, at nineteenth place out of 45. Among recent presidents, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama moved up in
6264-469: The seat although Roosevelt offered it, a position Taft held to when another seat opened in 1906. Edith Roosevelt , the First Lady , disliked the growing closeness between the two men, feeling that they were too much alike and that the president did not gain much from the advice of someone who rarely contradicted him. Alternatively, Taft wanted to be chief justice, and kept a close eye on the health of
6351-502: The second year of the first term of each president since Ronald Reagan. These surveys collect presidential rankings from historians, political scientists, and presidential scholars in a range of attributes, abilities, and accomplishments. The 1994 survey placed only two presidents, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln, above 80 points and two presidents, Andrew Johnson and Warren G. Harding, below 50 points. In 1996, William J. Ridings Jr. and Stuart B. McIver conducted and published
6438-523: The source where there are ties in the rankings. They have instead been counted as ties are in other polls (e.g. 26, 27, 27, 27, 30 rather than 26, 27, 27, 27, 28 ), so that all categories span the range 1–44.) Source: The Siena College Research Institute released their seventh poll results on June 22, 2022. The best 10% and worst 10% remain unchanged from their 2018 poll (top five: F. D. Roosevelt, Lincoln, Washington, T. Roosevelt, Jefferson; bottom five: A. Johnson, Buchanan, Trump, Harding, Pierce). 41% of
6525-434: The suburb of Mount Auburn . Alphonso served as a judge and an ambassador, and was U.S. Secretary of War and Attorney General under President Ulysses S. Grant . William Taft was not seen as brilliant as a child, but was a hard worker; his demanding parents pushed him and his four brothers toward success, tolerating nothing less. He attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati. At Yale College , which he entered in 1874,
6612-702: The union's action amounted to a secondary boycott , which was illegal. It is not clear when Taft met Helen Herron (often called Nellie), but it was no later than 1880, when she mentioned in her diary receiving an invitation to a party from him. By 1884, they were meeting regularly, and in 1885, after an initial rejection, she agreed to marry him. The wedding took place at the Herron home on June 19, 1886. William Taft remained devoted to his wife throughout their almost 44 years of marriage. Nellie Taft pushed her husband much as his parents had, and she could be very frank with her criticisms. The couple had three children, of whom
6699-516: The waters for a run but chose to stay out. New York Governor Charles Evans Hughes ran, but when he made a major policy speech, Roosevelt the same day sent a special message to Congress warning in strong terms against corporate corruption . The resulting coverage of the presidential message relegated Hughes to the back pages. Roosevelt reluctantly deterred repeated attempts to draft him for another term. Assistant Postmaster General Frank H. Hitchcock resigned from his office in February 1908 to lead
6786-586: Was assassinated in September 1901, and was succeeded by Theodore Roosevelt. Taft and Roosevelt had first become friends around 1890 while Taft was Solicitor General and Roosevelt a member of the United States Civil Service Commission . Taft had, after McKinley's election, urged the appointment of Roosevelt as Assistant Secretary of the Navy , and watched as Roosevelt became a war hero, Governor of New York , and Vice President of
6873-485: Was a U.S. attorney general and secretary of war . Taft attended Yale and joined Skull and Bones , of which his father was a founding member. After becoming a lawyer, Taft was appointed a judge while still in his twenties. He continued a rapid rise, being named solicitor general and a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals . In 1901, President William McKinley appointed Taft civilian governor of
6960-415: Was ambitious for herself and her husband, and was annoyed when the people he socialized with most were mainly Supreme Court justices, rather than the arbiters of Washington society such as Theodore Roosevelt , John Hay , Henry Cabot Lodge and their wives. In 1891, Taft introduced a new policy: confession of error , by which the U.S. government would concede a case in the Supreme Court that it had won in
7047-500: Was called to Washington to meet with McKinley. Taft hoped a Supreme Court appointment was in the works, but instead McKinley wanted to place Taft on the commission to organize a civilian government in the Philippines . The appointment would require Taft's resignation from the bench; the president assured him that if he fulfilled this task, McKinley would appoint him to the next vacancy on the high court. Taft accepted on condition he
7134-425: Was conducted by historian Arthur M. Schlesinger Sr. of Harvard University . A 1962 survey was also conducted by Schlesinger, who surveyed 75 historians. Schlesinger's son, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. , conducted another poll in 1996. The Chicago Tribune surveyed 49 historians in 1982. The Siena College Research Institute has conducted surveys in 1982, 1990, 1994, 2002, 2010 , 2018 and 2022 – during
7221-468: Was lukewarm in his support. He landed solidly in McKinley's camp after former Nebraska representative William Jennings Bryan in July stampeded the 1896 Democratic National Convention with his Cross of Gold speech . Bryan, both in that address and in his campaign , strongly advocated free silver , a policy that Taft saw as economic radicalism. Taft feared that people would hoard gold in anticipation of
7308-538: Was made head of the commission, with responsibility for success or failure; McKinley agreed, and Taft sailed for the islands in April 1900. The American takeover meant the Philippine Revolution bled into the Philippine–American War , as Filipinos fought for their independence, but U.S. forces, led by military governor General Arthur MacArthur Jr. had the upper hand by 1900. MacArthur felt
7395-513: Was needed to supplement the Sherman Antitrust Act , and that the constitution should be amended to allow for an income tax, thus overruling decisions of the Supreme Court striking such a tax down. Roosevelt's expansive use of executive power had been controversial; Taft proposed to continue his policies, but place them on more solid legal underpinnings through the passage of legislation. Historical rankings of presidents of
7482-535: Was reversed by the Supreme Court. On the other hand, Taft's opinion in United States v. Addyston Pipe and Steel Co. was upheld unanimously by the high court. Taft's opinion, in which he held that a pipe manufacturers' association had violated the Sherman Antitrust Act , was described by Henry Pringle , his biographer, as having "definitely and specifically revived" that legislation. In 1896, Taft became dean and Professor of Property at his alma mater ,
7569-451: Was the 27th president of the United States and the tenth chief justice of the United States , the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908 as a Republican and was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Democratic nominee Woodrow Wilson . In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until 1930. Taft was born in Cincinnati , Ohio. His father, Alphonso Taft ,
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