When was taft elected

He was elected to a five-year term himself the following year. Other than the presidency, it would be the only office Taft ever obtained through a popular vote. In , he was appointed as U. Two years later, he began serving as a judge on the U. In early , President William McKinley called Taft to Washington and tasked him with setting up a civilian government in the Philippines, which had become a U. Though hesitant, Taft accepted the post of chairman of the Second Philippine Commission with the knowledge that it would position him well to advance further in national government.

Beginning with the drafting of a new constitution including a Bill of Rights similar to that of the United States and the creation of the post of civilian governor he became the first , Taft improved the island economy and infrastructure and allowed the people at least some voice in government.

Though sympathetic to the Filipino people and popular among them, he believed they needed considerable guidance and instruction before they could be capable of self-rule, and predicted a long period of U.

After McKinley was assassinated in , President Theodore Roosevelt twice offered Taft a Supreme Court appointment, but he declined in order to stay in the Philippines. Taft traveled extensively during his four years in this post, including overseeing the construction of the Panama Canal and serving as provisional governor of Cuba.

Roosevelt, who had pledged not to run for a third term in office, began promoting Taft as his successor. Though he disliked campaigning, Taft agreed to mount a presidential run in at the urging of his wife, and soundly defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan by pledging to continue the Rooseveltian program of progressive reforms.

Always heavy, Taft weighed as much as pounds at times during his presidency. By , Roosevelt was so incensed with Taft and the conservative Republicans that he chose to break from the party and form his own Progressive Party also known as the Bull Moose Party.

He wrote some decisions, most reflecting his conservative ideology. Taft remained chief justice until shortly before his death, on March 8, , from complications of heart disease. Start your free trial today. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

Subscribe for fascinating stories connecting the past to the present. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs won just 2. After four years in the White House, Taft agreed to run for a second term, principally because he felt compelled to defend himself against Roosevelt's attacks on him as a traitor to reform.

The former friends and allies had become bitter opponents. Roosevelt saw Taft as betraying his promise to advance Roosevelt's agenda. He was especially bitter over Taft's antitrust policy, which had targeted one of Roosevelt's personally sanctioned "Good Trusts," U. The former President also felt personally betrayed by Taft's firing of Gifford Pinchot, head of the U.

Certain that Taft would take the party down with him in , Roosevelt was determined to replace him as the Republican candidate. After his return to America in from a big game hunting safari in Africa and a European tour, Roosevelt began to criticize Taft obliquely in speeches which sketched out his "New Nationalism" policies.

He argued for the elimination of special interests from politics, direct primaries, and graduated income and inheritance taxes. Roosevelt's platform also advocated a downward revision of the tariff schedule, open publicity about corporate business practices and decisions, and laws prohibiting the use of corporate funds in politics.

Additionally, he supported the initiative and referendum process, as well as the conservation and use of national resources to benefit all the people. In contrast to what would become Woodrow Wilson's political agenda, New Nationalism promised active government supervision and regulation of giant corporations rather than their dissolution. Monopolies would be made to operate in the public interest rather than solely in the interest of their stockholders.

Taft considered Roosevelt's ideas hopelessly radical and listened to his conservative supporters—and especially his wife—who vilified Roosevelt as a man bent on destroying the nation and the President. In the year before the Republican convention, Roosevelt attacked Taft mercilessly and at every opportunity.

Several states had established direct primaries, which allowed the people to vote their opinion on a preference ballot for party candidates though in most of those states, the convention delegates would still be selected by party leaders.

Roosevelt's no-holds-barred attack on Taft finally reached a sore point when the former President spoke in favor of the popular recall of judges and judicial decisions on constitutional questions. Taft responded in a speech on April 25, , declaring that a Roosevelt victory would institute a reign of terror similar to that following the French Revolution.

Thereafter, the fight became a free-for-all, with Taft hitting back at Roosevelt constantly. The resulting campaign to win the Republican nomination was the first in which a sitting President campaigned in state primaries. The primary elections showed Roosevelt to be the people's clear choice. Roosevelt, however, carried all other primaries. When the convention opened in Chicago on June 7, Roosevelt had delegates pledged to him compared to Taft's 71—just 80 votes short of a majority.

Taft's major advantage as President then came into play: his control of federal patronage. Consequently, he was able to hold the delegates from southern states. In addition, he controlled the Republican National Committee, which decided on any challenges of delegates from the primaries. Most of the states sent two sets of delegates to the convention, and the Republican National Committee—dominated by Taft Republicans—seated all but a few of the Taft-pledged delegates.

Three days of confusion followed on the convention floor. The party bosses handed the nomination to Taft with votes to Roosevelt's Forty-one delegate votes were cast for Senator LaFollette. White had been ill at the time, and he passed away in May Taft was confirmed the following day. As a Chief Justice, Taft was an active jurist.

Taft presided over a mostly conservative court until February , when severe illness forced him off the bench. Taft died a month later at the age of Toggle navigation.

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