WILLIAM HOWARD TAFT
Politics
Born: September 15, 1857
Cincinnati, Ohio
Died: March 8, 1930
"The battlefield as a place of settlement of disputes is gradually yielding to arbitral courts of justice."
William Howard Taft inherited his like for politics from his father Alphonso Taft, who was secretary of war and attorney general in Grant's cabinet. After graduating from Yale and Cincinnati Law School in 1880, Taft rose to federal circuit judge by 1892. He became head of the U.S. Philippines Commission in 1900 and was the first civil governor of the Philippines. Republican Taft was groomed for President by Roosevelt himself and elected America's 27th President over William Jennings Bryan in 1908. One of the only accomplishments that Taft achieved was the enlargement of the Whitehouse bathtub so that it would better accomodate his rather large girth. His administration also dissolved tobacco trusts and his tariff and conservation policies angered progressives. Though he was renominated in 1912, he was strongly opposed by Roosevelt, who felt that Taft had abandoned Roosevelt's policies. The Republican party split between the two and Democrat Woodrow Wilson was subsequently elected instead.
1. William Howard Taft's father, Alphonso Taft served as secretary of war and attorney general in Presedent _____'s cabinet.
2. He was the __th Presedent of the United States.
3. Which former president helped Taft get into office, then opposed him when he ran for his seccond term because he had "abandoned" his policies?
4. Due to Taft's overweight condition the Whitehouse _______ had to be enlarged.
Your score is out of 4
