William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 – March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected president in 1908, the chosen successor of Theodore Roosevelt, but was defeated for reelection in 1912 by Woodrow Wilson after Roosevelt split the Republican vote by running as a third-party candidate. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, a position he held until a month before his death.
Taft was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1857. His father, Alphonso Taft, was a U.S. attorney general and secretary of war. Taft attended Yale and joined the 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 the Philippines. In 1904, 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 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 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 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 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.
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Some of their strengths
William Howard Taft has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Extroverted, Adventurous, Sophisticated, Passionate, Bold, and Confident.
Smart and Sophisticated
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, William Howard Taft is someone who is a smart, sophisticated, and organized person who displays kindness and grace in every day interactions, and who also has a passionate soul. A person who is known for being diligent and strong.
Adventurous and Free
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know William Howard Taft well know them as someone who can be talented, wayward and free, like a big river or the ocean.
Active and Ambitious
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe William Howard Taft as someone who is active, ambitious, bold, and courageous.
A person who is driven and organized, is wise with money, who knows how to tell a good story, likes physical activity, and who loves learning.
Justice-seeking and Insightful
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, William Howard Taft is someone who tends to be intolerant of unfairness in life, and who has an uncanny ability to reveal the truth in any situation.
They are also someone who is altruistic, tolerant, and sophisticated, and who tends to be a perfectionist who is always working to try and make everything and everyone better.
Altruistic and Purposeful
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, William Howard Taft tends to be someone who has a desire to be of service to a higher calling and who is always trying to perfect things. Who can be practical and polished, reserved and methodical, and who tends to trust internal judgment before trusting anyone else at face value.
Some of William Howard Taft's challenges
While William Howard Taft has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, William Howard Taft can be Impulsive, Difficult, Perfectionist, Arrogant, Status-seeking, Short-tempered, and Aggressive.
Difficult and Perfectionist
One of William Howard Taft's key challenges is that they are someone who can be difficult and too much of a perfectionist.
Impulsive and Aggressive
William Howard Taft is someone who can be impulsive, aggressive, and confrontational, can have difficulty listening to others, be moody and high strung, have conflict with authority figures, be too judgmental of others, and who can be overindulgent and extravagant.
Critical and Bossy
Finally, William Howard Taft also can be too focused on the small details of life, try to control whatever is happening, and be finicky and demanding.
