1. Resume
    1. 1882: Appointed local Collector of Internal Revenue in Cincinnati
    2. 1887: Appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati
    3. 1890 - 1892: 5th United States Solicitor General
    4. 1892 - 1900: Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
    5. 1896 - 1900: Served as the first dean and a professor of constitutional law at the University of Cincinnati
    6. 1901 - 1903: Governor-General of the Philippines
    7. 1904 - 1908: Secretary of War
    8. 1906 - 1906: Provisional Governor of Cuba
    9. 1909 - 1913: 27th President of the United States
    10. 1913: Appointed the Chancellor Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School
    11. 1914: Founded the League of Enforce Peace at the break out of World War I
    12. 1917 - 1918: Co-chairman of the powerful National War Labor Board
    13. 1921 - 1930: 10th Chief Justice of the United States
  2. Chronology
    1. 1857: Born near Cincinnati, Ohio
    2. 1878: Graduated from Yale, ranking second in his class out of 121
    3. 1880: Graduated with a Bachelor of Laws from Cincinnati Law School
    4. 1881: After admission to the Ohio bar, appointed Assistant Prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio, based in Cincinnati
    5. 1882: Appointed local Collector of Internal Revenue
    6. 1886: Married his longtime sweetheart, Helen Herron
    7. 1887: Appointed a judge of the Superior Court of Cincinnati
    8. 1909: Proposed amendment to allow the federal government to tax incomes was passed unanimously to become the Sixteenth Amendment
    9. 1912: Created the United States Chamber of Commerce as a counterbalance to the rise of the labor movement at the time
  3. Notables
    1. Only person to serve both as President and Chief Justice of the United States
    2. Theodore Roosevelt appointed Taft Secretary of War in an effort to groom him into his handpicked presidential successor
    3. Emphasized trust-busting, civil service reform, strengthening the Interstate Commerce Commission, improving the performance of the postal service, and passage of the Sixteenth Amendment
    4. Showed decisiveness and restraint in response to revolution in Mexico
    5. Oblivious to the political ramifications of his decisions, often alienating his own key constituencies
    6. Went to Yale and was their intramural heavyweight wrestling champion
    7. Stayed Governor-General of the Philippines even when officed his desired seat on the Supreme Court because he viewed the Filipinos as not yet being capable of governing themselves and because of his popularity among them
    8. Tried to accompish a lot without making any noise
    9. 1909 Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act resulted in tariffs that were too high for the progressives, based on Taft's campaign promises; Taft claimed responsibility saying it was the best bill to come from the Republican Party
    10. Uprising in Mexico against the authoritarian regime tested Taft's restraint in the name of peace
    11. Defeated his friend turned enemy Roosevelt in the 1912 election but they split the party and both lost to Woodrow Wilson
    12. Reconciled with Roosevelt before his death in 1919
    13. Only president to swear in subsequent Presidents, giving the oath of office to both Calvin Coolidge (1925) and Herbert Hoover (1929)
  4. Summary
    1. Compulsive dedication to the job at hand, without regard to his self-interest
    2. Theodore Roosevelt groomed him to become president
    3. Had a passion for the rule of law
    4. Managed to alienate all sides
    5. 1912: Created the United States Chamber of Commerce as a counterbalance to the rise of the labor movement at the time
    6. Passed Sixteenth Amendment
    7. Endorsed a program to uplift the african American race, advising them to stay out of politics at the time and emphasize education and entrepreneurship
    8. Dollar Diplomacy promoted the nation's role in the economic development of Latin America
    9. Committed to peace
    10. Felt he achieved his main goals as president: keeping permanent control of the party and keeping the courts sacrosanct until they were next threatened
    11. States admitted to the Union: New Mexico (1912) and Arizona (1912)
    12. Cherished his position as Chief Justice, was respected by his peers, and saw it as the highest point of his career
    13. Remembered as the most obese president at 5 feet 11.5 inches tall with a weight peaking at 335 - 340 pounds
    14. He is the president of the often-told story of getting stuck in a White House bathtub