"Liberty Under Law" and Selected Supreme Court Opinions

Author: William Howard Taft

Publisher: Ohio University Press

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 481

ISBN-13: 0821415646

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William Howard Taft's presidency (1909-1913), succeeding Theodore Roosevelt's, was mired in bitter partisan fighting, and Taft sometimes blundered politically. However, this son of Cincinnati assumed his true calling when President Warren G. Harding appointed him to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1921. Taft remains the only person to have served both as president of the United States and as chief justice of the Supreme Court. The Collected Works of William Howard Taft, Volume VIII, consists of "Liberty under Law" and selected Supreme Court opinions, among the most instructive accomplishments of Taft's ten years at the helm of the court. The writings reveal the sober judgments of a federalist who viewed state regulation with suspicion, championed national government, and saw an independent and powerful judiciary as the bulwark protecting the "vested rights" that the framers of the U.S. Constitution sought to guarantee. Whatever his failings as a politician, Taft was an intellectual powerhouse who knew how to use the law as a lever to encourage society to move toward more stable and productive ends. Although Taft is considered an average president at best, historians and political scientists rank him among fifteen "near greats" who have served on the high court. His ability and his love for the law shine through in Volume VIII, the concluding volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft. As Taft reportedly said to President Harding upon his appointment as chief justice, "I love judges and I love courts. They are my ideals on earth of what we shall meet afterward in heaven under a just God."

William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft

Author: William Howard Taft

Publisher: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 463

ISBN-13: 0838642519

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This is collection of ideas stated over Taft’s lifetime of service as administrator, diplomat, president, and Chief Justice. It singles out the essence of his convictions regarding government, diplomacy, and the law.

The Collected Works of William Howard Taft: Presidential addresses and state papers
The Collected Works of William Howard Taft: Presidential addresses and state papers

Author: William Howard Taft

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 496

ISBN-13:

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The third volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft imparts an appreciation of the range of the twenty-seventh president's interests. Beginning with his inaugural address and concluding with a detailed exposition of governmental expenses and needed economies, President William Howard Taft showed himself willing to tackle the routine as well as the rarified responsibilities of executive rule. Whether he was addressing the issue of strikes and labor unions or conservation, President Taft consistently demonstrated that, in word and action, he was prepared to be a modern president. What impresses the reader of these remarks is Taft's willingness to administer to virtually every part of the nation, thereby proving that he was not a mere figurehead but a chief executive truly concerned about problems across the country. Perhaps, as his words here indicate, Taft was not a good politician after all but a kind man who saw himself as president of all the people. As the first of two volumes directly related to Taft's tenure as president, Presidential Addresses and State Papers documents a pivotal time in the public life of this man from Ohio. Introduced by a commentary from the general series editor Professor David H. Burton, the third volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft underscores the presidential stature of William Howard Taft.

The Collected Works of William Howard Taft: Political issues and outlooks
The Collected Works of William Howard Taft: Political issues and outlooks

Author: William Howard Taft

Publisher:

Published: 2001

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13:

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The second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is dedicated to the speeches and writings that displayed his thinking in the autumn of 1908 and the following winter. At this time he was campaigning for the presidency against the well-known William Jennings Bryan, and in Taft's writings is evidence of the contrast in style between Taft and Bryan and between Taft and his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt. as well. Although uncomfortable with campaigning, he thoughtfully addresses the concerns of the day that framed the election, including race, the Philippines, and socialism. Political Issues and Outlooks also contains speeches made after the election and leading up to his inauguration as the twenty-seventh president of the United States. Introduced by a commentary from the general series editor Professor David H. Burton, the second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is a revealing look at the machinations of United States politics at the beginning of the twentieth century and a glimpse into the mind of one of the century's most influential political architects.