William Howard Taft succeeded to the office of president from Theodore Roosevelt. A few years after his tenure, he became the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, making him the only former president to become Chief Justice. Taft is the only person to have served in both of these offices. Taft was a president who disliked politics. In fact, he once said, “Politics, when I am in it, makes me sick.” He was never good at pleasing his voters with words.
Taft’s presidency is linked to Roosevelt; Theodore Roosevelt and Taft were good friends and they admired each other’s talent. During Roosevelt’s tenure, he made Taft his Secretary of War. And when Roosevelt decided not to run again in 1908, he asked his supporters to choose Taft. It was his wife who convinced Taft to accept the nomination.
Taft disappointed Roosevelt’s expectations. His policies differed from that of his political guru. Things took a turn when he fired Gifford Pinchot. Pinchot was the head of the Bureau of Forestry and an ardent conservationist who was a friend of Roosevelt. With this incident, the Republicans withdrew their support. When Roosevelt came back from a safari in Africa, they urged him to publicly oppose his political successor. Though Roosevelt was initially against this idea, what followed was a merciless conflict between two friends at the end of which, the Republicans lost to the Democrats.
Taft taught law after retiring from office. Years later, he was named chief justice of the Supreme Court by President Harding. It was a dream-come-true moment for him. Taft held this position until just before his death in 1930. To Taft, this appointment was his greatest honour. He once wrote, ‘I don’t remember that I ever was president.’
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