Download This Sample
This sample is exclusively for KidsKonnect members!
To download this worksheet, click the button below to signup for free (it only takes a minute) and you'll be brought right back to this page to start the download!
Sign Me Up
Table of Contents
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913). He was the only U.S. President who became a Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. For more information on the President William Howard Taft read the fact file below or download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.
Early Life:
- William Howard Taft was born on September 15, 1857, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was the son of Alphonso Taft and Louisa Maria Torrey. Young William attended Woodrow High School until 1874. He was a graduate of Yale College in 1878. While studying law at Cincinnati Law School, he worked as a courthouse reporter. He graduated law in 1880 and that same year was admitted to the bar.
- In 1881, he was appointed as an Assistant Prosecutor of Hamilton County, Ohio. A year later, he became the local Collector for the Internal Revenue Service
- On June 19, 1886, William married Helen Herron with whom he had three children.
- In 1887, he was appointed as a judge of the Cincinnati Superior Court. Three years later, President Benjamin Harrison appointed him as the Solicitor General to the United States. By 1892, he became a judge of the Sixth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Alongside, he was a professor of law and Dean of the University of Cincinnati Law School from 1896 until 1900.
- By 1901, he was appointed by President William McKinley as the Governor General of the Philippines. As a Governor General, he negotiated with Pope Leo XIII for the purchase of 390,000 acres of church property worth $7.5 million. Taft’s arrival in the Philippines was after the Spanish colonization.
- In 1904, President Theodore Roosevelt, appointed him as the Secretary of War. Specifically, Pres. Roosevelt wanted him to oversee development in the Philippines as well as the construction of the Panama Canal. Two years later, he became the provisional governor of Cuba after the treaty was signed by the United States and Spain.
- During the 1908 election, Taft was nominated by the Republican Party as their presidential candidate. He won the election with 51.6% of the popular votes and the majority of the electoral votes.
William Howard Taft’s Presidency
- On March 4, 1909, William Howard Taft took his oath as the 27th President of the United States at the Senate Chamber, U.S. Capitol.In July 1909, Congress passed a resolution amending the Constitution regarding the collection of personal income tax by the federal government as proposed by the newly-elected president. It became the Sixteenth Amendment.
- In July 1909, Congress passed a resolution amending the Constitution regarding the collection of personal income tax by the federal government as proposed by the newly-elected president. It became the Sixteenth Amendment.
- The Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act was signed in August 1909. It lowered the levied taxes on selected imported goods.
In June 1910, he signed the Postal Savings Bank Act, which allowed one bank per state to be supervised by the federal government, which would give 2% interest on savings less than $500. - The reciprocity agreement with Canada was rejected by the Canadian legislature in September 1911.
- Taft sent 20,000 federal troops to the borders of Mexico during the Mexican uprising against the dictator Porfirio Diaz. The mobilization was to protect Americans living in Mexico.
- The friendship between Japan and the United States was symbolically interpreted through the planting of the first cherry trees along the Tidal Basin in Washington. It was planted by
- First Lady Helen Herron and Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador.
- The Children’s Bureau in the Department of Commerce was created in order to protect the children’s welfare.
- On January 6, 1912, New Mexico was admitted to the Union followed by Arizona on February 14, 1912.
- The Sixteenth Amendment of the Constitution was ratified on February 25, 1913, allowing the collection of income taxes. The Webb-Kenyon Interstate Liquor Act was passed by Congress after the President’s veto in 1913.
- During the 1912 elections, Taft was again nominated as the Republican Party’s presidential candidate but lost to the Democrat Woodrow Wilson.
- He was the first to have a presidential automobile. Taft was also the first president to throw the ceremonial pitch in a baseball game. In contrast to the list of firsts, Taft was the last president to have facial hair.
Post-presidency and Death
- Upon retirement, Taft became Kent Professor of Law and Legal History at Yale Law School. He was also elected as the President of the American Bar Association for a year. In 1918, Taft became a co-chairman of the National War Labor Board.
- In response to WW1, Taft became the first president of the League to Enforce Peace in 1915. On July 11, 1912, Taft took his oath as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court upon the nomination of President Warren G. Harding after the death of the current Chief Justice. William Howard Taft was the only U.S. President to become Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. He gave his oath of office to the succeeding presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover.
- King George V and Queen Mary accorded the Chief Justice to study English courts in his visit to Great Britain. It was Taft who initiated the construction of the separate building for the Supreme Court, which was completed in 1935, five years after his death.
- On February 3, 1930, he retired as Chief Justice due to deteriorating health, and on March 9, 1930, he died in Washington, D.C. His body was interred at the Arlington National Cemetery after a state funeral, which was the first to be radio broadcast.
William Howard Taft Worksheets
This bundle contains 11 ready-to-use William Howard Taft Worksheets that are perfect for students who want to learn more about William Howard Taft who was the 27th President of the United States (1909-1913).
Download includes the following worksheets:
- William Howard Taft Facts
- The Big Chief
- Cabinet Members
- Taft’s Presidents
- U.S. Supreme Court
- Japan-U.S. Relations
- Taft in the Philippines
- League to Enforce Peace
- Cartoon Analysis
- Taft Administration
- Today with Taft
Link/cite this page
If you reference any of the content on this page on your own website, please use the code below to cite this page as the original source.
Link will appear as William Howard Taft Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, August 9, 2017
Use With Any Curriculum
These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.