27. WILLIAM TAFT
± First President to have a car at the White House
± First President to throw out the first ball at the beginning of a Major League Baseball game (nepotism since his brother was part owner of the Philadelphia Phillies.
± First pres required to pay federal income tax on his pres salary
± Only pres to serve on Supreme Court
o married to Helen Heron. "Nellie" loved social gatherings and would hold parties at the White House often. For their silver anniversary, she had a party for several 1000 guests on the White House lawn. Planted cherry trees around the Potomac. In first year, suffered a stroke.
o VP James S. Sherman
o was Unitarian
o cheerful and friendly
o Big Lub, Big Chief, Big Bill, Old Bill
o father was secretary of war and attorney general
o went to Yale, 2nd in class, went to Cincinnati Law School
• was chief justice of SC, US solicitor general, and member of 6th US Circuit Course 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.
• Mann-Elkins's Act- empowered ICC to suspend railroad rate hikes, lowered railroad rates so rich people won't get as much money and farmers could use railways without spending that much money
• 16th amendment- income tax
• dollar diplomacy- encourage US investments in South and Central America, Caribbean, and far east
• bad relations between US and other American nations resulted in Pan-American Conference
• PAC intent on finding ways to curtail US commercial penetration, influence and intervention
• Ballinger-Pinchot Controversy ended Taft's and Roosevelt's friendship
• sworn in 2 pres while judge: Coolidge and Hoover
• secretary of war under Roosevelt
• Payne-Aldrich Tariff- first change in tariff laws since Dingley laws
Ø Peaky and Amundsen reached North Pole
