'Dollar diplomacy' (1909–1913)
Using American investment and loans to extend US influence abroad
US Presidents · 20th century
William Howard Taft
1857–1930 · American
Republican
In office: 1909–1913
William Howard Taft, Theodore Roosevelt's hand-picked successor, served one term as the 27th president, pursuing "dollar diplomacy" abroad and more antitrust suits than Roosevelt at home. His falling-out with Roosevelt split the Republicans in 1912, leaving Taft a distant third. In 1921 he fulfilled his real ambition when he became Chief Justice, the only person to hold both offices.
How to spot them
- ▸The only person to serve as both President and Chief Justice of the United States
- ▸'Dollar diplomacy' in Latin America and East Asia
- ▸Came third in 1912, winning only Utah and Vermont, behind Wilson and Roosevelt
- ▸Began the tradition of the presidential ceremonial first pitch (1910)
- ▸The heaviest president; a famously large bathtub was installed in the White House
In office
Sixteenth Amendment (federal income tax) sent to the states (1909)
Proposed by Congress in 1909 and ratified in 1913
The Payne–Aldrich Tariff (1909)
A tariff bill that angered progressive Republicans
The Ballinger–Pinchot affair (1909–1910)
He fired chief forester Gifford Pinchot, widening the rift with Roosevelt
The first presidential ceremonial first pitch (1910)
Threw out the first ball of the baseball season in Washington
Quick-fire facts
- •The 27th President of the United States; the 10th Chief Justice (1921–1930), appointed by Harding
- •Born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- •Previously civilian governor of the Philippines and Theodore Roosevelt's Secretary of War
- •Arizona and New Mexico became the 47th and 48th states in 1912
- •The first president buried at Arlington National Cemetery
- •Kept a cow, Pauline Wayne, on the White House lawn
- •His son Robert A. Taft became a leading Republican senator
Drill it — 6 cards
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Sources
- Miller Center, University of Virginia — William Taft