By all accounts Taft was a very intelligent man and an excellent lawyer and administrator. He first achieved public notice for his good work in running the Philippines after the U.S. gained possession of it in the Spanish-American War.
That earned him high marks from his boss, Teddy Roosevelt. When Teddy decided not to run for re-election in 1908, Taft was a logical choice to replace him. But Roosevelt became disenchanted with Taft in the follow four years and ran against him in 1912. That led to the election of Woodrow Wilson as President. Taft eventually earned a job that he really wanted - Chief Justice of the United States. He is the only person to have both jobs, which you'd have to admit looks good on a resume.
Yet Taft basically is remember for one thing. He was fat. Big in the "got stuck in the White House bathtub" a few times sense. No one said fame is fair.
Taft grew up in this home in Cincinnati. His house has been preserved and is available for touring. The future President moved out of the place around the time of college, so the tour tells more about what the place was like during Taft's childhood. It would be better if Taft had been there for the latter stages of his life, but at least this covers a period of time in the life of this noteworthy American.
Here's more on the place:
The mansion is located up a hill from downtown Cincinnati, as Taft's parents wanted to get away from the industrial riverfront and take in the good air of the hills. The National Park Service has a small office across the street and leads guided tours of the building.
(Be notified of new posts on this site via Twitter @WDX2BB)
No comments:
Post a Comment