William Howard Taft
The Travails of a Progressive Conservative

This book sheds light on William Howard Taft, re-examining the Taft–Theodore Roosevelt relationship and placing Taft in a progressive context.

Jonathan Lurie (Author)

9780521514217, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 14 November 2011

232 pages, 8 b/w illus.
23.4 x 15.6 x 1.4 cm, 0.5 kg

"...a fine work of scholarship." -Ryan P. Williams, Claremont Review of Books

In this biographical study of the only American ever to have been both President and Chief Justice of the United States, Jonathan Lurie reassesses William Howard Taft's multiple careers, which culminated in Taft's election to the presidency in 1908 as the chosen successor to Theodore Roosevelt. By 1912, however, the relationship between Taft and Roosevelt had ruptured. Lurie re-examines the Taft–Roosevelt friendship and concludes that it rested on flimsy ground. He also places Taft in a progressive context, taking Taft's own self-description as 'a believer in progressive conservatism' as the starting point. At the end of his biography, Lurie concludes that this label is accurate when applied to Taft.

Part I. To the Presidency: 1. The early years
2. Judge, justice, and justices, 1887–1900
3. Perambulations and preparation in the Philippines: Roosevelt and Taft
4. The unwilling heir, 1904–8
Part II. The Presidency: 5. President Taft: tensions, turmoil, travel, and travail, 1909–10
6. Justices and jockeying, 1910
7. At the brink of the break, 1911
8. The split, 1912
9. Relief, rejuvenation, and renewal, 1913–21
10. Epilogue.

Subject Areas: 20th century history: c 1900 to c 2000 [HBLW], History of the Americas [HBJK]