Presidency of William Howard Taft

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William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States from March 4, 1909, to March 4, 1913. Taft, a Republican from Ohio, and the chosen successor of President Theodore Roosevelt, took office after defeating Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the 1908 presidential election. His presidency ended with his landslide defeat in the 1912 election by Democrat Woodrow Wilson, after one term in office. Taft sought to lower tariffs—a tax on imports—then a major source of governmental income. However he was out-maneuvered. The new Payne–Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909 raised rates when most people expected reductions. Taft expanded Roosevelt's efforts to break up trusts, launching legal cases against U.S. Steel and other very large companies. Taft made six appointments to the United States Supreme Court, more than all but two other presidents. In foreign affairs, Taft focused on China and Japan, and repeatedly intervened to prop up or remove Latin American governments. It followed a policy of...

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