On election night 1904, Teddy Roosevelt promised not to run for a third term, a decision he later regretted. At the end of his second term, he wanted his faithful Secretary of War William Howard Taft to run for president. After a dinner party one evening, Teddy and the Tafts went into the library, and Teddy sat down in a big chair, closed his eyes and said, "I am the seventh son of a seventh daughter. I have clairvoyant powers. I see a man standing before me weighing about 350 pounds. There is something hanging over his head. I cannot make out what it is...At one time it looks like the Presidency---then again it looks like the Chief Justiceship." Mrs. Taft cried, "Make it the Presidency!" William Howard Taft declared, "Make it the Chief Justiceship!" In the end, Teddy and Mrs. Taft talked William Howard Taft into running for the White House.
Taft's father was a prominent Republican who had served as Attorney-General and Secretary of War. Taft's early career included positions as an assistant prosecuting attorney of Hamilton County, Ohio and collector of internal revenue appointed by President Chester Arthur. In 1887, Taft was appointed to a vacancy on the Cincinnati Superior Court. The next year, he was elected to a five-year term on the court. This was the only elected position other than the presidency held by Taft.
Taft resigned from the Superior Court to accept appointment as Solicitor General of the United States. In his first year in the post, he won 15 of his 18 cases. Taft resigned this position when he was appointed a judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeal, now the United States Court of Appeals. He served in this position for eight years. During this time, he also served as dean of the University of Cincinnati Law School.
Taft's next position was as the first civil governor of the newly acquired Philippines. When he had a chance to become a member of the Supreme Court, which is what he really wanted, he turned it down because he felt his work in the Philippines was not yet finished. Later, he accepted the position of Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt. It was Roosevelt, along with Taft's wife, who pushed Taft to turn down the Chief Justiceship and run for President.
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