Taft Week: William Howard Taft

A 2011 article by Archivist Kevin Grace on the Taft statue.

A 2013 article in UC Magazine about the Taft family.

The Library of Congress National Jukebox makes historical sound recordings available to the public free of charge. The recordings on this page are of William Howard Taft.

American Voices is a collection of late 19th and 20th century recordings, images and text that span the vista of American politics and culture. This collection is derived from the collections of libraries, archives, and [commercial] other sources across the country and will continue to grow as new, highly relevant sources of historical materials are added.

The papers of William Howard Taft (1857-1930), twenty-seventh president of the United States and tenth chief justice of the U.S. Supreme Court, consist of approximately 676,000 documents (785,977 images), which have been digitized from 658 reels of previously reproduced microfilm. Held in the Library of Congress Manuscript Division, these papers constitute the largest collection of original Taft documents in the world. The collection contains family papers, personal and official correspondence, presidential and judicial files, speeches and addresses, legal files and notebooks, business and estate papers, engagement calendars, guest lists, scrapbooks, clippings, printed matter, memorabilia, and photographs dating from 1784 to 1973, with the bulk of the material dated 1880-1930.

William Howard Taft, Teddy Roosevelt's successor sought reelection in 1912, which would have extended 16 years of Republican rule. His political career to that point is summarized.

Theodore Roosevelt handpicked his successor. Taft had distinguished himself as Governor-General of the Philippines. He was a reluctant politician and had no desire to be the president. His one ambition was to become a Supreme Court Justice. Distributed by A&E Television Networks.

Theodore Roosevelt and his handpicked successor were opposites. Once in the White House Taft's jovial personality began to falter, largely because he hated the scrutiny that came with the job. His discomfort was apparent in his weak leadership. Distributed by A&E Television Networks.

As president, Taft felt his job was merely to uphold the Constitution. Ground breaking policies set by Roosevelt began to unravel under Taft. The former best friends split the Republican party, leaving the presidential win wide open for Woodrow Wilson. Distributed by A&E Television Networks.