On February 3, 1930, William Howard Taft stepped down from his position as Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court. The resignation ended what was an impressive run in public service, as Taft is the only person to serve as both head of the Executive branch of government as President (1909-1913) and as head of the Judicial branch, as Chief Justice (1920-1930). By most accounts, he enjoyed his time as a Justice more than he did his time as President.
As president, Taft faced the problem of succeeding the popular Theodore Roosevelt, who initially supported Taft as his successor. But eventually, Roosevelt would challenge Taft when Taft ran for reelection in 1912, splitting the vote and giving the victory to Woodrow Wilson.
I recently visited Taft’s childhood home at the William Howard Taft National Historical Site near Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft came from a relatively powerful family, and the house showed that the family did well for themselves, even if they were not extremely rich.
The home is worth visiting. The tour of the house takes around 30 minutes, and there is a film about Taft’s life. The National Park Service and the people who worked on the house to restore it to its current state did a great job. At one point, the building had been converted into apartments, but now it is easy to imagine the Tafts living there. For example, in addition to the historic furniture, many rooms have the same carpet and wallpaper designs as when the Tafts lived there.
In contrast to presidential homes like those of Abraham Lincoln or of Franklin D. Roosevelt, there is no aura of awe and wonder. But a visit is a nice modest introduction to Taft’s political and public service career.
When Taft resigned from the Supreme Court in February 1930, he had been facing medical issues for some time. He had several heart attacks in 1924 and he had memory problems in the years after that. At the beginning of 1930, he experienced hallucinations, and after his retirement was often semi-conscious. He died on March 8, 1930, only about a month after his retirement from the Supreme Court.
Photos of Taft home by Chimesfreedom. Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)