William Howard Taft was born on September 15th 1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Taft was a very intelligent student and excelled in his studies in school. He later graduated from Yale University in 1878 and being 2nd in his class. Then after he graduated he returned to Cincinnati to become a lawyer. Taft was known to be very lazy but friendly and warm hearted. Weighing more that 300 lbs., Taft was also known for being large. In 1881 Taft was appointed assistant prosecutor in Hamilton County after being interested in Republican politics. Then in 1887 he was named judge on the Ohio Superior Court. In 1899 Taft turned down an offer to become the president of Yale College but in 1900 he then accepted William McKinley's request to become the head of a special commission to oversea the government of the islands in the Philippines. Later on he became a very good colonial governor. During this time Taft refused two appointments to the Supreme Court, one of highest ambitions in life, all because he though that his work in the Philippines islands haven't been completed yet. But then in 1904 Taft's friend Teddy Roosevelt or TR the president then appointed Taft the new secretary of war. The post let Taft to conti
nue to supervise the Philippine islands. Later on down the line Taft became one of Teddy Roosevelt's trusty advisors and later on being mentioned as a leading candidate for the presidency. William Howard Taft didn't really want to be the president of the United States, but his wife and family encouraged him to accept the nomination. But finally when Roosevelt formally asked Taft to run he finally agreed, but that was one of the worst ideas he would ever make. The pressure from the White House made Taft a very unhappy man. He would complain that the work made him rush through his meals and he would miss his afternoon nap. Another thing was that Taft hated to make public speeches, but when he did, the speech would be very long-winded and dull. Taft would also leave important decisions to other people instead of himself. Taft was also known for being an excellent administrator when he was under someone else's power but when faced with the responsibility he was unsuccessful.
Teddy Roosevelt thought like he got cheated out of the nomination. Then he decided to form a new party and run for the presidency on his own, This progressive, or Bull Moose Party, split the Republican vote down the middle, and the
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