William Hoard Taft The Travails of a Progressive Conservative [Hardcover]

This book sheds light on William Howard Taft, re-examining the TaftTheodore Roosevelt relationship and placing Taft in a progressive context.This book sheds new light on William Howard Taft. There is currently no available biographical study in print, and the book looks at the TaftTheodore Roosevelt relationship in a new light. Finally, it places Taft in a progressive context, probably the first study to do so.This book sheds new light on William Howard Taft. There is currently no available biographical study in print, and the book looks at the TaftTheodore Roosevelt relationship in a new light. Finally, it places Taft in a progressive context, probably the first study to do so.In this new biographical study of the only American ever to have been both President and Chief Justice of the United States, Jonathan Lurie reassesses William Howard Taft's multiple careers, which culminated in Taft's election to the presidency in 1908 as the chosen successor to Theodore Roosevelt. By 1912, however, the relationship between Taft and Roosevelt had ruptured. Lurie reexamines the Taft-Roosevelt friendship and concludes that it rested on flimsy ground. He also places Taft in a progressive context, taking Taft's own self-description as a believer in progressive conservatism as the starting point. At the end of his biography, Lurie concludes that this label is accurate when applied to Taft.Part I. To the Presidency: 1. The early years; 2. Judge, justice, and justices, 18871900; 3. Perambulations and preparation in the Philippines: Roosevelt and Taft; 4. The unwilling heir, 19048; Part II. The Presidency: 5. President Taft: tensions, turmoil, travel, and travail, 190910; 6. Justices and jockeying, 1910; 7. At the brink of the break, 1911; 8. The split, 1912; 9. Relief, rejuvenation, and renewal, 191321; 10. Epilogue.This lucid, fascinating, and beautifully written account invites us to reconsider the place in history of William Howard Taft. Professor Lurie covers Tafts cal,