What is a fun fact about William Howard Taft?

Answer 1

1. He inaugurated the custom of the president throwing out the first ball to start the Baseball season.

2. Taft got stuck in the White House bathtub the first time he used it.

3. He weighed 332 pounds.

Answer 2

President: William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 - March 8, 1930)

Term: March 4, 1909 - March 4, 1913

Background: Taft was born near Cincinnati, Ohio to Louisa Torrey and Alphonso Taft. His father traveled to Cincinnati in order to practice law in 1839 and was a strong Republican who served as Secretary of War during Ulysses S. Grant's presidency while his mother graduated from Mount Holyoke College. Taft grew up around a Unitarian family, but he was not strong on "the divinity of Christ." He attended Yale College and was constantly battling weight issues. He graduated from Yale with a rank of 2nd place out of 121 students. Taft then went on to Cincinnati Law School and obtained his Bachelor of Laws in 1880. As a result, he was then admitted to the Ohio bar. From February 1890 to March 1892, Taft became the 5th United States Solicitor General. He then went on to becoming the 1st Civil Governor of the Philippines and was in office from July 4, 1901 to December 23, 1903. Taft was also the 42nd United States Secretary from February 1, 1904 to June 30, 1908, and later became the 10th Chief Justice of the United States and was in office from July 11, 1921 to February 3, 1930.

Political Party: Republican

Vice-President: James S. Sherman (1909-1912), None (1912-1913)

Major Domestic Policy: Taft gained presidency mostly due to the help of Roosevelt. Once Roosevelt was done his second term, he decided to not run for a third and then aimed all of his support towards Taft and campaigned for conservation, enforcement of the Anti-Trust law of Taft's platform. With William Jennings Bryan as his opponent, Taft received majorities in both houses of Congress, but as Taft took office he was struck with many troubles. Representative Payne proposed a lower tariff, and once it reached the Senate, the tariff had been amended and the rates of the tariff increased. Taft passed the Tariff, and believed it to be the best tariff devised by Republicans. Overall, Taft still worked towards the dismemberment of trust by passing the Mann-Elkins Act in 1910. This act gave more power to the ICC and gave them the right to prevent new rates. During Taft's four-year presidency, he brought over 90 anti-trust lawsuits to court compared to Roosevelt's 36 lawsuits.

Major Foreign Policy: During Taft's presidency, there was no major foreign affairs or problems that America had to deal with. War with Europe was coming in four years; all conflict was on a down low. Taft did come up with the idea of Dollar Diplomacy. This idea was created to have a peaceful way to use America's financial power to guarantee loans and create an international influence.

Court Case:

• ICC v. Illinois Central Railroad Company (1909)-Court held that from now on the Supreme Court would only deal with cases that deal with the Constitution.

• Standard Oil Co. of NJ v. United States (1910)-Declared that the Standard Oil Trust was in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act.

• Bailey v. Alabama (1910)-Held that the Alabama law was a restriction under the 13th amendment and personal rights.

• Gompers v. Buck's Stove & Range Company (1911)-The Supreme Court refused to reexamine the case due to the fact that they believed it was a lower courts case.

• Coyle v. Smith (1911)-Held that the state has the right to determine their seat in government.

Intellectual and Social Developments:

• The first vehicle assembly line was created by Henry Ford.

• NAACP was established in 1910.

• Women began voting in the western states as WWI ends European migration.

• Urban liberalism occurred as people began becoming more open minded.

• Dollar diplomacy promoted U.S. business.

Taft's Legacy: Taft's presidency was a very tough time in office because of the fact he took office after Roosevelt and that fact that he lacked experience and political skills. He was always known as a kind and affectionate man but had little talent for leadership and was indecisive. He will always be known as a very over weight man who needed his own built tub in order for him to take a bath.
William Howard Taft was our heaviest president he weighed 332 lb.

William Howard Taft got stuck in the white house bathtub the first time he used it and he had a new one put in that hold 4 grown men.

William Howard Taft did not like being president !

Answer 3

william h taft got stuck in a bathtub.