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William Howard Taft Letters

An inventory of his letters at Syracuse University


Finding aid created by: KM
Date: Oct 1987



Biographical History

William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was an American politician who served as U.S. President (1908-1912) and Chief Justitce of the Supreme Court (1921-1930).

1857 Born in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 15th
1878 Graduated from Yale University
1880 Graduated from Cincinnati Law School
1880-1892 Solicitor General under President Benjamin Harrison
1886 Married Helen Herron on June 19th
1892-1900 Judge for the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals
1900-1904 Chief Administrator of the Philippines
1904-1908 Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt
1908-1912 President of the United States
1921-1930 Chief Justice of the Supreme Court (nominated by President Warren G. Harding)
1930 Died on March 8th; first U.S. President to be buried in Arlington National Cemetary

Scope and Contents of the Collection

The William Howard Taft Letters consist of six outgoing items of Correspondence written between 1891 and 1929. The three items to John Proctor Clarke concern recommendations for appointments. There are also two letters to Lyman Kennon relating to issues concerning the Philippines, including the raising of a native militia and the use of American engineers for construction purposes. In addition is a letter to Henry MacFarland discussing a plan for the government of Manila:

The city is surrounded with such peculiar conditions that we are convinced that we must make it a city of the Archipelago and treat it as Washington has been treated and not as part of a province. In the government of such a city as this the natural tendency to corruption of the Tagalog and Filipino politician would make a popular government here result in a terrible condition of things.


Arrangement of the Collection

The collection contains one series, Correspondence, which is arranged alphabetically by recipient.


Restrictions

Access Restrictions:

The majority of our archival and manuscript collections are housed offsite and require advanced notice for retrieval. Researchers are encouraged to contact us in advance concerning the collection material they wish to access for their research.

Use Restrictions:

Written permission must be obtained from SCRC and all relevant rights holders before publishing quotations, excerpts or images from any materials in this collection.


Subject Headings

Persons

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930 -- Correspondence.

Subjects

Presidents -- United States.
United States -- Politicians and government -- 1865-1933.

Places

United States -- Foreign relations -- Philippines.

Genres and Forms

Letters (correspondence)

Occupations

Politicians.
Presidents.

Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

Preferred citation for this material is as follows:

William Howard Taft Letters,
Special Collections Research Center,
Syracuse University Libraries


Table of Contents

Correspondence


Inventory