While two Presidents served in the Legislative Branch post-presidentially (JQ Adams and Andrew Johnson), only one ex-POTUS served in the Judiciary.
Cincinnati Patrician Politician
William Howard Taft (1857-1930) was Cincinnati-born to a prosperous Ohio transplanted family with a strong Republican political pedigree. His father, Alphonso Taft, New England born (Vermont) and education (Amherst/Yale) moved to Cincinnati, where he quickly became one of its leading citizens. He was an able lawyer, jurist and fine administrator, and had served in the Grant Administration in two cabinet positions.
After his first wife died, he returned to New England to choose another – and one who would be a good stepmother to his young sons. It was a fortuitous move. Louise Torrey was not only a warm and loving stepmother to Charles and Peter, but bore her husband four more children who lived to maturity.
William Howard was the eldest of those children. He was a big baby – more than 10-pounds at birth – and turned into a big boy-to-man who never weighted less than 200 pounds since he was in high school.
An industrious student, more diligent than brilliant, WHT worked hard for every accomplishment. Continuing a family tradition that stretched through several generations, Big Bill went to Yale, and graduated second in his class. He returned to Cincinnati, studied law locally, and at a young age, had the seminal opportunity to be appointed a judge. It was a match made in heaven. Perhaps it was the one-size-fit-all robes that cover a large man. He loved the law, had the temperament for the judiciary, and never changed his mind about it. It was his one true love.
When he married Helen (Nellie) Herron, he found himself happily wed to an ambitious woman – with a roadmap. It was she who helped plot and plann WHT’s career moves, and ran alongside him like a border collie. Only she wanted a slightly different path. Washington DC, definitely, but with the best address in town: 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Her husband had only one real ambition: a seat on the Supreme Court – a mile down the road.
Taft loved the slow, deliberate pace of life on the bench. He loved the placid, scholarly company of fellow judges.
But he was waylaid by the potent lobby of Nellie Taft, and the Taft family: father, mother, the brothers, etc. And even his good buddy Theodore Roosevelt. They won.
The Supreme Court
The Supreme Court, the Judicial branch of the US Government, was laid out clearly in the Constitution`along with its counterparts, the Executive Branch (President), and Legislative branch (Congress). However, for more than 125 years, the Supreme Court was essentially homeless, a boarder in the Capitol Building, where they bunked with the Legislative Branch since the War of 1812. They were even shifted around a few times within the few rooms they were permitted to occupy.
When William Howard Taft was President, (the only job he ever disliked, so he said) he never denied that his first true love was the Court. He also proposed legislation to create a Supreme Court Building, specifically for the Court. They deserved something more august and distinguished. The third branch of US Government must have a visual prominence of its own. To his dismay, it didn’t happen for a variety of reasons; money not being insignificant.
To add private insult to injury, in his one term, President Taft appointed FOUR justices, including the Chief Justice. It was like handing his dream job over to others.
The Interim Years
A fifty-six-year-“young” ex-President (then and now), is in an odd place. The prestige and responsibilities of the Presidency soars above any “job” that might come up. And even if one is open to subsequent employment, it must be suitably prestigious and responsible.
Taft’s post-presidential finances were precarious. He was never a wealthy man. There was no presidential pension until Harry Truman forty years later. For decades his income was supplemented by his very wealthy older half-brother Charles Phelps Taft. Nellie Taft had suffered a serious stroke, and required close medical care. And WHT still had a young son to educate.
His beloved Yale came to his rescue with an offer of a chair of law. This was perfect! He was eminently suited professionally, and loved Yale. Besides, education is a highly respectable occupation for a former President. And for Taft, Yale made his class assignments light, to afford him the time for the political speaking invitations that came along.
The Happy Man and the Sad Part
Taft and Warren Harding were both Ohioans, and had been acquainted for decades, and it was no secret that WHT’s dearest wish was a seat on the Court. In 1921, Chief Justice Edward White died, and President Harding was happy to propose Taft to fill the seat. Congress ratified the appointment immediately – and unanimously!
Taft was now in a position to now press fervently for a separate building for the judiciary – and this time he was successful – sort of. It took the better part of the decade for the decision to be made. The wheels of government grind slowly, and arguably, none slower than the justice department.
It was not until 1929 that Congress approved funding, a building site (close to the Capitol) and an architectural firm to design and build the impressive, neo-classical building, in keeping with its “neighbors.”
By that time, the Chief Justice was well past seventy, and his health which had been failing for years, was now declining rapidly. In early 1930, the Chief Justice tearfully resigned – only weeks before he succumbed.
He never lived to lay the Building’s cornerstone (1932) or see its completion (1935). But he likely took great joy in being the steadfast champion to provide his beloved Supreme Court with a home of its own.
Sources:
Andreson, Judith Icke- William Howard Taft: An Intimate History – W.W. Norton, 1981
Barker, Charles E. – With President Taft in the White House – A. Kroch and Son, 1947
Ross, Ishbel – An American Family: The Tafts – 1964, World Publishing
https://www.taft.edu/william-howard-taft-president-chief-justice
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