威廉·霍华德·塔夫脱是美国第27任总统,任期为1909-1913。他还曾经是第十任最高法院大法官,他也是美国迄今为止唯一一个担任过总统和首席大法官这两个职务的人。出生于1857年,他的父亲是一名著名的法官。塔夫脱毕业于耶鲁大学,并在辛辛那提从事律师行业。共和党人通过司法任命,使得塔夫脱在政治上顺风顺水。
Taft was appointed a federal circuit judge at 34. From 1901 to 1903, he served as the first civilian Governor-General of the Philippines. While in this opposition he turned down the offer of a seat on the Supreme Court. In 1904, President Roosevelt appointed Taft as Secretary of War, which meant he could remain involved in the Philippines. He also dealt with a revolt in Cuba in 1906.
34岁时,塔夫脱任命为联邦上诉法院第六巡回区法官。1901-1903年,他担任了菲律宾总督,这也是驻菲律宾的首位总督。处于反对,塔夫脱拒绝了在最高法院获得席位。1904年,罗斯福总统任命塔夫脱为陆军部部长,这就意味着他仍然处理菲律宾事务。1906年,他还解决了在古巴的反抗事件。
In 1908, the Republican Convention nominated him as their presidential candidate. He won the first election of his career by a comfortable margin. As President, he initiated 80 anti-trust suits; amendments for a federal income tax; the direct election of senators; and a postal savings system. He also pursued "Dollar Diplomacy" in the less-developed nations of Latin America and Asia.
1908年,共和党大会推举他为总统候选人。他赢得了生涯中的第一次选举,这次选举他的优势非常明显。作为总统,他发起了80项反托拉斯诉讼;并修正了联邦所得税法;参议院直接选举法;以及建立邮政储蓄体系。他还敦促与拉丁美洲以及亚洲的欠不发达国家建立“金元外交”
Despite Taft’s hard work, he alienated many in his party. He defended an act which continued high tariffs;a trade agreement with Canada failed, and his team was accused of failing to carry out Roosevelt&39;s conservation policies. He lost the next election and became Chief Justice of the USA. He was so happy with this post that just before he died in 1930, he wrote: "I don&39;t remember that I ever was President."
尽管塔夫脱勤勤恳恳,但是他却疏远了自己的党内人士。他支持了一项拥有高额关税的议案;与加拿大的贸易合作泡汤,人们指责他的团队没有施行罗斯福总统的保护主义政策。他没有在第二次的总统选举中成功连任,之后担任了美国首席大法官。他死于1930年,在这之前他说他非常满意这个职务,他写道:“我不记得我曾经是一位总统”。