William Howard Taft

William Howard Taft, Roosevelt's hand-picked successor, won the presidency in 1908 but proved a more cautious, legalistic leader than his energetic predecessor.

He actually pursued more antitrust suits than Roosevelt and signed the Sixteenth Amendment enabling a federal income tax, but a tariff dispute and conservation controversies split the Republican Party. Roosevelt broke with him and ran against him in 1912, dividing the vote and handing the election to Woodrow Wilson. Taft later realized his true ambition when he became Chief Justice of the United States—the only person to lead both branches.

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