William Howard Taft and the Taft family: An overlooked political dynasty?

Jeff Suess

Cincinnati Enquirer

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"The Tafts" book by George W. Liebmann, published by Twelve Tables Press, examines the Taft political family, including William Howard Taft and Robert A. Taft.

A Cincinnati family is a somewhat overlooked political dynasty. Not just locally, but nationally. The Tafts have been active in politics and law since Alphonso Taft arrived in Cincinnati in 1839. Judges, city councilmen, senators, Cabinet members, a governor, a president and a Supreme Court chief justice have been among them. Generations of the family are still in law and politics today.

"They are much longer lived than any other political dynasty," said George W. Liebmann, who has written a new book, "The Tafts," about five generations of the Taft family. "They had this ethic of self-control, academic excellence, marrying carefully and not drinking. That's really what did it for them."

'Long-overdue reconsideration of the Tafts'

People may not think of the Tafts the way they might the Kennedys, the Adamses or the Bushes. But consider:

Cincinnati-born William Howard Taft was the 27th president of the United States and the 10th chief justice, the only person to hold both positions. Yet he is more likely to be associated with the popular local beer brand that shares his name than for his political accomplishments.

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His son, Robert A. Taft, was a longtime senator known as Mr. Republican, the face of conservative politics in the 1940s until his death in 1953. Robert Taft is best remembered for co-sponsoring the Taft-Hartley Act that restricted the power and activities of labor unions, and for his three failed attempts to be the Republican nominee for president.

Liebmann blames the lack of attention on the Tafts to their biographers being unsympathetic to their politics and not knowledgeable in legal matters. Liebmann has been a practicing lawyer for more than 50 years. "That was a considerable advantage in writing about the Tafts, all of whom essentially were lawyers," he said.

In his introduction, he wrote, "This long-overdue reconsideration of the Tafts shows them to be far-sighted, fair-minded and in many ways good guides in dealing with today's concerns."

"I think people really have distorted views about both of them (William Howard Taft and Robert Taft)," Liebmann said in a phone interview with The Enquirer.

"In the case of William Howard, they think of him as a stand-patter conservative, whereas in fact he was a progressive, I think, by any standard. Very much concerned about the problem of plutocracy (government controlled by the wealthy), perhaps more than any president in American history in terms of doing anything about it. Both his antitrust campaign and support for a corporate income tax, and also his support for graduated inheritance taxes. He does not fit the image of him as some sort of fat cat."

Liebmann wrote profiles of 36 members of the Taft family, including Hulbert Taft, founder of Taft Broadcasting Inc., and Bob Taft (Robert A. Taft III), governor of Ohio from 1999 to 2007. "It's really a biography of their beliefs as much as their accomplishments," Liebmann said.

With Liebmann's book as a starting point, bolstered by coverage in The Enquirer and Cincinnati Post, let's revisit some of the other Tafts who have made an impact on Cincinnati.

Alphonso Taft, patriarch of the dynasty

William Howard Taft's father, Alphonso Taft, also rose from Cincinnati politics to achieve a high national position. In 1876, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed him secretary of war after the previous Cabinet member, William Belknap, had been impeached due to scandal. Grant chose Taft for his integrity and honesty. He also served as attorney general under Grant.

A native of Vermont, Alphonso Taft attended Yale College, where he co-founded the famous Skull and Bones secret society in 1832. The Yale Law School graduate moved to Cincinnati in 1839 and formed a law practice with partners Thomas Marshall Key, confidential aide to Gen. George McClellan during the Civil War, and William M. Dickson, who led the city's Black Brigade during the siege of Cincinnati.

As an attorney and a judge on the Superior Court in Ohio, Alphonso successfully defended Charles McMicken's will that created the University of Cincinnati, defended the law that allowed Cincinnati to create the Cincinnati and Southern Railway (the one city officials are now trying to sell) and negotiated the Mercantile Library's 10,000-year lease (it's renewable!) in exchange for the $10,000 the library gave to rebuild Cincinnati College after a fire in 1845.

During his tenure as Superior Court judge, Alphonso wrote a dissenting opinion in a case that upheld reading the King James Bible in public schools. He viewed the ruling as "contrary to the spirit of free schools intended for children of all religious sects and beliefs" and that "the school board had an obligation as well as a right to keep religious partisanship out of the public schools."

This opinion cost Alphonso a shot at being governor, but was quoted by the Supreme Court in the 1963 case Abington School District v. Schempp that declared Bible reading and reciting the Lord's Prayer in school as unconstitutional.

His home at 2038 Auburn Ave. in Mount Auburn, where his presidential son was born in 1857, is now a National Historic Site and a museum.

Charles Phelps Taft, the man behind the Taft name

Charles Phelps Taft, the president's half-brother, is the one whose name is most often heard in Cincinnati. His home is now the Taft Museum of Art, and the Taft Theatre is named for him.

He had minimal success in politics, serving one term in the U.S. House of Representatives, but helped support his brother's political career. Charles was married to heiress Anna Sinton and they lived with her father, David Sinton, in the mansion on Pike Street, where William Howard Taft accepted the presidential nomination and spent election night in 1908.

Charles founded the Cincinnati Times-Star newspaper in 1880, and steered its editorial direction in support of "Boss" George Cox, the city's Republican political boss – despite William Howard Taft denouncing Cox and his machinations.

Charles helped to get several local institutions started, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, the Cincinnati Zoo, Cincinnati Opera and the Taft Theatre and Masonic temple. He was also part owner of the Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies and donated the Abraham Lincoln statue in Lytle Park.

Upon their deaths, he and his wife bequeathed their home and art collection to the people of Cincinnati. It opened as the Taft Museum of Art in 1932.

Charles Phelps Taft II, Mr. Cincinnati

It's a bit confusing: Charles Phelps Taft II was the son of William Howard Taft, but named after his uncle. He went by Charlie, but many knew him as Mr. Cincinnati, as he spent 50 years in local politics. "To many people, Charlie Taft was as much a symbol of Cincinnati as bratwurst or Fountain Square," The Enquirer wrote in his 1983 obituary. His trademark was driving around town with a canoe tied to the top of his car.

As attorneys, he and his brother Robert A. Taft added the Taft name to the law firm Taft, Stettinius & Hollister, which still practices in Cincinnati. Charlie was elected Hamilton County prosecutor in 1927, but served only one term after he lost the high-profile murder case against bootlegger George Remus, who was acquitted of shooting and killing his wife by reason of temporary insanity.

Along with Murray Seasongood, Charlie was the chief proponent of the progressive Charter movement to clean up corruption in City Hall. He served on Cincinnati City Council for more than 30 years, including 1955-1957 as mayor.

In national politics, he was a Republican, but in Cincinnati politics he was a staunch Charterite who got along with his political enemies. Democrat Thomas Luken said, "Charlie was certainly a fierce fighter for what he felt was right. He never gave any quarter on the issues. Yet, he was basically a gentle soul in his demeanor and treatment of people. He was truly Mr. Cincinnati, a patriarch of city council for 32 years."

Many Tafts, including Alphonso, Charles and Charlie, are buried in Spring Grove Cemetery. Robert A. Taft lies in Indian Hill Episcopal Presbyterian Churchyard. President Taft is buried in Arlington National Cemetery outside Washington, D.C.