Tag Archives: Washington. D.C.

Taft: President and Chief Justice

William Howard Taft, our country’s 27th President and its 10th Chief Justice, believed in the Constitution and its system of checks and balances. He is most often remembered for being fat, which is a shame because his advocacy for the judicial branch of government was his real legacy. Taft is also responsible for a number of long-lasting physical changes to our nation’s capital, including the construction of the Supreme Court Building (more on that in a moment).

William Howard Taft book reviewBefore he became President, Taft served as a state judge in his home state of Ohio, as Solicitor General of the United States, and as a federal judge. In 1900 President William McKinley persuaded Taft to step down from the bench to oversee the United States occupation of the Philippines, where he became civil governor a year later. After McKinley was assassinated, Taft continued to serve in the Philippines under President Theodore Roosevelt. In 1904 Roosevelt named Taft Secretary of War. Taft visited Panama during the construction of the canal and later served as temporary provisional governor of Cuba.

In 1908, when Theodore Roosevelt declined to seek another term, Taft received the Republican Party’s presidential nomination, and — with TR’s full blessing and support — he went on to defeat the Democratic nominee, William Jennings Bryan, by a wide margin. As President, Taft focused on revising the nation’s complicated system of tariffs and breaking up large trusts. He also dealt with foreign policy crises with Mexico, Cuba, Santo Domingo and Nicaragua.

But Taft’s conduct in office was not to the liking of Theodore Roosevelt, whose criticism of his successor became more and more vituperative. In an unprecedented move, Roosevelt challenged Taft for the Republican nomination in 1912. When TR lost the nomination, he claimed that the system was rigged and formed a third political party, which became known as the Bull Moose Party. Roosevelt ran against both Taft and the Democratic nominee, Woodrow Wilson, who would go on to win the presidency in an electoral college landslide despite capturing only 41.8 percent of the popular vote. Roosevelt got 27.4 percent and Taft 23.2 percent. After leaving the Presidency, Taft taught law at Yale and authored several books. During World War I he served as co-chairman of the National War Labor Board.

In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft Chief Justice of the United States, where he would serve for nine years. As Chief Justice Taft sought consensus, and he wrote and participated in many important decisions. Taft stepped down from the Supreme Court in February 1930 for health reasons, and he died a month later.

While serving as Chief Justice Taft also successfully persuaded Congress to allocate funds for the Supreme Court to have its own building, as up until this time the justices had been meeting in the basement of the Capitol. Taft selected Cass Gilbert as architect for the building. It was completed in 1935, five years after Taft’s death.

U.S. Supreme Court Building William Howard Taft
The Supreme Court Building of the United States. Photo by Joe Ravi, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16959908

 

Taft’s career and his many significant contributions to our nation are summarized in the short and concise “William Howard Taft” by Jeffrey Rosen, part of the American Presidents Series. According to the author, President Taft protected more land and was more successful in breaking up trusts and monopolies than his predecessor, Theodore Roosevelt. And as Chief Justice, the author says, Taft’s greatest accomplishment was to solidify the federal judiciary as a coequal branch of government.

Here are some additional facts about William Howard Taft:

  • He was one of many presidents to hail from Ohio. Others included Hayes, Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, McKinley and Harding.
  • His wife, Helen, who went by “Nellie,” suffered a stroke when he was President.
  • As mentioned, Taft was heavy. He gained and lost weight over the years. According to the book, he was at his heaviest — and his unhappiest — during his presidency.
  • His heroes were George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and John Marshall (fourth Chief Justice of the United States).
  • President Taft appointed six justices to the Supreme Court, the most of any president except George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt! He would later serve alongside some of the justices he had appointed.

In addition to being responsible for the construction of the United States Supreme Court Building, Taft was also president of the Lincoln Memorial Commission and presided over the monument’s dedication in 1922. Taft also had the first Oval Office built in the West Wing of the White House. And we can also thank Taft for the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., as first lady Nellie Taft planted the very first cherry blossom trees, which were a gift from Japan.

cherry blossoms in Washington DC
Cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., USDA photo by Scott Bauer – United States Department of Agriculture, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=44873

The National Portrait Gallery

After returning from my two-day mini vacation to visit Monticello, Highland and Montpelier and before taking the train back to New York, I had time for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery in Washington. D.C. I had never been before, and I was most interested in seeing the new portraits of President Obama by Kehinde Wiley and Michelle Obama by Amy Sherald.

I found myself wanting to take pictures of all the presidential portraits, but I had to constrain myself. Some, such as those of Obama, Clinton and Kennedy, are nontraditional, while many others are classic portraits. Interestingly, Nixon’s is by Norman Rockwell and is very small. Out of all the portraits, though, I was particularly moved those of the Obamas. Michelle’s portrait is in a different section of the museum.

Also in a different section was “Unseen: Our Past in a New Light,” a selection of “deconstructed portraits” by Titus Kaphar, who offers a completely shocking yet instantly understandable take on our country’s founding fathers. In one, an enslaved woman peeks out from behind a curtain that is a portrait of Thomas Jefferson. On another wall, two of George Washington’s slaves are seen in fancy clothes with their faces obscured.

The American Presidents exhibit at the National Portrait gallery in Washington, D.C.
Kehinde Wiley portrait of Barack Obama in the National Portrait gallery in Washington, D.C.
Amy Sherald portrait of Michelle Obama
Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington
Chester Harding portrait of James Madison
John Vanderlyn portrait of James Monroe
‘Behind the Myth of Benevolence’ by Titus Kaphar
‘Billy Lee: Portrait in Tar’ and ‘Ona Judge: Portrait in tar’ by Titus Kaphar

‘The Wiz’ at Ford’s Theater

This coming weekend is the American Association Orthodontists annual event in Washington. D.C., and I’m in town to cover the event for Dental Tribune. I came down on the train to a day early so that I could see “The Wiz” on Thursday night at Ford’s Theater with my friend Craig. He and I very much enjoyed the musical.

Before the show, we looked around a bit. The presidential box is adorned as it was on the night of April 14, 1865, when Lincoln was shot, with flags and a portrait of George Washington. There’s a museum in the basement. A few days later, after our work commitment, I returned to the Theater with my co-worker Kristine, and we attended their one-act play, “One Destiny,” about the events surrounding the assassination and how it affected the theater owner, the actors and many others.

Here are a few pictures. Click on any to open larger:

Visiting Ford’s Theater

The Lincoln Memorial

On Tuesday before heading back to New York City on the train, I had time to visit the Lincoln Memorial. This is probably my favorite spot in all of Washington, D.C.

Click on any of pictures to see them larger:

The Lincoln Memorial as photographed by Fred Michmershuizen
Approaching the Lincoln Memorial with the reflecting pool on the right. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
Approaching the temple-like structure from the steps. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
A view of the columns of the Lincoln Memorial looking up. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
The stature of Lincoln. To his right and left are inscriptions of his Gettysburg Address and Second Inaugural Address. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
A political protest in front of the Lincoln Memorial, one of countless demonstrations to take place here over the many years. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
Fred Michmershuizen
A view from the side of the Lincoln Memorial, with the Washington Monument in the middle distance and the U.S. Capitol building in the far distance. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
A view looking out from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
This is the spot at the base of the Lincoln Memorial from which Martin Luther Kind delivered his famous speech. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)

The signature of John Adams at the Declaration of Independence memorial

There is no memorial to John Adams in Washington, D.C., which is sad in my view in light of all that Adams did for our country. His signature is part of the Memorial to the 56 Signers of the Declaration of Independence, located on the National Mall:

John Adams signature in Washington DC

 

According to Wikipedia, there is a proposed Adams Memorial that would be dedicated to John Adams, Abigail Adams, John Quincy Adams and other members of the family, but to date insufficient private funds have been raised to make the project a reality.

The Washington Monument

When I arrived in Washington, D.C., after the dental convention, I had time for some sightseeing. It was a rainy afternoon. My first stop was the Washington Monument.

Click on any of the pictures to make them bigger:

Photo by Fred Michmershuizen
Approaching the Washington Monument. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)
The base of the Washington Monument. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)

 

A view of the Lincoln Memorial from the base of the Washington Monument. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)

 

The Washington Monument as seen from the National Mall. (Photo by Fred Michmershuizen)