TAFT, WILLIAM HOWARD. (1857-1930). Twenty-seventh president of the United States. CS. (“Wm H. Taft”). 1p. 12mo. (3¼” x 5”). N.p., N.d. A grey card with Taft’s signature in dark brown ink.

A member of President Theodore Roosevelt’s cabinet, Taft was endorsed by TR as his successor, and his support gave Taft an easy win over William Jennings Bryan, his Democrat rival in the 1908 election. From 1909-1913, Taft’s presidency was dedicated to trust-busting and expanding the Interstate Commerce Commission, yet Roosevelt believed that his successor’s efforts were not progressive enough and felt betrayed after Taft abandoned TR’s previous anti-trust efforts. The result led to a schism in the Republican Party and Woodrow Wilson’s victory in the 1912 presidential election.

Taft left the White House in 1913 to accept an appointment at Yale Law School and become president of the American Bar Association. During that time, he opposed prohibition and advocated world peace and international arbitration, founding the League to Enforce Peace in 1914. Taft became the country’s tenth Supreme Court Chief Justice in 1921, serving until one month before his death in March, 1930.

In mint condition.