Taft, William Howard

1. A political leader of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A Republican , Taft was president between 1909 and 1913. At the beginning of his presidency, he stayed close to the policies of Theodore Roosevelt , who had been president before him. Later, however, he turned to more conservative measures, such as a high protective tariff , and he lost popularity. In foreign policy, Taft advocated dollar diplomacy . He came in third in the election of 1912, running as a Republican , behind Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt . In the 1920s, Taft served as chief justice of the Supreme Court .