The Collected Works of William Howard Taft, Volume II: Political Issues and Outlooks: Speeches Delivered Between August 1908 and February 1909

The second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is dedicated to the speeches and writings, which displayed his thinking in the autumn of 1908 and the following winter. It was at this time that he was campaigning for the presidency against the well-known William Jennings Bryan, and in Taft’s writings is evidence of the contrast in style between Taft and Bryan and Taft and his predecessor, Teddy Roosevelt as well. Although uncomfortable with campaigning, he thoughtfully addresses the concerns of the day that framed the election including race, the Phillipines, and socialism. Political Issues and Outlooks also contains speeches made after the election and leading up to his inauguration as the 27th President of the United States. Introduced by a commentary from the general series editor Professor David Burton, the second volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft is a revealing look at the machinations of United States politics at the beginning of the twentieth century and and an insightful glimpse into the minds of one of the century'smost influential political archtects.