Collected Works Taft, Vol. 3: Presendential Addresses & State Papers

The third volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft imparts an appreciation of the range of the twenty-seventh president’s interests and his thinking. Beginning with his Inaugural Address and concluding with a detailed exposition of governmental expenses and needed economies, President William Howard Taft showed himself willing to tackle the routine as well as the rarified responsibilities of executive rule. Whether he is addressing the issue of strikes and labor unions, conservation, President Taft consistently showed that, in word and action, he was prepared to be a modern president. What impresses the reader of these remarks in Taft’s willingness to administer to virtually every part of the nation thereby showing himself as no mere figurchead but a chief executive truly concerned about problems across the country. Perhaps, as his words here indicate, Taft was not a good politician after all but a kind man who saw himself as president of all the people. As the volume directly related to Taft’s tenure as president, this book documents a pivotal time in the public life of this man from Ohio. Introduced by a commentary from the general series editor Professor David H. Burton, the third volume of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft underscores the presidential stature of William Howard Taft.