William H. Taft (A Life) Lyrics

The 15th of September, '57 was the year

That, to the Taft's in Mount Auburn, William Howard appeared

Went to Yale in '74, then, till '80, studied law

First, a lawyer, then a judge, integrity's what people saw

'Twas around then William met Helen, Nellie, who stole his heart

They wed in '86, and since then, seldom were apart

Three children joined the Taft family, just one short of four

Helen, Charles, and Robert, who would be a senator

Will was Solicitor General, represented government

In '92, a circuit judge, then, to the Philippines, was sent

He governed there, and Cuba, too, then, in 1904

Ted Roosevelt asked him to be Secretary of War

Though he headed governments, justice was his craft

Our 27th president, William Howard Taft

In '08, Taft was chosen, ran and won the Presidency

He'd seek advice from Teddy, and served with hesitancy

He fought against business monopolies, unfair, he felt

But, he defended high tariffs and angered Roosevelt

He lost support from his party, at great political cost

And Ted made certain in the '12 election, that Taft lost

Taft then taught law at Yale, and in '21, became

Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, his life's goal where he aimed

He served until 1930, when illness had progressed

On March 8th in D.C., William Taft died and was laid to rest

His legacy was justice, living by the rule of law

First to lead the Court and country, the best way that he saw