William Howard Taft was the 27th US President, serving between March 1909 and March 1913. During his career, Taft also served as the Solicitor General of the United States (1890-92) - the Solicitor General represents the US Federal Government before the US Supreme Court; it is the fourth-highest ranking Government official. Taft was also Judge of the US Court of Appeals, 6th Circuit (1892-1900); Governor-General of the Philippines (1901-03), Provisional Governor of Cuba (1906), US Secretary of War (1904-08) and 10th Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court (1921-30). He was a graduate of Yale University. He is the only person to serve as US President and Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court.
William Howard Taft
(Image Credit: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division. Public Domain.)The William Howard Taft Memorial Association was founded in 1934 and incorporated in 1937. In its Articles of Incorporation, the Association's mission was stated as "to plan, promote, erect, and collect funds for a national memorial in honor of William Howard Taft and to insure its perpetuation." The target memorial was Taft's Cincinnati, Ohio birthplace home.
Alphonso Taft, William's father, purchased the Cincinnati house on Mt. Auburn (a hill to the north of the city's basin) in 1851. The Taft family lived in the house until 1889, after which the property was owned by several different parties in the ensuing years. Once the Memorial Association was formed, efforts began to secure the property and turn it into a museum/memorial. Though it took more than 25 years, the Memorial Association did eventually secure the Taft Birthplace House in 1961, but it needed additional funds to complete its restoration.
Charles Taft, son of William H. Taft and president of the Memorial Association in the 1960s, explored various options by which to raise the needed money. One such option was a US commemorative coin. Discussions with the Treasury Department, however, made clear its objections to such a coin proposal, and the strong opposition to such bills by the Committee on Banking and Currency in each chamber was also noticed. With such obstacles in its way, the Association abandoned thoughts of fund raising via a special coin and pursued other options - including the ultimately succeessful plan of having the Federal Government/National Park Service take over the site and administer it as a National Historic Site.
Congress established the William H. Taft National Historic Site in 1969 (Public Law 91-132) and the Site opened under the administration of the National Park Service.
William H. Taft House at National Historic Site
(Image Credit: William H. Taft National Historic Site. Public Domain.)IMO the Association would have found success in a pursuit of a commemorative medal vs. half dollar. The cause was just and the Treasury would most likely
not have been in opposition. It's too bad we'll never know!
The William H. Taft National Historic Site web site includes a complete story regarding the site's history and development. I highly recommend checking it out at:
https://www.nps.gov/wiho/index.htm.
For other of my posts about commemorative coins and medals, including more What If? and What If? Phantom stories, see:
Commems Collection.
Posted 05/08/2023 08:57 am
