William Howard Taft: Confident Peacemaker

This book is a study of the internationalism of William Howard Taft. In the months after war broke out in 1914, Taft was second only to Woodrow Wilson in his awareness of the need to preserve the peace of the world through a new version of international organization. Built upon a synthetic interpretation of Taft's foreign policy ideas and initiatives, the book encompasses the whole of his public career as a statesman, from his years as civil governor of the Philippines through his tenure as chief justice of the Supreme Court. During those years, he moved from a basic belief in the theory and practice of balance of power to the application of dollar diplomacy. In response to the calamity of World War I, Taft came to recognize that world peace must be based upon a combination of idealism and realism, of high-minded principles placed and kept in effect by force, deliberately chosen and carefully applied.

This study examines the foreign policy ideas and initiatives of William Howard Taft from his years as civil governor of the Philippines through his tenure as chief justice of the Supreme Court. Burton assesses Taft's diplomacy both before and during his presidency as well as his thoughts on international affairs during World War I. Particular attention is paid throughout to the evolution of Taft's internationalism. Burton is the General Editor of The Collected Works of William Howard Taft. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

David H. Burton is Professor of History at St. Joseph's University. He is author of several biographies and books on American intellectual history including Political Ideas of Justice Holmes.