24 December 1908

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Herbert Parsons re: endorsement of Jacob M. Dickinson for Attorney General

Signed as President-elect. With autograph postscript. Dicksinson served 1909-11 as Taft's Secretary of War.

GLC03509

January 2, 1912

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Document signed

Title: [Presidential commutation of sentence of Robert Sawyer, convicted of murder and sentenced to death, 10 November 1905]

Sawyer had been convicted of murder on the high seas in the U.S. Circuit Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina. He was originally sentenced to death, but that sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. Taft commuted his sentence so it would expire immediately. No reason was given for commutation. Countersigned by J.A. Fowler as Acting Attorney General. This is a printed document with blanks filled in by hand. Accompanied by red paper seal.

GLC03579.01

2 March 1900

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Luke Wright

Urges recipient to accept appointment as President of the Philippine Commission. Written on U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit letterhead.

GLC04279

15 December 1911

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Document signed

Title: [Presidential pardon of Charles L. King, convicted of Army desertion on 23 April 1908 and sentenced to two and one half years at Fort Leavenworth]

Sentence published in General Orders, No. 65, Department of the East, 30 April 1908. Secretary of War recommended pardon, which was granted by William H. Taft. Partially handwritten. With James Finch (signed), pardon attorney, warrant for pardon. Countersigned by George W. Wickersham, Attorney General.

GLC07318

1909

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Header Record

Title: Letters to his wife Nellie re: appointments, personal [decimalized]

GLC05585

15 September 1899

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Nellie Taft

Discussing his evening the night before, his plans for today and tomorrow and mentions various friends in Cincinnati. Accompanied by letter of reference for nurse Mary Mack who does nothing but cook. re: his 42d birthday, with letter of reference for Mary Mack

GLC05585.01

September 23, 1899

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Nellie Taft re: news of friends, university president, golf games

Mentions that the new University president wants to make changes.

GLC05585.04

October 1899

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Nellie Taft re: girls who have applied to be his nurse, cook, laundress, etc.

Accompanied by a description of one young woman.

GLC05585.05

January 15, 1909

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Ernest R. Ackerman

President-elect Taft agrees with New York Congressman Ackerman that Lincoln's face ought to be put on coins and stamps, but he cannot aid this process until after his inauguration. Written on personal stationery from Augusta, Georgia.

GLC01995

7 December 1915

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Howell Cheney

Letter regarding raising money for the war effort. Typed on personal stationery.

GLC02203.01

17 October 1917

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Howell Cheney

Letter regarding the Red Cross. Typed on personal stationery.

GLC02203.02

February 2, 1918

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Howell Cheney

Discusses the sacrifices needed to support the American war effort during World War I. Mentions the War Savings Stamp project as a means for both rich and poor to contribute, but asserts that the such financial support "is a duty rather more incumbent upon people of large incomes." As the recently appointed chairman of the One Thousand Dollar War Savings Society in Connecticut, Taft asks Cheney to become a member. Typed on personal stationery.

GLC02203.03

February 4, 1926

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed manuscript signed

Title: [Analysis of the Lincoln-Douglas debates]

One typed document created by William H. Taft dated February 4, 1926. Pertains to the debate of slavery between Abraham Lincoln and Stephen A. Douglas. Two lines inserted in Taft's hand on page 14 and numerous other corrections. Signed and dated by Taft on the last page.

GLC01488

February 27, 1910

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to James A. Tawney

The letter discusses concerns about public estimates for a district jail and mentions previous letter received from Tawney who lodged a complaint. Writes "[w]e have no right to cut down our estimates and later increase them; and in so far as we have done this I would like to know, because I wish to make a public statement of it." Typed on White House stationery in blue ink with header The White House Washington. Stationery watermarked as Whiting's Woven Linen. One bust engraving of Taft included.

GLC00118.06

March 28, 1911

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Talcott Williams

William H. Taft updates Williams, a political journalist, on the tense status of relations between the United States and Mexico in return for Williams' "seal of silence." He refers to an enclosed copied letter for United States Army Chief of Staff Leonard Wood, containing instructions for generals commanding 20,000 troops Taft ordered to the Mexican border in early March (not included). He informs Williams of anti-American riots in Mexico, and actions Mexico took to prevent the United States from building a dam near the Mexican border. He states that Henry Lane Wilson, United States…

GLC00240

December 21, 1911

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Document signed

Title: [Appointment of Philip R. Ward, Major in the Coast Artillery Corps]

Appointment of Philip R. Ward to Major in the Coast Artillery Corps, beginning December 6, 1911. Signed by William Howard Taft as President and countersigned Henry L. Stimson as Secretary of War. Docketed at top by the Adjutant General, reads "The adjutant General's Office, Recorded December 29, 1911". Features a paper seal from the War Office and two detailed patriotic scenes.

GLC00778.22

March 8, 1909

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Henry G. Granger

Taft writes in response to a telegram from Granger in which he had praised his economic policy and looked forward to seeing Taft ride through a sea-level Panama Canal. Taft thanks him for his praise, but dismisses as impracticable a sea-level canal. Letter written on White House letterhead.

GLC00782.20

February 8, 1905

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to John Dalzell

Taft asks for Dalzell's support to reduce the tariff for the Philippines. He includes handwritten insertions. Letter written on War Department letterhead.

GLC00895

10 October 1922

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: To George Lorimer

Disputes with Theodore Roosevelt

GLC08052

29 March 1905

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter

Title: to John G. Walker

Written by Taft as Secretary of War but not signed, to retired Rear Admiral Walker as President of the Isthmian Canal Commission. Typed copy of Taft's letter to Walker. By direction of President Roosevelt, Taft is asking for the resignation of each member of the canal commission. The resignations are to take effect at the pleasure of the president. Says the president asks for the resignations so he can reorganize the board. Wants him to communicate this request to Governor George Whitefield Davis, the first military governor of the Panama Canal Zone.

GLC03804.38

13 March 1912

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to the Senate and the House

Inflation and the cost of living. "How far the system of cooperative organization which flourishes in various European countries may be adapted to our highly organized and individualistic social organization may perhaps only be determined by experiment...I recommended an international commission to look into the cause for the high prices of necessities of life and the possible remedies..."

GLC09098

circa 1902-1904

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Mr. Gibson

Listing areas of continuing unrest in the Philippines. Written as Secretary of War and Military Governor of the Philippine Islands.

GLC08218

1912/04/17

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Document signed

Title: Extradition of William R. Shaver, charged with embezzlement & forgery

Partly printed document signed as President and countersigned by Wilson as Acting Secretary of State. Written to P.D. Howell of Canada.

GLC02785

1911/04/25

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Typed letter signed

Title: to Rev. John Wesley Hill re: declining to speak at Hadley Rescue Mission

Signed as President. Accompanied by a note on verso of recipient attesting to the President's unexpected appearance at midnight, despite his schedule.

GLC02793.059

1912/09/07

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930

Autograph letter signed

Title: to Katharine & Louisa Loring re: his recent trip and expected vacation

Written as President. The Lorings were neighbors of Taft at the vacation spot.

GLC02793.060