Summary

William Howard Taft grew up in a family where his father had a successful law firm that also employed two of his brothers, Charley and Peter. While a student at Cincinnati Law School, Taft decided he could learn more by being a court reporter for the Cincinnati Commercial newspaper where he wrote a column on the courts. As a vigorous young man in his 20s, Taft enjoyed a wide circle of friends with whom he socialized frequently. Not long after passing his bar exam and graduating from law school, Taft was appointed assistant district attorney. When his father ran for governor of Ohio, Will took an active part in his campaign. When a tabloid newspaper published an anonymous letter ridiculing his father, Will cornered the editor on the street one day and beat him senseless, telling him to leave...