Text | Zhou Yuan
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The United States, which labels natural human rights, freedom, equality, fraternity, and other words, has always used democracy as a slogan to show off the superiority of its political system. Since the founding of the United States in 1776, the United States has been a federal republic, and Article I of the United States Constitution states: "The United States may not confer any title of nobility." ”
But in reality, this is just a beautiful picture of a country born with elite political ideals, and family politics has always been part of the United States. The founding fathers of the United States agreed that government should not be passed down from generation to generation in the hands of a single family, but they were not opposed to politics as a family affair. From the very beginning of the United States, many large families with power and wealth have established their family's hereditary monopoly in the economic sphere and in political life.
Looking at today's US political arena, whether it is the White House Cabinet, the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, or the governors of various states, it is not difficult to find the phenomenon of father and son succession, uncle and nephew inheritance, brotherhood and so on. For American political families, participating in the election is more like a "family business", thanks to the mutual support of family members, they are more confident of winning, and the family political genes continue from generation to generation.
In this country, which is called the "model of democracy", full of political giants, American political scientists have not hesitated to point out: "It is the elite, not the people, who govern the United States." Not only the White House, but almost every state in the United States has one or two long-term political families. The Taft family is a political magnate who has long been entrenched in Ohio, this huge family spans the three boundaries of politics, commerce and military, has served as president, and many family members have served as senators and governors.
The story of the Taft family begins with Alfonso Taft. He was admitted to Yale University in 1829 and, together with his close friend William Huntington Russell, founded a new secret society, the Skull Society. The purpose of this secret society is to help each other, and the development of the Skeleton Society can be described as a thousand miles a day.
The establishment, operation and development of the Skeleton Society are inseparable from the human, material and financial support of elite families, who have also strengthened their control over the political structure and political process of the United States with the help of the network of relationships built by the Skeleton Society, and have become a deep-seated force affecting the political and social structure of the United States. According to one historical observer who studies the Skull and Bones Society, "In America, at any time, in any field, the president can call on members to do whatever they think should be done." ”
Members of the Skull and Skull Society are located in the White House, Congress, Cabinet, supreme court and CIA. Its members include the Bush family, the Harriman family, the Ponty family, the Phelps family, the Rockefeller family, the Taft family and the Whitney family, etc. It can be said that once you join the association, it is equivalent to getting a stepping stone and a pass for the Upper American Society.
Alfonso Taft was a member of the Republican Party and had a successful career, serving as Secretary of The Army and Attorney General under President Ulysses Simpson Grant, and later as U.S. Ambassador to Austria and U.S. Ambassador to Russia.
Alfonso Taft
As the main founder of the Skeleton Society, Alfonso Taft was able to use a lot of resources, and his two sons, Charles Taft and William Taft, also entered Yale University and joined the Skeleton Society. After graduating from Yale University, the former dabbled in the newspaper industry, making the Taft family a "media empire"; the latter entered politics and became an official, and was elected president of the United States in 1909, which was also the first U.S. president in the history of the Skull Society.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, William Taft's excellent family environment and father's deep connections gave him the opportunity to complete an aristocratic elite education, and at the age of 17, he entered Yale University to pursue law and graduated with honors.
William Taft in his youth
After graduating from Yale University, William Taft returned to Ohio as a lawyer. After gaining a foothold, he stepped into politics as a Republican and, with his family's deep political resources, was able to continue to be promoted, successively serving as a district attorney, a judge of the Cincinnati Supreme Court, a deputy minister of justice, a judge of the Sixth Circuit of the Federal Court of Appeals, and a governor of the Philippines.
William Taft's greatest dream was to enter the Supreme Court and become a respectable justice. However, fate often arranged unexpectedly, and after Theodore Roosevelt (Roosevelt Sr.) became president, he admired William Taft's loyalty to the law, so he promoted him to secretary of war and regarded him as his successor.
Presidential campaign poster by William Taft
In 1908, roosevelt the elder unexpectedly announced that he had no intention of seeking re-election to the presidency in favor of William Taft's campaign. With the support of roosevelt Sr., Taft successfully became the Republican presidential candidate, and defeated the Democratic candidate Brian in the general election at the end of the year, and was elected as the 27th president of the United States, and was sworn in on March 4 of the following year.
Since William Taft was not very willing to be president, he was not very happy in his four years in the White House. He lacked political sensitivity, and all he had was the ability to be a serious judge. During his presidency, although his performance was mediocre, he has been diligent and earnest, and has done a lot of work, such as gradually adopting the annual budget, establishing a postal savings system, encouraging the protection of natural resources, and vigorously promoting antitrust laws.
William Taft
After a failed re-election campaign in 1912, William Taft returned to his alma mater, Yale University, as a professor of law and president of the Bar Association. After Warren Harding became president, William Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the United States, and he finally fulfilled his dream wish and regarded this appointment as the greatest "honor" of his life.
Group photo of the "nine people" of the Taft Court
William Taft's wife, Helen, also came from a political family, and her father was a judge. They married and had two sons and a daughter, and both sons, Robert Alfonso Taft and Charles Phelps Taft, also developed in politics, especially the eldest son, Robert Alfonso Taft, who, despite three unsuccessful presidential races, was voted one of the "Five Greatest Senators" by the U.S. Senate.
William Taft family portrait
Following in the footsteps of his grandfather and father, Robert Taft attended Yale University and Harvard Law School, both graduating first. After graduation, he chose to return to his hometown of Cincinnati to work for a local barrister's office, and then to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the Food and Drug Administration. After years of training, Robert set himself up and founded his own law firm, which is still in operation today.
Robert Alfonso Taft
Robert was interested in politics, and with the taft family's reputation in American politics, Robert's political career was smooth sailing. In the 20 years since, Robert lost only once in the 1932 state Senate re-election, and has since won consecutive battles, thus gaining fame and seeing himself as a new hope for conservative Republicans.
In 1940, Robert Taft competed for the Republican presidential nomination, but it was Wendell Wilke who came out on top. In 1948, Robert ran again for the presidency, this time with his experience and prestige in the Senate, but still failed to win, and the candidate was taken away by New York Governor Thomas Dewey. In 1952, Robert worked for the third and last time to realize his youthful dreams. Unfortunately, this time the opponent was the battle hero Dwight Eisenhower, who still failed.
Energetic, rigorous, and adept at grasping the backbone of intricate relationships, some Democrats have said he has the sharpest minds in Washington, despite his political differences. Heavily influenced by his father, William Taft, his political views were a traditional conservative who was so convinced of the authority of the Constitution and Congress that he was known as "Mr. Republican."
Charles Phelps Taft
William Taft's second son, Charles Phelps Taft, also studied law at Yale University, but before he finished college, he decided to join the army, and he joined the army, bent on serving his country. During World War I, he was promoted to sergeant major on the battlefield. He was elected to the Ohio Legislature and served as mayor of Cincinnati. He is also a member of the American Veterans Association and has a certain influence in the military community.
From left to right, the Taft family has three generations of grandchildren
Many members of the Taft family were also involved in politics, and several of William Taft's grandsons were also senators, and according to statistics, there were at least 9 skeleton members in the entire Taft family. Through several generations of continuous hard work in the political arena, Ohio has become the "base camp" of the entire Taft family, and it is definitely an old political celebrity.
But as the Taft family entered the 21st century, the Taft family seemed to have become weaker, with William Taft's great-grandson Bob Taft being charged with corruption charges while serving as governor of Ohio, becoming the first governor in Ohio history to be criminally charged, and the most expensive governor in the state's history. Bob Taft's accusations not only disgrace him, but also discredited his political family and his Republican Party.