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William Howard Taft: Mental Decline

   
 
Neurology
mental decline		 Taft was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1923 -- the only President ever to serve on the high court. As early as 1925, however, Taft noticed that he was slowing down mentally. He noticed it more as the years passed. As Chief Justice, he administered the oath of office at President Hoover's inauguration in March 1929, but became confused about his lines and had to improvise. Although his general health declined, Taft was his normal alert self as December 1929 ended. By the end of January 1930 he was hallucinating. By the end of February 1930 he was intermittently comatose. He was dead on March 8 [16c1] [14d].

Some believe Taft had Alzheimer disease [8a]. But, given his coronary disease (see below), it is likely he had cerebrovascular disease, too.

More...

 Pringle chronicles Taft's mental decline in several passages:
  • Nor did the mind of the Chief Justice wholly escape the creeping shadow of old age. "It doesn't seem to me that I write as rapidly as I used to. ... I am more leisurely in my methods of application," he complained in February, 1925. [16d1]

  • Three years later [May 30, 1928], in response to a request for information regarding some person he had known, Taft said that he could not remember. "My memory is growing poorer and poorer," he said. [16d1]

  • "... The truth is that my mind does not work as well as it did, and I scatter," he added. Proof of it came at the inauguration of President Hoover in March, 1929. The Chief Justice administered the oath, and the proceedings were, for the first time, broadcast by radio. Taft made a minor variation, of no importance at all, in the words, and a small girl in New York wrote to say that she had listened and to correct him.

    "... you may attribute the variation," the Chief Justice answered, "to the defect of an old man's memory." [16d1]

  • "I am older and slower and less acute and more confused. However, as long as things continue as they are, and I am able to answer in my place, I must stay on the court in order to prevent the Bolsheviki from getting control." [Taft to brother, Nov. 14, 1929] [16e1]
     Resources[Top]
Disclosure: Doctor Zebra gets a few pennies if you click & buy from Amazon.
  1. Abbott, Lawrence F. (ed.). The Letters of Archie Butt: Personal Aide to President Roosevelt. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1924.   [a] p. 165

  2. Anderson, Judith Icke. William Howard Taft: An Intimate History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1981. ISBN 0-393-01462-2 @ Amazon   [a] p. ??? [b] p. 28 [c] p. 68

  3. Arnebeck, Bob. White House Workout: William Howard Taft's good fight against the 54-inch waistline. Washington Post Magazine. September 15, 1985: 17, 19.

  4. Barker, Charles E. With President Taft in the White House. Chicago: A. Kroch and Son, 1947.   [a] pp. 50-51 [b] pp. 17-18

  5. Boller, Paul F. Jr. Presidential Anecdotes. New York: Oxford University Press, 1981. ISBN 0-19-502915-1 @ Amazon

  6. Bromley, Michael L. William Howard Taft and the First Motoring Presidency. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland, 2003. ISBN 0-7864-1475-8 @ Amazon   [a] p. 76 [b] p. 350 [c] p. 183 [d] pp. 182-183 [e] p. 200

  7. Bromley, Michael. Personal communication. Email to Dr. Zebra Sept. 15, 2005.
        Bromley wrote: "Taft never drove. He always had a driver. His driver in Washington in the Twenties was named Tom Ford." It is not clear, however, when Ford was hired or if he was behind the wheel when this incident occurred.

  8. Bumgarner, John R. The Health of the Presidents: The 41 United States Presidents Through 1993 from a Physician's Point of View. Jefferson, NC: MacFarland & Company, 1994. ISBN 0-89950-956-8 @ Amazon   [a] p. 172 [b] p. 167 [c] p. 168
        Devotes one chapter to each President, through Clinton. Written for the layperson, well-referenced, with areas of speculation clearly identified, Dr. Zebra depends heavily on this book. Dr. Bumgarner survived the Bataan Death March and has written an unforgettable book casting a physician's eye on that experience.

  9. Butt, Archibald W. Taft and Roosevelt: The Intimate Letters of Archie Butt, Military Aide. Garden City, NY: Doubleday (1930). Volume 1: pages 1-432. Volume 2: pages 433-862.   [a] p. 326 [b] p. 760 [c] p. 172 [d] pp. 70,75, 76 [e] p. 70 [f] p. 73 [g] p. 75 [h] p. 76 [i] p. 88 [j] pp. 86-91 [k] pp. 91-93 [l] p. 99 [m] p. 108 [n] pp. 101-102 [o] p. 123 [p] p. 129 [q] p. 173 [r] p. 175 [s] p. 209 [t] p. 179 [u] p. 193 [v] pp. 210-211 [w] p. 247 [x] p. 376 [y] p. 585 [z] p. 615 [a1] p. 620 [b1] p. 642 [c1] p. 650 [d1] pp. 651-652 [e1] p. 653 [f1] pp. 656-657 [g1] p. 787 [h1] p. 39 [i1] p. 92 [j1] pp. 206-207 [k1] p. 45 [l1] p. 189 [m1] pp. 543 [n1] p. 449 [o1] p. 457 [p1] p. 543 [q1] p. 544 [r1] p. 788 [s1] p. 606 [t1] p. 670 [u1] pp. 764-765 [v1] p. 721 [w1] pp. 687-688 [x1] p. 819
        Butt, an Army officer, was military aide first to President Theodore Roosevelt and then to President William Taft. On April 14, 1912, Butt was at sea aboard the Titanic returning from a European vacation that Taft had insisted he take. President Taft later said: "When I heard that part of the ship's company had gone down, I gave up hope for the rescue of Major Butt, unless by accident. I knew that he would certainly remain on the ship's deck until every duty had been performed and every sacrifice made that properly fell on one charged, as he would feel himself charged, with responsibility for the rescue of others." Taft was correct. Butt did not survive the sinking.

  10. Coletta, Paolo E. The Presidency of William Howard Taft. Lawrence, KS: The University Press of Kansas, 1973. ISBN 7006-0096-5 @ Amazon   [a] p. 9

  11. Dole, RJ. Great Presidential Wit. NY: Scribner, 2001. ISBN 0-7432-0392-5 @ Amazon   [a] p. 134

  12. Hicks, F. C. William Howard Taft, Yale Professor of Law & New Haven Citizen. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1945.   [a] pp. 111-112 [b] pp. 113-114

  13. Manners, William. TR and Will: A Friendship that Split the Republican Party. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1969.   [a] p. 95

  14. Marx, Rudolph. The Health of the Presidents. New York: GP Putnam's Sons, 1960.   [a] p. 301 [b] p. 300 [c] p. 306 [d] pp. 306-307

  15. Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh (ed). Burke's Presidential Families of the United States of American. 2nd ed. London: Burke's Peerage Limited, 1981. ISBN 0-85011-033-5 @ Amazon
        Enumerates the ancestors and descendants of American presidents up through Ronald Reagan.

  16. Pringle, Henry F. The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography. New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., 1939.   [a] p. 24 [b] p. 3 [c] p. 1072 [d] p. 21 [e] p. 35 [f] p. 287 [g] p. 334 [h] p. 39 [i] p. 375 [j] pp. 208-209 [k] p. 214 [l] p. 215 [m] p. 219 [n] p. 226 [o] p. 235 [p] p. 253 [q] p. 377 [r] pp. 442-444 [s] p. 543 [t] p. 857 [u] p. 884 [v] pp. 781, 784 [w] pp. 763-764 [x] p. 766 [y] pp. 781-782 [z] p. 854 [a1] p. 1073 [b1] p. 1001 [c1] pp. 1074-1078 [d1] p. 1074 [e1] p. 967

  17. Braisted, William C.; Bell, William Hemphill; Rixey, Presley Marion. The Life Story of Presley Marion Rixey: Surgeon General, U. S. Navy 1902-1910: Biography and Autobiography. Strasburg, VA: Shenandoah Publishing House, Inc., 1930.   [a] p. 265
        Rixey was the White House physician for both William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt.

  18. Ross, Ishbel. An American Family: The Tafts - 1678 to 1964. Cleveland, OH: World Publishing Co., 1964.   [a] p. 143 [b] p. 221 [c] pp. 221-222 [d] p. 393 [e] pp. 327-328 [f] p. 326

  19. Sargent, Shirley. Yosemite's Famous Guests. Yosemite, CA: Flying Spur Press, 1970.   [a] pp. 20-21

  20. Smith, Ira R. T.; Morris, Joe Alex. "Dear Mr. President:" The Story of Fifty Years in the White House Mail Room. New York: Julian Messner, 1949.   [a] pp. 66-69
        Ira Smith was a peppery fellow who ran the White House mail room from 1897 to 1948. He started working during the administration of William McKinley and was the only mail room staffer until the volume of mail made it necessary to hire help during the administration of Franklin Roosevelt.

  21. Sotos, JG. Taft and Pickwick: sleep apnea in the White House. Chest. 2003;124:1133-1142.

  22. Sullivan, Mark. Our Times: 1900-1925 (Six volumes). New York: Charles Scribners' Sons, 1926-1940.   [a] p. III-14 [b] p. III-14 quoting Arthur Brisbane [c] pp. III-15-16 quoting Frederick Palmer [d] pp. III-14-15 [e] p. III-15 [f] p. IV-408

  23. Taft, Horace Dutton. Memories and Opinions. New York: Macmillan, 1947.   [a] p. 7 [b] pp. 107-108

  24. Taft, Mrs. William Howard (Helen Herron Taft). Recollections of Full Years. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1914.   [a] p. 57 [b] pp. 57-58 [c] p. 365 [d] p. 233

  25. Taft, William Howard. Papers of William Howard Taft. On file in the Library of Congress and selected other research libraries.   [a] WHT to Charles P. Taft, August 31, 1908 [b] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, September 24, 1905 [c] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, June 15, 1907 [d] WHT to N. E. Yorke-Davies, Dec. 9, 1905 [e] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, May 7, 1908 [f] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sep. 23, 1908 [g] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sept. 27, 1909 [h] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 3, 1909 [i] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 10, 1909 [j] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 24, 1909 [k] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 28, 1909 [l] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 28/29, 1909 [m] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Oct. 31, 1909 [n] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Nov. 2, 1909 [o] WHT to George Blumer, Jan. 19, 1914 [p] WHT to Thomas Claytor, Aug. 1, 1926 [q] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, July 11, 1911 [r] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Aug. 1, 1911 [s] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Sept. 27, 1911 [t] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, July 29, 1912 [u] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, Aug. 16, 1912 [v] WHT to Helen Herron Taft, August 7, 1917 [w] WHT to George B. Edwards, September 8, 1917 [x] WHT to George Blumer, July 11, 1913 [y] WHT to Annie S. Taft, July 8, 1926 [z] WHT to Thomas Claytor, August 6, 1924 [a1] WHT to Thomas Claytor, Sept. 3, 1926 [b1] WHT to George Blumer, Jan. 2, 1923

  26. Watson, James. As I Knew Them: Memoirs of James E. Watson. Indianapolis, IN: Bobbs-Merrill, 1936.   [a] p. 133

  27. The William Taft web page at the White House.

  28.  (1 match when checked in November 2003)
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