In 1908, William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857 to March 8, 1930) was the Secretary of War under President Theodore Roosevelt, when he received the Republican nomination for President. After delivering his acceptance speech in Cincinnati, he traveled to Virginia Hot Springs, arriving on the morning of August 1.

Walter H. Miller and George H. Werner of the Edison Recording Department were there to record Taft delivering some of his speeches. That evening, Miller and Werner recorded Taft delivering 12 speeches, each about 2 minutes long, which were released as Edison records. This speech, opposing a Democratic proposal for jury trial in cases of contempt of court, was released as Edison Record: 10005.

Taft was elected and served as President from 1909 to 1913. He was later appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1921 and served until 1930. As Chief Justice he wrote the opinion of the Court in Ex parte Grossman, 267 U.S. 87 (1925), holding that the President can pardon criminal contempt of court.

This recording is from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.