Who Was William Taft?

Lesson Plan - Get It!

Audio:

William Taft was a large man who struggled with his weight his whole life.

He even got stuck in the White House bathtub, and it took six men to get him out! After the incident, the White House was equipped with a tub big enough to fit four grown men, and this problem never happened again. Historians believe his weight problem was a coping mechanism because of the stress his family put on him to accomplish great things.

• Have you ever been under stress?
• Has your heart ever raced because you were excited or worried about something?
• What do you like to do to get through stressful situations?
• Do you eat? Do you exercise? Do you cry? Do you stay quiet and shut down?

Everyone handles stressful situations differently, and sometimes people do it in an unhealthy way.

1. Make a list of healthy ways to handle stress. Talk to your teacher or parent about ways they deal with stress. See if they have methods that you didn't think to add to your list.

2. For help with this, read Stress by D'Arcy Lyness, PhD for Nemours KidsHealth.

William Taft was more proud of his accomplishment of becoming a Supreme Court Justice (to which he was appointed after serving as president) than he was of being president of the United States.

Write down at least five more facts about Taft as you watch this William Taft video by American Presidents (below), and check out the article William Taft: Life in Brief by Peri E. Arnold at Miller Center of Public Affairs:

In the Got It? section, you will find an extensive list of William Taft's accomplishments and contributions to the United States.