Robert A. Taft

Mr. Republican, author of the Taft-Hartley Act and leader of postwar conservatism.

Overview

Son of President William Howard Taft, Robert Taft represented Ohio in the Senate from 1939 until his death in 1953. He helped write and passed the Labor-Management Relations Act of 1947 over Truman's veto, curbing union practices, and stood for balanced budgets against the New Deal order. He co-sponsored federal aid for public housing, an early sign of his pragmatic streak, yet opposed much foreign entanglement, questioning NATO expansion while supporting the Marshall Plan. He sought the presidency in 1940, 1948, and 1952, losing finally to Eisenhower, and died in mid-1953, months into his term as majority leader.