Horace Taft’s older brother, William Howard Taft, had been politically prominent as secretary of war under Theodore Roosevelt, but his career reached its pinnacle in his election as president in 1908. Horace and Will enjoyed a close relationship, and the president’s two sons graduated from Taft. Thus the year 1909 opened with great excitement for the Taft family. Will’s second son, Charles Phelps, was among the younger boys in the school when his father was elected president. Horace felt it only right that Charles should be allowed to attend his father’s inauguration. But how to how to justify to the rest of the school Charles’ absence? Horace’s solution was to rule that no boy could leave campus except to attend his father’s inauguration as president of the United States!