Final answer:
President Taft likely did not support the recalling of judges due to his conservative leanings, adherence to party lines, and concern for maintaining judicial independence and the principle of checks and balances.
Step-by-step explanation:
Reasons for President Taft Not Supporting the Recalling of Judges
President William Howard Taft's reluctance to support the recalling of judges can likely be attributed to his conservative stance and his avoidance of power politics. Taft, who had a judicial career and served as the Secretary of War before becoming president, generally sided with the conservatives in his party and demonstrated little appetite for contentious political maneuvers. Unlike some of his Progressive contemporaries, like Wisconsin senator Robert La Follette, Taft did not embrace aspects of the Progressive platform, such as the recall method, that could have threatened the stability of the judiciary and the principle of separation of powers. His presidency was characterized by political infighting, and his decisions often aligned with party conservatives, as seen in the scandal involving his Secretary of the Interior, Richard Ballinger, and the controversy over land conservation that distanced Taft from more Progressive factions.
Moreover, Taft's unwillingness to challenge the conservative majority in his party, as shown through his endorsement of the Payne-Aldrich Act and the creation of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, suggests that he might have viewed the recall of judges as antithetical to his conservative beliefs and harmful to the constitutional principle of checks and balances. His history of compromise and avoidance of political conflict also reflects a possible concern for the independence of the judiciary and an aversion to any actions that might have been perceived as radical or destabilizing.