Ethics in Service

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.0

Word count: 134K words
Chapters: 14

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Ethics in Service by William H. TaftAuthor: Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930,Language: English, Class: JK: Political science: Political inst. and pub. Admin.: United States, Release Date: Dec 9, 2006

Editor's review

This is a collection of lectures on "ethics in public service" by William Howard Taft, twenty-seventh president of the United States and later chief justice of the Supreme Court, issued as a public-domain electronic reprint. The book does not discuss abstract moral philosophy; it starts from concrete situations in administration, the judiciary, and political appointment to discuss the boundaries of responsibility, conflicts of interest, and public trust. Taft had high-level experience in both the executive and judicial branches, and his argument has a practitioner's sense of proportion; it is useful for understanding early twentieth-century American civil-service ethics and the reform rhetoric of the Progressive Era. It is short and written in a lecture style, suitable as supplementary reading for courses on political ethics and administrative law, and for readers concerned with public governance to dip into. Note that its context is American institutions and the political issues of the time, and it should not be applied directly to other systems.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of political science or public administration interested in administrative ethics
Readers interested in the American presidency and Progressive Era politics
Professionals preparing discussions or reading groups on public ethics
Learners who want to practice reading English political prose through primary texts

Not a good fit for

Philosophy readers seeking a systematic theoretical framework of ethics
Civil-service trainers expecting contemporary cases and practical guidance
General readers unfamiliar with American political institutions and without background knowledge

Reading tips

Read one lecture at a time, and after each, summarize its core argument in your own words.
Before reading, acquire a little background on American civil-service reform and the Progressive Era; the book will go much more smoothly.
Compare the ethical principles in the book with current public events and make brief notes to form your own judgment.
English readers may first read straight through without worrying about details, then check key terms and institutional names on a second pass.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this a systematic treatise on ethics?

No. It is compiled from lectures and focuses on concrete ethical problems in public service, such as appointments, interests, and public trust, rather than building a theoretical system. For a conceptual framework of ethics, look to a philosophy textbook; the value of this book lies in the experiential thinking of someone who actually held political and judicial office.

Can I understand it without a background in American politics?

You can read it, but you will lose some of the context. The book deals with the party politics, civil service, and federal agencies of the time, and without background one may mistake specific issues for universal principles. It is advisable to read a brief introduction to American political institutions first, or to look up names and agencies as you go, to understand the author's situation and standpoint.

What is the reading experience like as a public-domain ebook?

The text comes from Project Gutenberg and is a public-domain compilation without modern editorial notes or introduction, in plain formatting. Its advantages are that it is free and easy to search and excerpt; its drawbacks are the lack of background notes and the limited information about the occasions and audiences of the lectures. It is best read alongside other materials, not as the sole reference.

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About the author

Taft, William H. (William Howard), 1857-1930 Author

William Howard Taft (1857–1930) was an American statesman and jurist who served as U.S. Secretary of War, the first civilian Governor-General of the Philippines, the 27th President of the United States, and the 10th Chief Justice of the United States. This collection holds three of his works: Ethics in Service, State of the Union Addresses, and The South and the National Government. They address public-service ethics, presidential addresses to Congress, and the South and national governance, broadly reflecting his background as both a lawyer and a politician. His prose is formal and argumentative, typically centering on institutions, responsibility, and public order. Public information is limited, so specific biographical details and a complete bibliography are not set out here; readers may use these themes to grasp his overall profile as a public official writing on law and governance.