ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses two aspects of Robert A. Taft endeavor to maintain a constitutional order and to do justice to all men: his championship of Congress against the Executive, and his remarks on the Nuremberg Trials. The first of these ran through all his career, over fourteen years; the second was only an incident, but a significant and characteristic instance of Taft's rectitude and fortitude. As Taft was to emphasize in his debates with Smith, the framers of the Constitution had "imposed three great limitations on the power of the national government": federalism, separation of powers, and the Bill of Rights. Taft's campaign to restore the authority of Constitution and Congress in domestic concerns was paralleled by his endeavor to retain senatorial power in the realm of foreign affairs. A good example of Taft's struggle to prevent the Executive force from usurping Congress' authority was his concern with war-time control of prices.
