1.
United States presidential election, 1912
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The United States presidential election of 1912 was the 32nd quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 5,1912. The election was a rare four-way contest, incumbent President William Howard Taft was renominated by the Republican Party with the support of its conservative wing. After former President Theodore Roosevelt failed to receive the Republican nomination, he called his own convention and it nominated Roosevelt and ran candidates for other offices in major states. Meanwhile, the Socialist Party of America renominated its perennial standard-bearer and it is the last election in which a former, or incumbent, President ran for the office without being nominated as either a Democrat or Republican. It is also the last election in which an incumbent president running for re-election failed to either first or second in the popular vote count. Wilson won the election, gaining a majority in the Electoral College and winning 42% of the popular vote, while Roosevelt won 27%, Taft 23%. Wilson became the elected president from the Democratic Party between 1896 and 1932, and the second of only two Democrats to be elected president between 1860 and 1932. This was also the last election in more than one nominee had previously been elected president. Republican President Theodore Roosevelt had declined to run for re-election in 1908 in fulfillment of a pledge to the American people not to seek a full term. Roosevelts first term as president was incomplete, as he succeeded to the office upon the assassination of William McKinley and he had tapped Secretary of War William Howard Taft to become his successor, and Taft defeated Democrat William Jennings Bryan in the general election. The progressive Republicans favored restrictions on the employment of women and children, promoted ecological conservation, the progressives were also in favor of the popular election of federal and state judges and opposed to having judges appointed by the president or state governors. By 1910 the split between the two wings of the Republican Party was deep, and this, in turn, caused Roosevelt and Taft to turn against one another, despite their personal friendship. Republican candidates, William Howard Taft, President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt, La Follette, Senator from Wisconsin For the first time, significant numbers of delegates to the national conventions were elected in presidential preference primaries. Primary elections were advocated by the faction of the Republican Party. Altogether, twelve states held Republican primaries, La Follette won two of the first four primaries. Beginning with his victory in Illinois on April 9, however, Roosevelt won nine of the last ten presidential primaries. As a sign of his popularity, Roosevelt even carried Tafts home state of Ohio. The Republican Convention was held in Chicago from June 18 to 22, Taft, however, had begun to gather delegates earlier, and the delegates chosen in the primaries were a minority
2.
Chicago
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Chicago, officially the City of Chicago, is the third-most populous city in the United States. With over 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the state of Illinois, and it is the county seat of Cook County. In 2012, Chicago was listed as a global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States—about $640 billion according to 2015 estimates, the city has one of the worlds largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14% of the workforce. In 2016, Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors, landmarks in the city include Millennium Park, Navy Pier, the Magnificent Mile, Art Institute of Chicago, Museum Campus, the Willis Tower, Museum of Science and Industry, and Lincoln Park Zoo. Chicagos culture includes the arts, novels, film, theater, especially improvisational comedy. Chicago also has sports teams in each of the major professional leagues. The city has many nicknames, the best-known being the Windy City, the name Chicago is derived from a French rendering of the Native American word shikaakwa, known to botanists as Allium tricoccum, from the Miami-Illinois language. The first known reference to the site of the current city of Chicago as Checagou was by Robert de LaSalle around 1679 in a memoir, henri Joutel, in his journal of 1688, noted that the wild garlic, called chicagoua, grew abundantly in the area. In the mid-18th century, the area was inhabited by a Native American tribe known as the Potawatomi, the first known non-indigenous permanent settler in Chicago was Jean Baptiste Point du Sable. Du Sable was of African and French descent and arrived in the 1780s and he is commonly known as the Founder of Chicago. In 1803, the United States Army built Fort Dearborn, which was destroyed in 1812 in the Battle of Fort Dearborn, the Ottawa, Ojibwe, and Potawatomi tribes had ceded additional land to the United States in the 1816 Treaty of St. Louis. The Potawatomi were forcibly removed from their land after the Treaty of Chicago in 1833, on August 12,1833, the Town of Chicago was organized with a population of about 200. Within seven years it grew to more than 4,000 people, on June 15,1835, the first public land sales began with Edmund Dick Taylor as U. S. The City of Chicago was incorporated on Saturday, March 4,1837, as the site of the Chicago Portage, the city became an important transportation hub between the eastern and western United States. Chicagos first railway, Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, and the Illinois, the canal allowed steamboats and sailing ships on the Great Lakes to connect to the Mississippi River. A flourishing economy brought residents from rural communities and immigrants from abroad, manufacturing and retail and finance sectors became dominant, influencing the American economy. The Chicago Board of Trade listed the first ever standardized exchange traded forward contracts and these issues also helped propel another Illinoisan, Abraham Lincoln, to the national stage
3.
Illinois
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Illinois is a state in the midwestern region of the United States, achieving statehood in 1818. It is the 6th most populous state and 25th largest state in terms of land area, the word Illinois comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word. For decades, OHare International Airport has been ranked as one of the worlds busiest airports, Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics. With the War of 1812 Illinois growth slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier, mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration—by the 1810s, the Eastern U. S. Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s, and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois, as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets. Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other states from the tyranny of water transport. By 1900, the growth of jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants. Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars, the Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago, who created the citys famous jazz and blues cultures. Three U. S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois, Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant, additionally, Ronald Reagan, whose political career was based in California, was the only U. S. president born and raised in Illinois. Today, Illinois honors Lincoln with its official slogan, Land of Lincoln. The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the capital of Springfield. Illinois is the spelling for the early French Catholic missionaries and explorers name for the Illinois Native Americans. American scholars previously thought the name Illinois meant man or men in the Miami-Illinois language and this etymology is not supported by the Illinois language, as the word for man is ireniwa and plural men is ireniwaki. The name Illiniwek has also said to mean tribe of superior men. The name Illinois derives from the Miami-Illinois verb irenwe·wa he speaks the regular way and this was taken into the Ojibwe language, perhaps in the Ottawa dialect, and modified into ilinwe·. The French borrowed these forms, changing the ending to spell it as -ois. The current spelling form, Illinois, began to appear in the early 1670s, the Illinois name for themselves, as attested in all three of the French missionary-period dictionaries of Illinois, was Inoka, of unknown meaning and unrelated to the other terms. American Indians of successive cultures lived along the waterways of the Illinois area for thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans, the Koster Site has been excavated and demonstrates 7,000 years of continuous habitation
4.
Chicago Coliseum
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The first Coliseum stood at State and Washington streets in Chicagos downtown in the late 1860s. The second, at 63rd Street near Stony Island Avenue in the south sides Woodlawn community, in the 1960s and early 1970s it served as a general admission venue for rock concerts, roller derbys and professional wrestling matches, it closed in 1971 and was demolished in 1982. The first Coliseum hosted horse shows, boxing matches, and circus acts beginning in 1866, typical of most 19th century cities, Chicago had a flourishing bachelor subculture, which made events at the Coliseum often rowdy affairs. The arenas history is hazy as there are no sources as to when it opened or closed. The second Coliseum, in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the south side, had a difficult history. Initial construction began early in 1895 on a 14-acre site of the Worlds Columbian Exposition, but on August 22, the structure collapsed. Construction of the 300-by-700 foot building entailed the use of 2.5 million pounds of steel,3.2 million feet of lumber, and 3 million bricks, and was finally completed in June 1896. The building was impressive in size for its day, twice as large as Madison Square Garden, the facility housed seven acres of interior floor space. In October 1896 the Coliseum hosted the Barnum and Bailey Circus, college football teams immediately saw the feasibility of playing indoor games in the Coliseum, and four big games took place, University of Michigan vs. University of Chicago, Thanksgiving Day, November 26,1896, won by Chicago, University of Wisconsin, December 19,1896, won by Carlisle, 18–8. University of Illinois, November 20,1897, won by Carlisle, University of Chicago, Thanksgiving Day, November 25,1897, won by Chicago, 21–12. The Carlisle games represented the first time the Carlisle Indian School played in the Midwest, in January 1897, the Coliseum hosted one of the largest trade shows in the country, the annual Bicycle manufacturers trade show. Another grand trade show took place in October, the Chicago Horse Show, the Coliseum by this time was hailed as a financial success. But all this would come to an end. Despite initial reports of deaths, only one fireman died. The building was destroyed, primarily when one of the 14 arches supporting the roof fell over to bring down all the other arches like a row of dominoes. The fire consumed the building within 20 minutes and this massive structure, one of the greatest indoor facilities of the 19th century, had a lifespan of only 19 months. Candy manufacturer Charles F. Gunther built the third Coliseum on Wabash Avenue and he purchased Libby Prison, a structure in Richmond, Virginia, constructed as a warehouse which became a Confederate prison during the Civil War
5.
Theodore Roosevelt
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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was an American statesman, author, explorer, soldier, naturalist, and reformer who served as the 26th president of the United States from 1901 to 1909. As a leader of the Republican Party during this time, he became a force for the Progressive Era in the United States in the early 20th century. Born a sickly child with debilitating asthma, Roosevelt successfully overcame his health problems by embracing a strenuous lifestyle and he integrated his exuberant personality, vast range of interests, and world-famous achievements into a cowboy persona defined by robust masculinity. Home-schooled, he began a lifelong naturalist avocation before attending Harvard College and his first of many books, The Naval War of 1812, established his reputation as both a learned historian and as a popular writer. Upon entering politics, he became the leader of the faction of Republicans in New Yorks state legislature. Returning a war hero, he was elected governor of New York in 1898, the state party leadership distrusted him, so they took the lead in moving him to the prestigious but powerless role of vice presidential candidate as McKinleys running mate in the election of 1900. Roosevelt campaigned vigorously across the country, helping McKinleys re-election in a victory based on a platform of peace, prosperity. Following the assassination of President McKinley in September 1901, Roosevelt succeeded to the office at age 42, making conservation a top priority, he established a myriad of new national parks, forests, and monuments intended to preserve the nations natural resources. In foreign policy, he focused on Central America, where he began construction of the Panama Canal and he greatly expanded the United States Navy and sent the Great White Fleet on a world tour to project the United States naval power around the globe. His successful efforts to end the Russo-Japanese War won him the 1906 Nobel Peace Prize, elected in 1904 to a full term, Roosevelt continued to promote progressive policies, but many of his efforts and much of his legislative agenda were eventually blocked in Congress. Roosevelt successfully groomed his close friend, William Howard Taft, to succeed him in the presidency, after leaving office, Roosevelt went on safari in Africa and toured Europe. Returning to the United States, he became frustrated with Tafts approach, failing to win the Republican presidential nomination in 1912, Roosevelt founded his own party, the Progressive, so-called Bull Moose Party, and called for wide-ranging progressive reforms. The split among Republicans enabled the Democrats to win both the White House and a majority in the Congress in 1912, Republicans aligned with Taft nationally would control the Republican Party for decades. Frustrated at home, Roosevelt led an expedition to the Amazon basin. During World War I, he opposed President Woodrow Wilson for keeping the country out of the war, and offered his military services, although planning to run again for president in 1920, Roosevelt suffered deteriorating health and died in early 1919. Roosevelt has consistently ranked by scholars as one of the greatest American presidents. Historians admire Roosevelt for rooting out corruption in his administration, but are critical of his 1909 libel lawsuits against the World and his face was carved into Mount Rushmore, alongside those of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Abraham Lincoln. Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was born on October 27,1858, at East 20th Street in New York City and he was the second of four children born to socialite Martha Stewart Mittie Bulloch and glass businessman and philanthropist Theodore Roosevelt Sr
6.
New York (state)
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New York is a state in the northeastern United States, and is the 27th-most extensive, fourth-most populous, and seventh-most densely populated U. S. state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south and Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont to the east. With an estimated population of 8.55 million in 2015, New York City is the most populous city in the United States, the New York Metropolitan Area is one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. New York City makes up over 40% of the population of New York State, two-thirds of the states population lives in the New York City Metropolitan Area, and nearly 40% lives on Long Island. Both the state and New York City were named for the 17th-century Duke of York, the next four most populous cities in the state are Buffalo, Rochester, Yonkers, and Syracuse, while the state capital is Albany. New York has a diverse geography and these more mountainous regions are bisected by two major river valleys—the north-south Hudson River Valley and the east-west Mohawk River Valley, which forms the core of the Erie Canal. Western New York is considered part of the Great Lakes Region and straddles Lake Ontario, between the two lakes lies Niagara Falls. The central part of the state is dominated by the Finger Lakes, New York had been inhabited by tribes of Algonquian and Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans for several hundred years by the time the earliest Europeans came to New York. The first Europeans to arrive were French colonists and Jesuit missionaries who arrived southward from settlements at Montreal for trade, the British annexed the colony from the Dutch in 1664. The borders of the British colony, the Province of New York, were similar to those of the present-day state, New York is home to the Statue of Liberty, a symbol of the United States and its ideals of freedom, democracy, and opportunity. In the 21st century, New York has emerged as a node of creativity and entrepreneurship, social tolerance. On April 17,1524 Verrazanno entered New York Bay, by way of the now called the Narrows into the northern bay which he named Santa Margherita. Verrazzano described it as a vast coastline with a delta in which every kind of ship could pass and he adds. This vast sheet of water swarmed with native boats and he landed on the tip of Manhattan and possibly on the furthest point of Long Island. Verrazannos stay was interrupted by a storm which pushed him north towards Marthas Vineyard, in 1540 French traders from New France built a chateau on Castle Island, within present-day Albany, due to flooding, it was abandoned the next year. In 1614, the Dutch under the command of Hendrick Corstiaensen, rebuilt the French chateau, Fort Nassau was the first Dutch settlement in North America, and was located along the Hudson River, also within present-day Albany. The small fort served as a trading post and warehouse, located on the Hudson River flood plain, the rudimentary fort was washed away by flooding in 1617, and abandoned for good after Fort Orange was built nearby in 1623. Henry Hudsons 1609 voyage marked the beginning of European involvement with the area, sailing for the Dutch East India Company and looking for a passage to Asia, he entered the Upper New York Bay on September 11 of that year
7.
California
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California is the most populous state in the United States and the third most extensive by area. Located on the western coast of the U. S, California is bordered by the other U. S. states of Oregon, Nevada, and Arizona and shares an international border with the Mexican state of Baja California. Los Angeles is Californias most populous city, and the second largest after New York City. The Los Angeles Area and the San Francisco Bay Area are the nations second- and fifth-most populous urban regions, California also has the nations most populous county, Los Angeles County, and its largest county by area, San Bernardino County. The Central Valley, an agricultural area, dominates the states center. What is now California was first settled by various Native American tribes before being explored by a number of European expeditions during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Spanish Empire then claimed it as part of Alta California in their New Spain colony. The area became a part of Mexico in 1821 following its war for independence. The western portion of Alta California then was organized as the State of California, the California Gold Rush starting in 1848 led to dramatic social and demographic changes, with large-scale emigration from the east and abroad with an accompanying economic boom. If it were a country, California would be the 6th largest economy in the world, fifty-eight percent of the states economy is centered on finance, government, real estate services, technology, and professional, scientific and technical business services. Although it accounts for only 1.5 percent of the states economy, the story of Calafia is recorded in a 1510 work The Adventures of Esplandián, written as a sequel to Amadis de Gaula by Spanish adventure writer Garci Rodríguez de Montalvo. The kingdom of Queen Calafia, according to Montalvo, was said to be a land inhabited by griffins and other strange beasts. This conventional wisdom that California was an island, with maps drawn to reflect this belief, shortened forms of the states name include CA, Cal. Calif. and US-CA. Settled by successive waves of arrivals during the last 10,000 years, various estimates of the native population range from 100,000 to 300,000. The Indigenous peoples of California included more than 70 distinct groups of Native Americans, ranging from large, settled populations living on the coast to groups in the interior. California groups also were diverse in their organization with bands, tribes, villages. Trade, intermarriage and military alliances fostered many social and economic relationships among the diverse groups, the first European effort to explore the coast as far north as the Russian River was a Spanish sailing expedition, led by Portuguese captain Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, in 1542. Some 37 years later English explorer Francis Drake also explored and claimed a portion of the California coast in 1579. Spanish traders made unintended visits with the Manila galleons on their trips from the Philippines beginning in 1565
8.
1916 Progressive National Convention
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Theodore Roosevelts Progressive Party held its 1916 national convention, in conjunction with the Republican national convention. This was to facilitate a possible reconciliation, five delegates from each convention met to negotiate. The Progressives wanted reunification, but with Roosevelt as the Republican presidential nominee, meanwhile, Charles Evans Hughes, a moderate progressive, became the front-runner at the Republican convention, though opposed by many conservatives. The Progressives suggested Hughes as a compromise candidate, then Roosevelt sent a message proposing conservative Senator Henry Cabot Lodge. The shocked Progressives immediately nominated Roosevelt again, with Louisiana businessman John M. Parker as the Vice Presidential nominee, Parker had run for governor as a Progressive early in 1916. Parker got a respectable 37% of the vote and he was the only Progressive to run for governor that year. However, Roosevelt later telegraphed the convention and declared that he could not accept their nomination, there had been a weak attempt to replace Roosevelt on the ticket with the former Kansas Congressman Victor Murdock, but the motion was defeated 31 to 15. Most of its members would return to the Republican Party, although a minority supported Wilson for his efforts in keeping the United States out of World War I. He also believed Wilson was allowing Germany and other warring nations in Europe to bully, the Roosevelt-Parker ticket did manage to get on the ballot in several states. 1916 Democratic National Convention 1916 Republican National Convention United States presidential election,1916
9.
William Howard Taft
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William Howard Taft served as the 27th President of the United States and as the tenth Chief Justice of the United States, the only person to have held both offices. In 1921, President Warren G. Harding appointed Taft to be chief justice, Taft was born in Cincinnati in 1857. His father, Alphonso Taft, was a U. S. Attorney General, William Taft attended Yale and was a member of Skull and Bones secret society like his father, and after becoming a lawyer was appointed a judge while still in his twenties. He continued a rapid rise, being named Solicitor General and as a judge of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, in 1901, President William McKinley appointed Taft civilian governor of the Philippines. In 1904, Roosevelt made him Secretary of War, and he became Roosevelts hand-picked successor, despite his personal ambition to become chief justice, Taft declined repeated offers of appointment to the Supreme Court of the United States, believing his political work to be more important. With Roosevelts help, Taft had little opposition for the Republican nomination for president in 1908, in the White House, he focused on East Asia more than European affairs, and repeatedly intervened to prop up or remove Latin American governments. Taft sought reductions to trade tariffs, then a source of governmental income. Controversies over conservation and over antitrust cases filed by the Taft administration served to separate the two men. Roosevelt challenged Taft for renomination in 1912, Taft used his control of the party machinery to gain a bare majority of delegates, and Roosevelt bolted the party. The split left Taft with little chance of re-election, he took only Utah, after leaving office, Taft returned to Yale as a professor, continuing his political activity and working against war through the League to Enforce Peace. In 1921, President Harding appointed Taft as chief justice, an office he had long sought, Chief Justice Taft was a conservative on business issues, but under him, there were advances in individual rights. In poor health, he resigned in February 1930, after his death the next month, he was buried at Arlington National Cemetery, the first president and first Supreme Court justice to be interred there. Taft is generally listed near the middle in historians rankings of U. S. presidents, William Howard Taft was born September 15,1857 in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Alphonso Taft and Louise Torrey. The Taft family was not wealthy, living in a modest home in the suburb of Mount Auburn, Alphonso served as a judge, ambassador and in the cabinet, as War Secretary and Attorney General under Ulysses S. Grant. William Taft was not seen as brilliant as a child, but was a worker, Tafts demanding parents pushed him and his four brothers toward success. He attended Woodward High School in Cincinnati, at Yale College, which he entered in 1874, the heavyset, jovial Taft was popular. One classmate described him succeeding through hard work rather than being the smartest, in 1878, Taft graduated, second in his class out of 121. He attended Cincinnati Law School, and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1880, while in law school, he worked on The Cincinnati Commercial newspaper, edited by Murat Halstead
10.
George Walbridge Perkins
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George Walbridge Perkins I was an American politician and businessman. He was a leader of the Progressive Movement, especially the Theodore Roosevelts Progressive party of 1912, starting as an office boy he became a leading executive in insurance, steel and banking, always on the alert for new and better ways to do business. He was a top aide to financier J. P. Morgan, and handled complex issues involving U. S. Steel, International Harvester and he was vice-president of New York Life Insurance Company and a partner in J. P. Morgan & Co. He served as president of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission from its creation in 1900 until his death in 1920 and he was born on January 31,1862 in Chicago, Illinois. With only an education, he began work as an office boy in the Chicago office of the New York Life Insurance Company. By 1898 he had risen to the position of vice president, Perkins played an important role in the development of New York Life. A strong believer in the Efficiency Movement, he sought out instances of waste, for example, he noticed that the old routine of farming out territory to middlemen, who in turn appointed men who did the actual soliciting for policies, was inefficient. The local agents were underpaid and often made misrepresentations in order to get initial premiums, Perkins, starting in 1892, made the local agents and solicitors permanent employees, and by introducing in 1896, his system of benefits based on length of service and value of policies written. He opened up new markets in Russia and Europe. He also helped reorganize Morgans United States Steel Corporation, in 1910 Perkins began to pursue Progressive Era reform causes. Perkins was an exponent of the evils of competition and the advantages of cooperation in business— he believed in the Good Trust. His biographer, John A. Garraty summarizes Perkins business philosophy as follows, competition is cruel, wasteful, destructive, outmoded, co-operation, inherent in any theory of a well-ordered Universe, is humane, efficient, inevitable and modern. In 1912 he helped organize Theodore Roosevelts new Progressive party, becoming its executive secretary, at the convention an anti-trust plank was suddenly dropped, shocking reformers like Gifford Pinchot who saw Roosevelt as a true trust-buster. They blamed Perkins Perkins ties to big business alarmed the radical wing of the party, after 1913 he focused on New York City politics, while continuing as Progressive National Chairman. In 1916 he campaigned for Charles Evans Hughes and the GOP, the result was a deep split in the new party that was never resolved. Perkins was in control of the party in 1913. On September 7,1917, the New York State Senate rejected his nomination as Chairman of the recently established New York State Food Control Commission. On October 2, the State Senate rejected again his nomination, as chairman of a finance committee of the Young Mens Christian Association, he raised $200,000,000 for welfare work among American soldiers abroad
11.
J. P. Morgan
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John Pierpont J. P. Morgan was an American financier and banker who dominated corporate finance and industrial consolidation in late 19th and early 20th Century United States. In 1892, Morgan arranged the merger of Edison General Electric and he was instrumental in the creation of the United States Steel Corporation, International Harvester and AT&T. He directed the banking coalition that stopped the Panic of 1907 and he was the leading financier of the Progressive Era, and his dedication to efficiency and modernization helped transform American business. Morgan has been described as America’s greatest banker, Morgan died in Rome, Italy, in his sleep in 1913 at the age of 75, leaving his fortune and business to his son, John Pierpont Morgan, Jr. His fortune was estimated at only US$80 million, prompting John D. Rockefeller to say, Morgan was born into the influential Morgan family in Hartford, Connecticut, and was raised there. He was the son of Junius Spencer Morgan and Juliet Pierpont, Pierpont, as he preferred to be known, had a varied education due in part to the plans of his father. In the fall of 1848, Pierpont transferred to the Hartford Public School and then to the Episcopal Academy in Cheshire, Connecticut, boarding with the principal. In September 1851, Morgan passed the exam for The English High School of Boston. In the spring of 1852, an illness struck which was to more common as his life progressed. Rheumatic fever left him in so much pain that he could not walk and he convalesced there for almost a year, then returned to the English High School in Boston to resume his studies. After he graduated, his father sent him to Bellerive, a school near the Swiss village of Vevey and his father then sent him to the University of Göttingen in order to improve his German. He attained a level of German within six months and also a degree in art history, then traveled back to London via Wiesbaden. Morgan went into banking in 1857 at the London branch of merchant banking firm Peabody, in 1858, he moved to New York City to join the banking house of Duncan, Sherman & Company, the American representatives of George Peabody and Company. Morgan had avoided serving during the war by paying a substitute $300 to take his place, from 1860 to 1864, as J. Pierpont Morgan & Company, he acted as agent in New York for his fathers firm, renamed J. S. Morgan & Co. upon Peabodys retirement in 1864, from 1864–72, he was a member of the firm of Dabney, Morgan, and Company. In 1871, he partnered with the Drexels of Philadelphia to form the New York firm of Drexel, at that time, Anthony J. Drexel became Pierponts mentor at the request of Junius Morgan. After the death of Anthony Drexel, the firm was rechristened J. P. Morgan & Company in 1895, retaining close ties with Drexel & Company of Philadelphia, Morgan, Harjes & Company of Paris, and J. S. By 1900, it was one of the most powerful banking houses of the world, Morgan had many partners over the years, such as George W. Perkins, but always remained firmly in charge
12.
International Harvester
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The International Harvester Company was a United States manufacturer of agricultural machinery, construction equipment, trucks, and household and commercial products. In 1902, J. P. Morgan merged the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company, in 1985, International Harvester sold off most of its agricultural division to Tenneco, Inc. which merged it into its subsidiary J. I. Case under the Case IH brand, following the terms of IHs agreement with Tenneco, International Harvester renamed itself Navistar International Corporation in 1986. Together with his brother Leander J. McCormick, McCormick moved to Chicago in 1847, the McCormick reaper sold well, partially as a result of savvy and innovative business practices. Their products came onto the market just as the development of railroads offered wide distribution to distant market areas and he developed marketing and sales techniques, developing a vast network of trained salesmen able to demonstrate operation of the machines in the field. In 1902, the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company and Deering Harvester Company, banker J. P. Morgan provided the financing. In 1919, the Parlin and Orendorff factory in Canton, Illinois, was a leader in the manufacturing industry. International Harvester purchased the factory, calling it the Canton Works, in 1926, IHs Farmall Works began production in a new plant in Rock Island, Illinois, built solely to produce the new Farmall tractor. By 1930, the 100, 000th Farmall was produced, IH next set their sights on introducing a true general-purpose tractor designed to satisfy the needs of the average US family farmer. IH ranked 33rd among United States corporations in the value of World War II production contracts, in 1946 IH acquired a defense plant in Louisville, Kentucky, which was enlarged, expanded, and re-equipped for production of the Farmall A, B, and the new 340 tractors. Then in 1948, IH acquired the Metropolitan Body Company of Bridgeport and this was the manufacturing facility for the bodies of the commercially successful Metro line of forward control vans and trucks from 1938 until roughly 1964. In 1974, the five-millionth IHC tractor was produced at the Rock Island Farmall plant, throughout the 1960s and 1970s, despite good sales, IHs profit margins remained slim. An overly conservative management, combined with a policy of in-house promotions, tended to stifle new management strategies. Products with increasingly ancient technology continued in production despite their marginal addition to sales, in 1979, IH named a new CEO, who was determined to improve profit margins and drastically cut ballooning costs. Unprofitable model lines were terminated, and factory production curtailed, by the end of the year, IH profits were at their highest in 10 years, but cash reserves were still too low. Union members became increasingly irate over production cutbacks and other cost-cutting measures, in the spring and summer of 1979, IH began short-term planning for a strike that seemed inevitable. Then on November 1, IH announced figures showing that president, McCardell sought overtime, work rule, and other changes from the United Auto Workers, which led to a strike on November 2,1979. Soon after, the economy turned unfavorable, and IH faced a financial crisis, the strike lasted about six months
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