Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich (November 6, 1841 – April 16, 1915) was a prominent American politician and a leader of the Republican Party in the Senate, where he served from 1881 to 1911. Because of his impact on national politics and central position on the pivotal Senate Finance Committee, he was referred to by the press and public alike as the "General Manager of the Nation", dominating all tariff and monetary policies in the first decade of the 20th century. In a career that spanned three decades, Aldrich helped to create an extensive system of tariffs that protected American factories and farms from foreign competition. He rebuilt the American financial system along Progressive lines (Progressive is a code word for liberal, leftist or socialist; it is coming back into vogue currently) through the institution of the federal income tax amendment and the Federal Reserve System. He claimed that this would lead to greater efficiency. Aldrich became wealthy with investments in street railroads, sugar, rubber and banking. His son Richard Steere Aldrich became a U.S. Representative, and his daughter, Abby, married John D. Rockefeller, Jr., the only son of John D. Rockefeller. Her son, Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, served as Vice President of the United States under Gerald Ford.
His first job was clerking for the largest wholesale grocer in the state, where he worked his way up to become a partner in the firm. On October 9, 1866 he married Abigail "Abby" Pearce Truman Chapman, a wealthy woman with impressive antecedents. By 1877, Nelson had a major effect on state politics, even before his election to the United States Congress. He served as the president of the Providence city council and Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives.
In 1878 the Republican bosses of Rhode Island endorsed him for the US House of Representatives; in 1881 he was elected to the Senate. He served in the Senate from 1881 to 1911 as an influential Republican, becoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
In 1906 Aldrich sold his interest in the Rhode Island street railway system to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, whose president was J. P. Morgan's loyal ally, Charles Sanger Mellen. Also in 1906 Aldrich and other American financiers invested heavily in mines and rubber in the Belgian Congo. They supported Belgium's King Leopold II, who had imposed slave labor conditions in the colony.
As co-author of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, Aldrich removed restrictive import duties on fine art, which enabled Americans to bring in very expensive European artworks that became the foundation of many leading museums.
In 1909, Aldrich introduced a constitutional amendment to establish an income tax, although he had declared a similar measure "communistic" a decade earlier. In 1908 he became the chief sponsor of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act which created the National Monetary Commission, which drew up the Aldrich Plan that formed the basis for the Federal Reserve system.
He also served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. During his Senate tenure he chaired the committees on Finance, Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, Rules, and the Select Committee on Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia.
A deep believer in the progressive themes of efficiency and scientific expertise, Aldrich led a team of experts to study the European national banks. This trip cost over $300,000.00 at the time, a whopping sum of money for government travel at that time. After his trip, he came to believe that Britain, Germany and France had a much superior central banking system. He worked with several key bankers and economists, including Paul Warburg, Abram Andrew and Henry Davison, to design a plan for an American central bank (The Federal Reserve System) in 1911. Aldrich introduced the Federal Reserve Act in the Senate during Christmas vacation when very few Senators were present. Of course, he was able to ram the act through the senate. In 1913 Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve Act, which was patterned after Aldrich's and Warburg's vision.
Because of his control of the Senate (and his daughter Abby Greene Aldrich's marriage to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and son Winthrop Aldrich's later chairmanship of the Chase National Bank), Aldrich, who represented the smallest state in the Union, was regarded as one of the most powerful politicians of his time. His grandson and namesake Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller became one of the most powerful politicians of a later era and served as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford.
Aldrich was very active in the Freemasons and was the Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island. He died on April 16, 1915, in New York, New York, and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode
In 1878 the Republican bosses of Rhode Island endorsed him for the US House of Representatives; in 1881 he was elected to the Senate. He served in the Senate from 1881 to 1911 as an influential Republican, becoming chairman of the Senate Finance Committee.
In 1906 Aldrich sold his interest in the Rhode Island street railway system to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, whose president was J. P. Morgan's loyal ally, Charles Sanger Mellen. Also in 1906 Aldrich and other American financiers invested heavily in mines and rubber in the Belgian Congo. They supported Belgium's King Leopold II, who had imposed slave labor conditions in the colony.
As co-author of the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909, Aldrich removed restrictive import duties on fine art, which enabled Americans to bring in very expensive European artworks that became the foundation of many leading museums.
In 1909, Aldrich introduced a constitutional amendment to establish an income tax, although he had declared a similar measure "communistic" a decade earlier. In 1908 he became the chief sponsor of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act which created the National Monetary Commission, which drew up the Aldrich Plan that formed the basis for the Federal Reserve system.
He also served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference. During his Senate tenure he chaired the committees on Finance, Transportation Routes to the Seaboard, Rules, and the Select Committee on Corporations Organized in the District of Columbia.
A deep believer in the progressive themes of efficiency and scientific expertise, Aldrich led a team of experts to study the European national banks. This trip cost over $300,000.00 at the time, a whopping sum of money for government travel at that time. After his trip, he came to believe that Britain, Germany and France had a much superior central banking system. He worked with several key bankers and economists, including Paul Warburg, Abram Andrew and Henry Davison, to design a plan for an American central bank (The Federal Reserve System) in 1911. Aldrich introduced the Federal Reserve Act in the Senate during Christmas vacation when very few Senators were present. Of course, he was able to ram the act through the senate. In 1913 Woodrow Wilson signed into law the Federal Reserve Act, which was patterned after Aldrich's and Warburg's vision.
Because of his control of the Senate (and his daughter Abby Greene Aldrich's marriage to John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and son Winthrop Aldrich's later chairmanship of the Chase National Bank), Aldrich, who represented the smallest state in the Union, was regarded as one of the most powerful politicians of his time. His grandson and namesake Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller became one of the most powerful politicians of a later era and served as Vice President of the United States under President Gerald Ford.
Aldrich was very active in the Freemasons and was the Treasurer of the Grand Lodge of Rhode Island. He died on April 16, 1915, in New York, New York, and was buried in Swan Point Cemetery in Providence, Rhode
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