George W. Wickersham

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George W. Wickersham

George Woodward Wickersham (born September 19, 1858 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania , † January 26, 1936 in New York City ) was an American lawyer and politician ( Republican Party ) who belonged to the cabinet of US President William Howard Taft as attorney general .

Studies and professional career

Wickersham holds a degree in Law at the University of Pennsylvania , which he in 1880 with a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) graduated. After being admitted to the bar , he worked in Pittsburgh for two years. In 1883 he joined the firm Strong & Cadwalader in New York, which had been founded in 1792 and became a partner in 1887. There he met Henry Waters Taft, the brother of the future President William Howard Taft know.

In 1901 the University of Pennsylvania awarded him a Master of Arts honoris causa (MA hc) .

Political career

Justice Minister under President Taft

On March 4, 1909, he was appointed by President Taft as Attorney General in his cabinet . He held this office until the end of Taft's tenure on March 13, 1913.

As Minister of Justice, he was a staunch opponent of cartels and therefore particularly praised the settlement of the Standard Oil Company made in April 1909 as one of the most important decisions the government had made. Wickersham also won the hostility of the major railroad companies because of its progressive restrictions decisions. During his term of office, the 16th amendment to the constitution was passed on February 13, 1913 , which allows the collection of income taxes in their current form.

Adviser to Presidents Wilson, Hoover, and Roosevelt and other offices

Shortly after the United States entered World War I on April 6, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson appointed him to Cuba as a representative of the War Trade Authority .

In 1923 he was President of the Federal Council of Churches , founded in 1908, and in this capacity also advocated ecumenism .

In May 1929, President Herbert C. Hoover appointed him chairman of the National Commission on Legal Observation and Enforcement. This eleven-member commission, also called the Wickersham Commission after him , later presented a comprehensive report on possible legislative reforms; In particular, the report contained reflections on alcohol prohibition at the time .

In 1931 Wickersham was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences . In 1932 he was also President of the International Court of Arbitration for the Implementation of the Young Plan , which regulated the reparations of the German Reich on the basis of the Versailles Treaty . During the tenure of President Franklin D. Roosevelt he was finally from 1933 until his death chairman of the Council on Foreign Relations ( Council on Foreign Relations ).

Web links

Commons : George W. Wickersham  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files

Article in TIME magazine after the end of his tenure as Minister of Justice:

personal data
SURNAME Wickersham, George W.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wickersham, George Woodward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 19, 1858
PLACE OF BIRTH Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH January 26, 1936
Place of death New York City