Elihu Root | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Root in 1902 | |
| 38thUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office July 19, 1905 – January 27, 1909 | |
| President | Theodore Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | John Hay |
| Succeeded by | Robert Bacon |
| 41stUnited States Secretary of War | |
| In office August 1, 1899 – January 31, 1904 | |
| President |
|
| Preceded by | Russell A. Alger |
| Succeeded by | William Howard Taft |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1915 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas C. Platt |
| Succeeded by | James Wadsworth |
| United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York | |
| In office March 12, 1883 – July 6, 1885 | |
| President | Chester A. Arthur Grover Cleveland |
| Preceded by | Stewart L. Woodford |
| Succeeded by | William Dorsheimer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1845-02-15)February 15, 1845 Clinton, New York, U.S. |
| Died | February 7, 1937(1937-02-07) (aged 91) New York City, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Clara Wales |
| Relations | Oren Root II (brother) |
| Education | Hamilton College (BA,MA) New York University (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
Elihu Root (/ˈɛlɪhjuːˈruːt/; February 15, 1845 – February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer,Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41stUnited States Secretary of War under presidentsWilliam McKinley andTheodore Roosevelt and the 38thUnited States Secretary of State under Roosevelt. In both positions as well as a long legal career, he pioneered the American practice of international law. Root is sometimes considered the prototype of the 20th-century political "wise man", advising presidents on a range of foreign and domestic issues.[1] He also served as aUnited States Senator from New York and received the 1912Nobel Peace Prize.
Root was a leading New York City lawyer who moved frequently between high-level appointed government positions in Washington, D.C., andprivate-sector legal practice in New York. He headed organizations such as theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace and theAmerican Society of International Law.
As Secretary of War from 1899 to 1904, Root administered colonial possessions won in theSpanish–American War. Root favored a paternalistic approach to colonial administration, emphasizing technology, engineering, and disinterested public service. He helped craft theForaker Act of 1900, thePlatt Amendment of 1901, and thePhilippine Organic Act (1902).[2] Root alsomodernized the Army into a professional military apparatus with a general staff, restructured theNational Guard, and established theU.S. Army War College.
Root returned to the Roosevelt administration as Secretary of State from 1905 to 1909. He modernized the consular service by minimizing patronage, maintained theOpen Door Policy in China, promoted friendly relations with Latin America, and resolved frictions with Japan over the immigration and treatment of Japanese citizens to theWest Coast of the United States. He negotiated 24 bilateralinternational arbitration treaties, which led to the creation of thePermanent Court of International Justice.[3][4]
As aUnited States Senator fromNew York, Root was a conservative supporter of PresidentWilliam Howard Taft, playing a central role in Taft's nomination to a second term at the1912 Republican National Convention. By 1916, he was a leading proponent ofmilitary preparedness with the expectation that the United States would enterWorld War I. PresidentWoodrow Wilson sent him to Russia in 1917 in an unsuccessful effort to establish an alliance with the newrevolutionary government that had replaced theCzar.[5] Root supported Wilson's vision of theLeague of Nations but withreservations along the lines proposed by Republican senatorHenry Cabot Lodge.
Elihu Root was born on February 15, 1845, inClinton, Oneida County, New York, to Oren Root and Nancy Whitney Buttrick, both ofEnglish descent.[6] His father was a professor of mathematics atHamilton College.
Elihu studied at local schools, including the Clinton Grammar School and theWilliston Seminary, where he was a classmate ofG. Stanley Hall, before enrolling at Hamilton. He joined theSigma Phi Society and was elected toPhi Beta Kappa society.[7] After graduation, Root was an instructor of physical education for two years at Williston Seminary and taught for one year at theRome Free Academy.[citation needed]
Despite his parents' encouragement to become aPresbyterian minister,[citation needed] Root moved to New York City in 1865 with his brother Wally and sought a career in the law. He enrolled atNew York University School of Law and earned money teaching American history at elite girls' schools.[8] At the time, most law students in the United States applied for admission to the bar after one year of study, but Root stayed on for a second year, essentially a private tutelage under ProfessorJohn Norton Pomeroy. He graduated in 1867 with aBachelor of Laws and was admitted to the bar on June 18, 1867.[9]
Upon his admission to the bar, Root completed a year of unpaid apprenticeship at the leading New York City firm Mann and Parsons. In 1868, he and several other young lawyers founded the firm of Strahan & Root with offices onPine Street.[10] He had various partners through 1897, when a disagreement led to the dissolution of his firm and the formation ofRoot, Howard, Winthrop & Stimson,[11] a predecessor of the modern firmPillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.[12]
His early work was assorted and menial, but expanded rapidly after he met John J. Donaldson, the president of theBank of North America, through their pastor. Donaldson hired Root as a Latin tutor and was impressed with his ability as a lawyer, eventually sending him personal matters and small cases for the Bank. In March 1869, Root was hired to reorganize the bank to acquire astate charter.[10] Soon after, Alexander Compton was elevated to the partnership, and the firm was renamed Compton & Root. Root's public profile and professional reputation were enhanced by his defense ofTammany Hall bossWilliam M. Tweed, and Compton & Root grew throughout the 1870s into a varied practice with a primary focus on banks, railroads, wills and estates, and municipal government.[13]
Root was admitted to the bar of theSupreme Court of the United States in 1881.[14] In 1883, PresidentChester A. Arthur appointed him U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, the chief government attorney in New York City. As U.S. Attorney, Root headed the prosecutions for the Ward and Grant fraud which precipitated thePanic of 1884.[15]
Through 1899, Root took on many other prominent and wealthy clients, includingJay Gould,Chester A. Arthur,Charles Anderson Dana,William C. Whitney,Thomas Fortune Ryan, theHavemeyer family,Charlie Delmonico, andE. H. Harriman.[citation needed] In 1889, Root advisedSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThomas Brackett Reed onhis controversial efforts to revise the House rules.[11]
On January 19, 1898, Root was elected a member of the executive committee of the newly formedNorth American Trust Company.[16]
After moving to Washington in 1899, Root never again became partner in a firm. His public career lasted through 1915, when Root returned to practice in anof counsel role at his son's firm of Root, Clark, Buckner & Howland.[11] Around that time, Root was elected the38th president of the American Bar Association.
In December 1871,Tammany HallbossWilliam M. Tweed was indicted on charges of deceit and fraud in connection to his real estate dealings and political corruption. Tweed retained eminent defense counsel led byDavid Dudley Field; Root joined the case on behalf of Tweed's co-defendant James Ingersoll, a furniture manufacturer who stood accused of fraudulently billing the city government for millions of dollars. Root's law partner, Alexander Compton, was Ingersoll's cousin by marriage, and Compton turned the case over to Root due to his courtroom experience.[17] Despite his family's dismay, he accepted the case and joined Tweed's defense in addition to Ingersoll's.[17]
The Tweed case stretched on for years, with the first trial commencing more than fifteen months after the indictment and ending in a hung jury. Four more indictments were brought in November 1873 after the defense's failed attempt to get judgeNoah Davis to recuse himself. Root took a minor role in the proceedings, examining jurors and occasionally cross-examining the prosecution witnesses. The jury returned a guilty verdict on two hundred and four counts; Davis imposed a sentence of twelve years and a $12,750 fine, later reduced on appeal. Three of Tweed's attorneys were fined for contempt of court; Root was not among them. Instead, Davis addressed the junior attorneys:[17]
"I know how young lawyers are apt to follow their seniors. ... [Elihu Root andWillard Bartlett] displayed great ability during the trial. I shall impose no penalty, except what they may find in these few words of advice: I ask you young gentlemen, to remember that good faith to a client never can justify or require bad faith to your own consciences, and that however good a thing it may be to be known as successful and great lawyers, it is even a better thing to be known as honest men."
Root took a more active role in the Ingersoll defense, successfully appealing a jurisdictional issue to theNew York Court of Appeals. Judge Allen remarked to Root's co-counsel that Root's argument "was not excelled by any in the case." Ingersoll was ultimately sentenced to five years but was pardoned by GovernorSamuel J. Tilden.[17]
After Root had risen to national prominence, his work on the Tweed case formed the basis for public attacks from newspapers owned and directed byWilliam Randolph Hearst, particularly after Root opposed Hearst's 1906 campaign for governor. Hearst exaggerated Root's role in the case and implied he had advised Tweed on political corruption before his indictment.[17] Root's fee in the case, paid partly in cash and partly by a real estate transfer, also came in for criticism, with Hearst papers implying that Root had inherited Tweed's mansion. In fact, Tweed was penniless after paying the fines assessed against him, and his heavily encumbered real estate holdings were his lone assets.[17]
Early in his legal career, Root joined theUnion League Club, where he met a number of young New York Republicans.[18] He avoided political office personally, believing that it would obstruct his legal career. As an example, he citedRobert H. Strahan, an early law partner who had entered state politics. "It ruined him as a lawyer," Root said in 1930. "He got in the habit politicians have of sitting around and talking instead of working."[14] Nevertheless, after his 1878 marriage and move toEast 55th Street, Root became actively involved in the Republican Party organization in hiswell-to-do State Assembly district. He also expanded his involvement at the Union League Club, where his father-in-law was an active member. In 1879, he was elected to the Club's executive committee.[19]
Through the Club, Root metChester A. Arthur, an experienced Manhattan attorney and the powerfulCollector of the Port of New York. In 1879, Arthur andAlonzo B. Cornell persuaded Root to stand forthe Court of Common Pleas. Root viewed the campaign as hopeless given the city's Democratic reputation, took no part in the campaign, and was relieved to lose the election. He never again stood for a popular election, other than as a delegate to party conventions, but his association with Arthur rapidly advanced his national profile.[14] In 1880, Arthur was electedVice President of the United States with Root's support. Root attended the inauguration and was among the friends at Arthur's New York home on September 19, 1881, when the Vice President was informed that PresidentJames A. Garfield had succumbed toan assassin's bullet and that he had succeeded to the presidency.[20] In 1881, Root encountered another future President:Theodore Roosevelt, who was elected to the State Assembly from Root's district. Root actively supported the young Roosevelt's career by signing Roosevelt's nomination papers, aiding in efforts to sideline a rival candidate, and speaking on behalf ofhis 1886 mayoral campaign.[21]
Though many observers expected Arthur would offer Root appointment as Attorney General or to another cabinet post, in March 1883 he appointed RootUnited States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.[22][23] There was limited opposition to his nomination given that Arthur was trying to force out a political rival,Stewart L. Woodford, who had been appointed by Garfield, but he was approved by the Senate and sworn in on March 12. The role was part-time, with Root devoting his mornings to the Attorney's office and his afternoons to his private practice. Many of his cases were suits for the refund of customs duties paid under protest.[24]
As U.S. Attorney, Root had his first exposure tointernational law,[24] which would become the cornerstone of his public legacy. He prosecuted two cases for violation of United Statesneutrality laws against vessels for aiding Haitian and Colombian insurgents and defended the government in theHead Money Cases, a challenge to theImmigration Act of 1882 on grounds that it conflicted with international treaties with theRepublic of the Netherlands. The suit was appealed to the Supreme Court, where the government prevailed.[24]
Root's highest profile case as U.S. Attorney was the prosecution for embezzlement of James C. Fish, a partner in Ward and Grant, aPonzi scheme trading on the name of former PresidentUlysses S. Grant and his son,Ulysses Jr. The collapse of Ward and Grant precipitated thePanic of 1884. Fish offered a defense of ignorance, claiming that he had been fooled by the scheme, just as the Grants had been. For six weeks, Root devoted his full attention to the case, including the deposition of former President Grant, who died before a verdict was reached. The jury returned a guilty verdict after a night of deliberation, and Fish was sentenced to ten years in prison.[15]
The Fish verdict won Root praise in the press. According to theNew York Sun, "The manner in which he conducted the prosecution... has won him high praise wherever reports of the trial have been published. The cross-examination of the defendant was characterized by exceptional acumen and professional skill, and was made much more effective than it would otherwise have been by Mr. Root's evident familiarity with the details of the banking business." TheMail and Express wrote: "The credit of the result must be awarded mainly to the District Attorney." In particular, Root was credited with vindicating the late President: "The unspeakable meanness of the conspirators in trying to save themselves by implicating General Grant in their fraudulent transactions... was dealt with in terms of deserved scorn and severity by the District Attorney."[15]
Just before his resignation, Root successfully won an indictment of Fish's co-conspirator, Ferdinand Ward. He quietly submitted his resignation to PresidentGrover Cleveland on July 1, 1885. Two other members of the conspiracy were later prosecuted, and Root returned from private life to assist with the prosecutions.[15]
In July 1899, PresidentWilliam McKinley offered Root a position in his cabinet asSecretary of War. The offer came on the heels of theSpanish–American War. In general, the war had been a success, but SecretaryRussell A. Alger had come under heavy criticism for his management of the department, and McKinley had requested his resignation. At first, Root declined, but accepted when he realized "McKinley wanted a lawyer to run the governments of the islands."[25]
As Secretary of War, Root actively framed the establishment of civilian governments in the new American territories of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. He also modernized the Department of War. His rapid success and popularity led Root to become the first choice of the Republican National Committee for the vice presidential nomination in1900 by December 1899, but McKinley had objected to losing his Secretary of War, and Root himself preferred to stay in the Cabinet.[26] The nomination ultimately went toTheodore Roosevelt over his own objection and led to his ascension as President upon theassassination of McKinley in 1901.
During theBoxer Rebellion of 1900, Root handled foreign policy matters for Secretary of StateJohn Hay, who was ill.[27]
Root resigned from the cabinet on February 1, 1904, and returned to private practice as a lawyer.[28] He was succeeded byWilliam Howard Taft.
At Root's appointment, the Department of War had a public reputation for inefficiency, corruption, and scandals which had characterized Alger's tenure and the war. His immediate focus was reforming military administration, which he viewed as a prerequisite for success in territorial administration or any future military campaign.[29] Though the United States had just completed a successful, brief military campaign against Spain, its officer corps was still organized on peacetime terms; Root set about permanently placing the United States military on a war footing.[28] Root worked closely with Adjutant GeneralHenry Clark Corbin andWilliam Harding Carter.[30]
His chief obstacle was Commanding General of the ArmyNelson A. Miles; the offices of Commanding General and Secretary of War had long been engaged in a power struggle, and Root's reforms would directly implicate Miles's authority.[30] Root proposed the establishment of aGeneral Staff led by the office ofChief of Staff of the United States Army. The Chief of Staff was to be a general officer of the Army answerable directly to the Secretary of War and the President. The Chief of Staff would carry out the Secretary's instructions and supervise discipline and maneuvers.[28] The reorganization was accomplished by an act of Congress passed on February 14, 1903. Root also changed the procedures for promotions and also devised the principle of rotating officers from staff to line.[citation needed] Working with Secretary of the NavyWilliam Henry Moody, Root established closer coordination between the Army and Navy, including the establishment of a joint board under General Orders No. 107.[28]
Root also sought to enhance military training. To that end, he enlarged theUnited States Military Academy and established theU.S. Army War College and additional training posts, especiallyFort Leavenworth.[28] He likewise provided for additionalNational Guard officer training programs at Fort Leavenworth for those volunteer officers who had shown capacity during the Spanish–American War; per Root's instructions, the National Guard would also be equipped with the same arms as the regular army and examinations would be administered to qualify members for higher command.[28]
As a result of theSpanish–American War, the United States held military control of Cuba, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico. As Secretary of War, Root was tasked with the administration ofmartial law on the islands and the eventual transition to civilian government. Under the terms of theTeller Amendment, the United States was additionally bound to return "control of [Cuba] to its people." Particularlyin the Philippines, the United States also faced militant insurgency from natives who resisted their transfer from one foreign empire to another.[29]
He worked out the procedures for turning Cuba over to the Cubans, ensured a charter of government for the Philippines, and eliminated tariffs on goods imported to the United States from Puerto Rico. When theAnti-Imperialist League attacked American policies in the Philippines, Root defended the policies and counterattacked the critics, saying they prolonged the insurgency.[31]
For this work, he relied on legal advisorCharles Edward Magoon.[30] Magoon had been hired at theBureau of Insular Affairs by Root's predecessor,Russell Alger, and drafted an internal report taking the official position that residents of Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and other territories became subject to all the rights granted by the Constitution. After Root's appointment, Magoon controversially revised the department's legal position to require an Act of Congress, as had been passed in the cases of theNorthwest Territory andLouisiana Purchase, to regulate the rights of territorial subjects. This revised position was upheld by the Supreme Court in a series of landmark decisions collectively known as theInsular Cases.
In Cuba, the American challenge was to arrange for the transition to civilian government while preserving order and guaranteeing protection against international predation. Root established the island's first republican form of government under the command ofLeonard Wood. This was accomplished by the Cuban constitution of 1901, and the American military government withdrew in 1902.[32]
Root's primary administrative challenge as Secretary of War was the effort to establish control of the Philippine Islands. Though American government of the islands was internationally recognized under theTreaty of Paris, the native independence movement resisted imperial control. Relative to Cuba and Puerto Rico, the islands' distance and the relative underdevelopment of Spanish institutions made administration far more challenging.[33]
Root's primary goal was the establishment of a civilian governor-general (as had been applied in Cuba) rather than a military governor; however, he felt that education of the native population was necessary before such a transition could be successful. In 1900, Root guided the establishment of the Philippine commission, led byWilliam Howard Taft, as a move toward autonomous civil government. The first step in his proposed process was the establishment of municipal governments and administrative divisions.[33] The commission was to be guided by the principles of theVirginia Declaration of Rights.[33]
In addition to his duties as Secretary of War, Root was one of three Americans appointed by President Roosevelt (withHenry Cabot Lodge andGeorge Turner) to an international arbitration court to resolve the boundary dispute between Alaska and Great Britain. The dispute arose as a result of theKlondike Gold Rush of 1900, which heightened interest in the region and tensions over the exact boundary between the regions.[34]
On October 20, 1903, the dispute was resolved by British juristRichard Webster, 1st Viscount Alverstone in favor of the United States on every point of contention.[34]
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Root's retirement from public office was brief, but he remained active in public life, delivering speeches in defense of Roosevelt'spolicies in Panama and in theNorthern Securities case. AfterMark Hanna died in February 1904, shortly after Root's resignation, Root declined to succeed him as chair of the Republican National Committee.[35] He also repeatedly refused efforts to draft him as the Republican candidate for Governor in the 1904 election; instead, he focused on securing Roosevelt's nomination to a full term at the national convention, where he delivered the opening speech.[36]
After the death of John Hay, President Roosevelt named Root asUnited States Secretary of State and he returned to the cabinet on July 7, 1905. As secretary, Root placed the consular service under thecivil service. He maintained theOpen Door Policy in the Far East.
On a tour of Latin America in 1906, Root persuaded those governments to participate in theHague Peace Conference. He worked with Japan to limit emigration to the United States and on dealings with China. He established theRoot–Takahira Agreement. He worked with Great Britain in arbitration of issues between the United States and Canada on theAlaska boundary dispute, and competition in the North Atlantic fisheries. He supported arbitration in resolving international disputes.
InJanuary 1909, Root was elected by the legislature as aU.S. Senator from New York, serving from March 4, 1909, to March 3, 1915. He was a member of theSenate Committee on the Judiciary. He chose not to seek re-election in1914.
During and after his Senate service, Root served as president of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace, from 1910 to 1925.
In 1912, as a result of his work to bring nations together through arbitration and cooperation, Root received theNobel Peace Prize.
In a 1910 letter published byThe New York Times, Root supported the proposedincome tax amendment, which was ratified as theSixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution:
It is said that a very large part of any income tax under the amendment would be paid by citizens of New York...
The reason why the citizens of New York will pay so large a part of the tax in New York City is the chief financial and commercial center of a great country with vast resources and industrial activity. For many years Americans engaged in developing the wealth of all parts of the country have been going to New York to secure capital and market their securities and to buy their supplies. Thousands of men who have amassed fortunes in all sorts of enterprises in other states have gone to New York to live because they like the life of the city or because their distant enterprises require representation at the financial center. The incomes of New York are in a great measure derived from the country at large. A continual stream of wealth sets toward the great city from the mines and manufactories and railroads outside of New York.[37]
During the1912 presidential election, Root was placed in a difficult position regarding his two friends and political partners:William Howard Taft andTheodore Roosevelt. Beginning in 1910, Roosevelt had begun challenging the absolute authority ofjudicial review, arguing that theSupreme Court was using its power to strike down necessary reform legislation, as best represented in decisions likeLochner v. New York (1905). Taft, a lawyer and former judge (and future Supreme CourtChief Justice), was appalled, believing Roosevelt would be a danger to the nation's constitutional order if re-elected. Root, himself a lawyer and constitutional conservative, agreed with some of Roosevelts criticisms on a personal level, but thought that attacking the court's authority in such an open way was extremely dangerous. He himself thought judicial review was "the most valuable contribution of America to political science." While he would not attack his former boss in public, he played a key role in the1912 Republican National Convention as convention chairman. There, he formally counted the delegates that gave the nomination to Taft and offered a speech that aligned theRepublican Party with a defense of the Supreme Court's authority. Though Roosevelt would still run as theProgressive "Bull Moose" Party nominee, the split in the Republican Party ensured his defeat. Thereafter, Root and Taft would play an important role in identifying the Republican Party withconstitutional conservatism.[38]
At the outbreak ofWorld War I in 1914, Root opposed neutrality. Root promoted thePreparedness Movement to get the United States ready for actual participation in the war. He was a leading advocate of American entry into the war on the side of the British and French because he feared themilitarism of Germany would be bad for the world and for the United States.
In June 1916, he scotched talk that he might contend for theRepublican presidential nomination, stating that he was too old to bear the burden of the Presidency.[39] At theRepublican National Convention, Root reached his peak strength of 103 votes on the first ballot. The Republican presidential nomination went toCharles Evans Hughes, who lostthe election to the DemocratWoodrow Wilson.
In June 1917, at age 72, Root headed a mission to Russia sent by President Wilson to arrange American co-operation with theRussian Provisional Government headed byAlexander Kerensky. Root remained inPetrograd for close to a month and was not much impressed by what he saw. American financial aid to the new regime was possible only if the Russians would fight on the Allied side. The Russians, he said, "are sincere, kindly, good people but confused and dazed". He summed up the Provisional Government trenchantly: "No fight, no loans."[40] This provoked the Provisional Government to initiate failedoffensives against Austrian forces in July 1917. The resulting steep decline in popularity of the Provisional Government opened the door for theBolshevik party and theOctober Revolution.[41]
Root was the founding chairman of theCouncil on Foreign Relations, established in 1918 in New York.
In the Senate fight in 1919 over American membership in theLeague of Nations, Root supportedHenry Cabot Lodge's proposal of membership withcertain reservations that allowed the United States government to decide whether or not it would go to war. The United States never joined, but Root supported the League of Nations and served on the commission of jurists which created thePermanent Court of International Justice. In 1922, when Root was 77, PresidentWarren G. Harding appointed him as a delegate to theWashington Naval Conference as part of an American team headed by Secretary of StateCharles Evans Hughes.[42] Root was apresidential elector forCalvin Coolidge in the1924 presidential election.[43]
Root also worked withAndrew Carnegie in programs for international peace and the advancement of science, becoming the first president of theCarnegie Endowment for International Peace.[44] Root was also among the founders of theAmerican Law Institute[45] in 1923 and helped createThe Hague Academy of International Law in theNetherlands. Root served as vice president of theAmerican Peace Society, which publishesWorld Affairs, the oldest U.S. journal on international relations.[citation needed]
Root was a prominent opponent ofwomen's suffrage. As chairman of the judiciary committee of a New York State constitutional convention in 1894, Root spoke against women's right to vote, and he worked to ensure that the right was not included in the state constitution. He would remain an active opponent offeminism for the rest of his career.[46]
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In 1870, Root accompanied his brother Wally, with whom he had lived in his early days in New York, on a European voyage. Wally suffered fromtuberculosis (then known as incurable "consumption") and believed that the trip would cure his disease. The brothers were together inDresden at the outbreak of theFranco-Prussian War; they followed its progress throughout the summer as Wally's condition worsened. Towards the end of the trip, Elihu had to carry his brother in his arms. They returned to Clinton, where Wally died on November 15, 1870. Elihu paid off his debts.[47]
In 1878, Root married Clara Frances Wales, the daughter of prominent New York RepublicanSalem Howe Wales. They had three children:
Elihu Root Jr. graduated from Hamilton College and became an attorney, like his father. He married Alida Stryker, the daughter of Hamilton College presidentM. Woolsey Stryker.[49]
Root was a devoutPresbyterian, consistent with his upbringing. Upon first moving to New York City, he enrolled as a member of theYoung Men's Christian Association, served as its vice president, contributed essays on Christian manhood to its literary society, and taught Sunday school.[50]
Chief Judge of the New York Court of AppealsWillard Bartlett was Root's lifelong friend from their time as young lawyers in New York.[51]
Root shared a love of western big game hunting with President Roosevelt.[citation needed]
Root was a member of theUnion League Club of New York and twice served as its president, 1898–99, and again from 1915 to 1916. He also served as president of theNew York City Bar Association from 1904 to 1905. He became the president of theNational Security League in 1917, succeeding his mentorJoseph Hodges Choate. Root spoke in favor of war and in opposition to women's suffrage as head of the league.[46] He was a member of theAmerican Philosophical Society.[52][53]
Root died in 1937 in New York City, with his family by his side. A simple service was held in Clinton, led by Episcopal bishop E.H. Coley of theEpiscopal Diocese of Central New York.[54] Root is buried, along with his wife Clara (d. 1928), at the Hamilton College Cemetery.[citation needed]
Root was the last surviving member of the McKinley Cabinet and the last Cabinet member to have served in the 19th century.[citation needed]
ProfessorAlfred McCoy argues that Root was the first "foreign policy grandmaster" in American history and that Root more than any other figure is responsible for transforming America into a world power. According to McCoy, Root devoted his time as Secretary of State and as a Senator to ensuring that the United States would have a consistent presence in world affairs, and Root helped to establish theSpecial Relationship between the United States and Great Britain. Root helped to ensure that powerful business interests and the intellectual elite supported aninterventionist foreign policy.[55]
In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize, Root was awarded the Grand Cross of theOrder of the Crown (from Belgium) and the Grand Commander of theOrder of George I (from Greece).[citation needed] Root joined the Empire State Society of theSons of the American Revolution in 1895, based on his descent from Lieutenant Elihu Root (1772–1843) who was an officer in theContinental Army from Massachusetts, and was the second cousin twice removed of the publisherHenry Luce.[citation needed] In 1912, Root was elected as an honorary member of the New YorkSociety of the Cincinnati.
During World War II theLiberty shipSS Elihu Root was built inPanama City, Florida, and named in his honor.[56]
Root's home in Clinton, which he purchased in 1893, became known as theElihu Root House, and was declared aNational Historic Landmark in 1972. The United States Army Reserve Base inNew York Mills, New York, bears his name.[citation needed]
The Elihu Root Gold Medal is awarded to the six highest scoring civilian competitors in the National Trophy Rifle Team Match and are subsequently named as team members. The captain and coach of the highest-scoring civilian team are named as the coach and captain of the team. All eight members receive Elihu Root gold medals.[citation needed]
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including the Nobel LectureTowards Making Peace Permanent| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Secretary of War Served under:William McKinley,Theodore Roosevelt August 1, 1899 – January 31, 1904 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Secretary of State Served under:Theodore Roosevelt July 19, 1905 – January 27, 1909 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from New York March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1915 Served alongside:Chauncey Depew,James O'Gorman | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by | Oldest living U.S. senator April 12, 1933 – February 7, 1937 | Succeeded by |
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