J.P. Morgan and the Transportation Kings by Steven H. Gittelman

Author:Steven H. Gittelman
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780761858515
Publisher: UPA

Chapter Twenty-one

Hanna’s Last Hurrah

The vulnerability of the IMM was not immediately apparent and there was good reason to hope that it would overcome some of the obstacles that lay in its wake. The market decline, for instance, was something that could reasonably be expected to reverse. One issue that could not be anticipated was the death of one of Morgan’s most important political allies—Mark Hanna.

Hanna’s efforts to influence Roosevelt after the death of McKinley may have been subtle, but his role in government as a potential buffer between Morgan and Roosevelt, and as a keen supporter of business interests in general, was crucial to the success of Morgan’s broader plan to consolidate shipping in the North Atlantic.

As the 1904 presidential campaign season approached, Mark Hanna’s tolerance of Roosevelt expired. If he considered Roosevelt a madman before, the conflict over the Northern Securities Company and Roosevelt’s other understated efforts to oppose both Hanna and businessmen like Morgan made him seem positively tyrannical. Hanna’s feelings about Roosevelt were not the only motivating factor that inspired him to have the presidency in his sights. His efforts to convince Roosevelt to preserve the principles of Commonwealth—principles that Hanna and his political allies had worked to make the ideological focus of the Republican Party—were unsuccessful and it was increasingly clear that Roosevelt was pushing for major reform.1

Hanna had a business incentive, too. With interests in the steel and iron industries, he could easily reckon the benefit of Morgan’s broader scheme, the creation of an international transportation network, supported by American ships and managed by America’s moneyed men. During the final three years of his life, Hanna worked to preserve the Commonwealth policies of development and protection he had championed throughout so much of his political career.2

In the fall of 1901, Hanna climbed high in public estimation. He was the undisputed leader of the Republican Party and more popular throughout the country than he had ever been before.3 Committed as he was to special business interests and to “machine” politics, his unprecedented popularity and his intra-party dispute with Roosevelt drove him to consider seriously his potential as a presidential candidate.4 As he weighed up his activities, it must have been increasingly clear that, with his legislative interests greatly increased in scope, and his increased involvement in national political issues, a presidential bid was quite reasonable. It was also an effective means of squashing Roosevelt and preventing the future attacks on what Hanna considered to be interests fundamental to America’s continued development.5

Roosevelt was an unpredictable factor in the build-up to the 1904 elections, and he had been widely regarded as a possible candidate for 1904 at the time of McKinley’s reelection.6 As the president-in-office, he had to be considered a possible nominee as well. His promotion had made him even more a candidate and as vice-president, he had still been considered. Then there was the precedent that, having served only one term, if he wanted re-nomination, there was a presumption in his favor. It was a matter both of personal justice as well as practical consideration.

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