Mellon: An American Life 
asked by janmueller on November 3, 2006 12:55 PM
A landmark work from one of the preeminent historians of our time: the first published biography of Andrew W. Mellon, the American colossus who bestrode the worlds of industry, government, and philanthropy, leaving his transformative stamp on each.
Following a boyhood in nineteenth-century Pittsburgh, during which he learned from his Scotch-Irish immigrant father the lessons of self-sufficiency and accumulation of wealth, Andrew Mellon overcame painful shyness to become one of America’s greatest financiers. Across an unusually diverse range of enterprises, from banking to oil to aluminum manufacture, he would build a legendary personal fortune, tracking America’s course to global economic supremacy. Personal happiness, however, eluded him: his loveless marriage at forty-five to a British girl less than half his age ended in a scandalous divorce, and for all his best efforts, he would remain a stranger to his children. He had been bred to do one thing, and that he did with brilliant and innovative entrepreneurship. The Mellon way was to hold companies closely, including such iconic enterprises as Alcoa and Gulf Oil. Collecting art, a pursuit inspired by his close friend Henry Clay Frick, would become his only nonprofessional gratification. And by the end of his life, Mellon’s “pictures” would constitute one of the world’s foremost private collections.
Mellon’s wealth and name allowed him to dominate Pennsylvania politics, and late in life he was invited to Washington. As treasury secretary under presidents Harding, Coolidge, and finally Hoover, he made the federal government run like a business—prefiguring the public official as CEO. But this man of straightforward conservative politics was no politician. He would be hailed as the architect of the Roaring Twenties, but, staying too long, would be blamed for the Great Depression, eventually to find himself a broken idol. The New Deal overthrew Andrew Mellon’s every fiscal assumption, starting with the imperative of balanced budgets. Indeed, he would become the emblem—and the scapegoat—for the Republican conviction and policy that the role of government is to help business create national wealth and jobs. At the age of seventy-nine, the former treasury secretary suffered the ultimate humiliation: prosecution by FDR’s government on charges of tax evasion. In the end Mellon would be exonerated, as he always trusted he would be, and throughout the trial, which lasted more than a year, he never abandoned what had become his last dream: to make a great gift to the American people. The National Gallery of Art remains his most tangible legacy, although he did not live to see its completion.
The issues Andrew W. Mellon confronted—concerning government, business, influence, the individual and the public good—remain at the center of our national discourse to this day. Indeed, the positions he steadfastly held reemerged relatively intact with the Reagan revolution, having lain dormant since the New Deal. David Cannadine’s magisterial biography brings to life a towering, controversial figure, casting new light on our history and the evolution of our public values.
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David Cannadine's massive and detailed biography of Andrew W. Mellon is a well done examination of one of the major business figures in American history. He became a key figure in companies such as Gulf Oil, Alcoa, and, of course, Mellon National Bank, among others.
The biography begins with a background of the family, to provide context for Andrew Mellon's life. His own father, "Judge" Mellon, had been a "larger than life" figure, working until late in his life. His son, and other family members, continued the tradition of the Mellon family, increasing its financial power and the family's wealth.
Mellon's life is well told here. And not just the business side (which is done exceedingly well). His rough marriage to Nora (and their odd later in life semi-reconciliation) and his two children from that union were an important, and sometimes painful, part of his life. Indeed, one can draw something of an analogy between Galsworthy's Soames Forsyte and Mellon.
The book also details his public service, from his role in Republican politics in Pennsylvania to his tour of duty as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. He might better have left office upon Coolidge's relinquishing the presidency, since he was never as close to Hoover, and had to live through the Great Depression on his watch as Treasure Secretary. After FDR's victory in 1932, Mellon became the target of tax charges and spent years trying to defend himself.
The final part of the book discusses the art collection he had been developing and his role in creating the National Gallery of Art. Oddly enough, after his combat with the Roosevelt Administration over the tax case, Roosevelt was most gracious in working with Mellon and acknowledging his work in helping to make the Gallery a reality.
The book is well documented and filled with relevant details. For those not liking massive biographies, this will not be a good read. Also, Cannadine is a functional writer, but the pages do not fly by because of any particular stylistic grace. But it is a strong work dealing with an important subject.
The biography begins with a background of the family, to provide context for Andrew Mellon's life. His own father, "Judge" Mellon, had been a "larger than life" figure, working until late in his life. His son, and other family members, continued the tradition of the Mellon family, increasing its financial power and the family's wealth.
Mellon's life is well told here. And not just the business side (which is done exceedingly well). His rough marriage to Nora (and their odd later in life semi-reconciliation) and his two children from that union were an important, and sometimes painful, part of his life. Indeed, one can draw something of an analogy between Galsworthy's Soames Forsyte and Mellon.
The book also details his public service, from his role in Republican politics in Pennsylvania to his tour of duty as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. He might better have left office upon Coolidge's relinquishing the presidency, since he was never as close to Hoover, and had to live through the Great Depression on his watch as Treasure Secretary. After FDR's victory in 1932, Mellon became the target of tax charges and spent years trying to defend himself.
The final part of the book discusses the art collection he had been developing and his role in creating the National Gallery of Art. Oddly enough, after his combat with the Roosevelt Administration over the tax case, Roosevelt was most gracious in working with Mellon and acknowledging his work in helping to make the Gallery a reality.
The book is well documented and filled with relevant details. For those not liking massive biographies, this will not be a good read. Also, Cannadine is a functional writer, but the pages do not fly by because of any particular stylistic grace. But it is a strong work dealing with an important subject.
reviewed by mattisboss on November 8, 2006 8:50 PM
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"MELLON: An American Life" is an enjoyably informative read into the life and times of an important 20th century American icon of the elite. David Cannadine has manifested a prose style and biographical insight that is both alluring and captivating. Combining a facility to entertain (e.g., vignettes recalling familial scandal) with a further ability to recount Mellon's financial dealings within the historical milieu in a manner that is instructive but not taxing, the author induces the reader eagerly to anticipate what lies ahead. This is a book that will not present itself a chore to read word-for-word.
Particularly clever and compelling is Cannadine's tapestry of quotes from "Thomas Mellon and His Times," Andrew Mellon's father's autobiography meant, incidentally, to be read only by family and close associates. The quotes tantalize to the degree that one is induced to obtain a copy. And, the quotes give tremendous insight into the soul of a man who was often constrained to ask: "What would father do?"
Enhancing the quality of the biography is the publisher's (Alfred A. Knopf) excellent production; the binding is of the highest quality, there are 16 pages whereon are reproduced the finest from Mellon's prodigious art collecting endeavors along with 32 black and whites offering revealing identities of many figures prominent in the text, and the typeface is that typically identified as Janson. In a word, the production is worthy of a Mellon.
For anyone who enjoys reading biography as an aid to historical perspective, this is one of the best among those recently published.
Particularly clever and compelling is Cannadine's tapestry of quotes from "Thomas Mellon and His Times," Andrew Mellon's father's autobiography meant, incidentally, to be read only by family and close associates. The quotes tantalize to the degree that one is induced to obtain a copy. And, the quotes give tremendous insight into the soul of a man who was often constrained to ask: "What would father do?"
Enhancing the quality of the biography is the publisher's (Alfred A. Knopf) excellent production; the binding is of the highest quality, there are 16 pages whereon are reproduced the finest from Mellon's prodigious art collecting endeavors along with 32 black and whites offering revealing identities of many figures prominent in the text, and the typeface is that typically identified as Janson. In a word, the production is worthy of a Mellon.
For anyone who enjoys reading biography as an aid to historical perspective, this is one of the best among those recently published.
reviewed by jbritt on November 15, 2006 7:22 AM
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A continual flow of books appears on Carnegie, Rockefeller, Frick, J.P. Morgan and others of the "gilded age" zillionaires who benefitted from the post-civil war industrialization of the U.S. But until now, Andrew Mellon (1855-1937) has lacked a substantial biography. David Cannadine, one of Britain's leading historians (who has taught here at Columbia and Princeton as well), has remedied this deficiency in this superb biography. It is a long book to be sure, 617 pages not counting notes; I always feel books of this dimension could benefit from more stringent editing. In its defense, it can be said to be authoritative and comprehensive.
Mellon is largely a forgotten figure today, even for those of us who live in Washington and benefit from the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery, and are aware of his service during three administrations (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) as Secretary of the Treasury. Cannadine covers all aspects of Mellon's very diverse life and interests. He devotes limited attention to Mellon's parentage, although his father, Thomas Mellon, is quite an interesting figure in his own right. Much of the book is devoted to a solid business history of Mellon's activities--Alcoa, Gulf Oil, Mellon banks, etc. This affords us with an excellent resource for understanding this period in American history when these financial giants exercised such influence (Morgan stopping the panic of 1907, for example). Next, the book contains an excellent political history of the period, particularly 1920-1937, which witnesses the loss of GOP control and the shift to the New Deal. The third major dimension of the book is Mellon's art collecting and his plans for the creation of the National Gallery, and so we come to understand the reasons why so many of these financial giants ended up donating much of their money to build art museums, libraries, and other philanthropic endeavors. Finally, we learn about Mellon the man, a very private fellow who was capable of negotiating the donation of his extensive art collection to the very same United States that was trying him for tax fraud. Mellon's children in the late 1960's financed the construction of the National Gallery's East Building, and contributed much of the art which reposes there. Quite an interesting family.
Cannadine was invited to undertake this 12 year project by Andrew's late son, Paul Mellon, a well-known cultural figure here in the nation's capitol. But this certainly is not an "authorized biography" which seeks to nominate its subject for sainthood. One of the most valuable sections of the book is "The Balance Sheet" section of the final chapter where Cannadine offers a very balanced but incisive summing up of Mellon and his life. Supported by 100 pages of notes, as well as photographs, color reproductions of some key Mellon art, and tables, this is clearly the work of a professional historian at the peak of his considerable powers. Mellon probably deserves nothing less.
Mellon is largely a forgotten figure today, even for those of us who live in Washington and benefit from the National Gallery of Art and the National Portrait Gallery, and are aware of his service during three administrations (Harding, Coolidge, Hoover) as Secretary of the Treasury. Cannadine covers all aspects of Mellon's very diverse life and interests. He devotes limited attention to Mellon's parentage, although his father, Thomas Mellon, is quite an interesting figure in his own right. Much of the book is devoted to a solid business history of Mellon's activities--Alcoa, Gulf Oil, Mellon banks, etc. This affords us with an excellent resource for understanding this period in American history when these financial giants exercised such influence (Morgan stopping the panic of 1907, for example). Next, the book contains an excellent political history of the period, particularly 1920-1937, which witnesses the loss of GOP control and the shift to the New Deal. The third major dimension of the book is Mellon's art collecting and his plans for the creation of the National Gallery, and so we come to understand the reasons why so many of these financial giants ended up donating much of their money to build art museums, libraries, and other philanthropic endeavors. Finally, we learn about Mellon the man, a very private fellow who was capable of negotiating the donation of his extensive art collection to the very same United States that was trying him for tax fraud. Mellon's children in the late 1960's financed the construction of the National Gallery's East Building, and contributed much of the art which reposes there. Quite an interesting family.
Cannadine was invited to undertake this 12 year project by Andrew's late son, Paul Mellon, a well-known cultural figure here in the nation's capitol. But this certainly is not an "authorized biography" which seeks to nominate its subject for sainthood. One of the most valuable sections of the book is "The Balance Sheet" section of the final chapter where Cannadine offers a very balanced but incisive summing up of Mellon and his life. Supported by 100 pages of notes, as well as photographs, color reproductions of some key Mellon art, and tables, this is clearly the work of a professional historian at the peak of his considerable powers. Mellon probably deserves nothing less.
reviewed by samoan on November 20, 2006 6:35 PM
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This is one of those big biographies that I wanted to spend a bit more time with because of the way the life that is the subject of the book connects with the age in which he lived, how the generations before conditioned his opportunities and how the way he lived and affected his times echoed into the next generation. Andrew Mellon is an enigmatic character that has great complexities and yet at the same time seems to be not fully realized in his personal life. At his economic zenith, he paid more personal taxes than all but two men. While never nearly as rich as Carnegie or the senior Rockefeller, he was still amazingly wealthy.
Mellon was shrewd and fiercely competitive in his business dealings and seemed to view investment and business growth in ways that are recognizable in, say, Warren Buffet today. He emphasized developing good companies and management teams rather than speculating in financial instruments. Yet, for all his business talent, he married disastrously and his daughter and son never felt close to him. They also felt quite burdened by the vast wealth he left them. Still, they never repudiated the wealth or the material ease of life it gave them despite their difficult search for their personal identity.
The Mellons were Ulster Scots who came to American in the 1810s. Andrew Mellon's father, Thomas, was a boy when his father and mother, Andrew and Rebecca settled in western Pennsylvania to farm. Sewn into Rebecca's belt were 200 guineas that were to become the seed money for the Mellon fortune. As Thomas grew, he realized that he was no farmer. He worked to get himself a better education than any of his many sons obtained. The sons were provided as much of a private education as was necessary to set them up in business (including a smattering of college, if necessary). Otherwise, why waste the time and money on frivolity? Thomas became an attorney, a judge, a successful investor, and eventually a banker. To be sure, it was a private bank with extremely high standards for its clientele and hard dealing for the investments they made in the burgeoning Pittsburgh. Thomas married into a family with high social status that had fallen on hard times.
Combined with his talent and hard won money, the dynasty was founded. Thomas and Sarah had eight children (six sons and two daughters - several of whom died very young), lived into their nineties. Thomas became known as The Judge and was one of the founders of the Republican Party, which the Mellons dominated in Pennsylvania until the New Deal. As he aged he even wrote an autobiography. David Cannadine, the author of this fine biography, uses quotes from The Judge's book to introduce each chapter and it is uncanny how aspects of The Judge's experience and thought echoed in the life of his most talented son.
Andrew was a middle son, but easily the most talented. In fact, when facing decisions, the father would ask himself and the other sons, "what would Andrew do?" The brothers seemed to pair off by age and work together that way throughout their lives, even though they all pooled together as a group as seemed wise. All of them eschewed luxury and the trappings of wealth. It was accumulation and acquisition that mattered. Otherwise, they lived a rather flat existence. It was work and family existed to train up for more work.
Pittsburgh was exploding in those decades and the Mellons did extremely well. The author quotes the famous saying that the city was like "hell with the lid off" more than once to describe the raw industrial influences, the horrible pollution, and awful living and working conditions for those that labored at the bottom end of the systems that produced that great wealth.
After decades of building companies such as Gulf and Alcoa, the 40-year-old Andrew took an interest in the 19-year-old English girl, Nora McMullen. The old truth that no one from the outside can ever understand the inside of a marriage was never more true than in this pairing. She even told Andrew that she was not interested in him. Yet he persisted and won her. When he took her home to Pittsburgh she was horrified. She even took on an English scoundrel as a lover. Andrew and Nora had two children, Ailsa and Paul, and then they had a very painful divorce. Yet, because of Nora's neediness and the children, the divorce was more a living arrangement than a reality.
At the height of his wealth and fame, Andrew was tapped by Warren Harding to be the Secretary of the Treasury, a position then vastly more influential in setting economic policy than it is in our time. He helped lower taxes, advocated lower government spending, and even worked at paying down the national debt and could see at time when it was eliminated. The prosperity the country enjoyed in the 1920s seemed to confirm his policies and buoyed his popularity. Mellon was retained in the Coolidge and Hoover administrations, although his relationship with Hoover was much colder.
When the world economic crisis came to America and the Wall Street collapse of 1929 was followed by the Great Depression, Mellon advocated riding it out, that recessions had happened before and would happen again. He was too aloof from the suffering that was occurring in the cities and on the farms of America. And the politics of the times caught up with him. He had been Treasury Secretary for ten years and had stayed too long. Hoover appointed him Ambassador to the Court of St. James and got him out of town. FDR beat Hoover by claiming he could fix the recession. And despite his great activity in attempting to turn the economy around, FDR did not fix the Depression any faster than it would have been fixed on its own. Mellon was right in his diagnosis, but his bedside manner was wrong. And the people at the bottom of the economic system did need help in riding out the terrible storm of those years.
After a lifetime of success and then service to the country, what FDR did to Mellon was unconscionable, but politically understandable. FDR had his henchmen drum up charges against Mellon that resulted in acquittals. Then they would come up with new charges. The whole point was to keep Mellon and his wealth in the public eye so FDR could use him as a political smear of the Republicans and retain his power. This was essential to FDR because his own policies were resulting were impotent in stopping the worsening of the recession. Mellon died before the final verdict acquitted him.
Alcoa, a great Mellon company, was essentially a monopoly for aluminum at the time, so FDR and his minions accused them of nefarious dealing. The finding was that Alcoa had done nothing illegal, but the government took it up the appeals process. When it got to the Supreme Court, it was found that too many justices owned Alcoa stock, so the hack Learned Hand was given the case. He found that it didn't matter how you became a monopoly, it was only if you were one. And since Alcoa was a monopoly, it had to be dealt with. Again, the fighting continued and after Mellon's death, Alcoa was acquitted.
Mellon had begun collected great works of art later in life. Along the way he had decided to help create a bequest to the United States for a National Gallery such as the National Gallery of the United Kingdom in London. During the height of the persecution from the FDR administration, he went to FDR and made his offer and requirements for the donation. FDR and Congress wisely accepted Mellon's gift. While work had begun on the building, Mellon died before he could see the dream become real.
The chief irony of the gift was that the trust Mellon had set up years before to hold the art for the gift was one of the main points in FDR's persecution of Mellon. And despite this, Mellon had enough quality of character to keep to his dream and make the gift. He saw beyond his own lifetime and the administration then in power and knew that future generations would benefit from his gift. Any of us who have had the joy of visiting the National Gallery know how well his vision has been realized. Other great bequests have been added and the expansion he foresaw in reserving land next to the Gallery was built with the design by I. M Pei (yes, it was controversial).
Mellon's children were also great patrons to the Gallery and Paul served on the board more than once. Paul was also generous with Yale and I have benefited from visiting a William Blake exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art not too many years ago. Seeing all hundred pages of Jerusalem up close was almost overwhelming.
Of course, you still need to read this wonderful book in order to understand the times and complexities of this man and his family. It is an age that most of us understand too little of and usually in a shorthand phrase like "malefactors of great wealth" (FDR recycled that from his uncle TR).
Firmly and enthusiastically recommended.
Mellon was shrewd and fiercely competitive in his business dealings and seemed to view investment and business growth in ways that are recognizable in, say, Warren Buffet today. He emphasized developing good companies and management teams rather than speculating in financial instruments. Yet, for all his business talent, he married disastrously and his daughter and son never felt close to him. They also felt quite burdened by the vast wealth he left them. Still, they never repudiated the wealth or the material ease of life it gave them despite their difficult search for their personal identity.
The Mellons were Ulster Scots who came to American in the 1810s. Andrew Mellon's father, Thomas, was a boy when his father and mother, Andrew and Rebecca settled in western Pennsylvania to farm. Sewn into Rebecca's belt were 200 guineas that were to become the seed money for the Mellon fortune. As Thomas grew, he realized that he was no farmer. He worked to get himself a better education than any of his many sons obtained. The sons were provided as much of a private education as was necessary to set them up in business (including a smattering of college, if necessary). Otherwise, why waste the time and money on frivolity? Thomas became an attorney, a judge, a successful investor, and eventually a banker. To be sure, it was a private bank with extremely high standards for its clientele and hard dealing for the investments they made in the burgeoning Pittsburgh. Thomas married into a family with high social status that had fallen on hard times.
Combined with his talent and hard won money, the dynasty was founded. Thomas and Sarah had eight children (six sons and two daughters - several of whom died very young), lived into their nineties. Thomas became known as The Judge and was one of the founders of the Republican Party, which the Mellons dominated in Pennsylvania until the New Deal. As he aged he even wrote an autobiography. David Cannadine, the author of this fine biography, uses quotes from The Judge's book to introduce each chapter and it is uncanny how aspects of The Judge's experience and thought echoed in the life of his most talented son.
Andrew was a middle son, but easily the most talented. In fact, when facing decisions, the father would ask himself and the other sons, "what would Andrew do?" The brothers seemed to pair off by age and work together that way throughout their lives, even though they all pooled together as a group as seemed wise. All of them eschewed luxury and the trappings of wealth. It was accumulation and acquisition that mattered. Otherwise, they lived a rather flat existence. It was work and family existed to train up for more work.
Pittsburgh was exploding in those decades and the Mellons did extremely well. The author quotes the famous saying that the city was like "hell with the lid off" more than once to describe the raw industrial influences, the horrible pollution, and awful living and working conditions for those that labored at the bottom end of the systems that produced that great wealth.
After decades of building companies such as Gulf and Alcoa, the 40-year-old Andrew took an interest in the 19-year-old English girl, Nora McMullen. The old truth that no one from the outside can ever understand the inside of a marriage was never more true than in this pairing. She even told Andrew that she was not interested in him. Yet he persisted and won her. When he took her home to Pittsburgh she was horrified. She even took on an English scoundrel as a lover. Andrew and Nora had two children, Ailsa and Paul, and then they had a very painful divorce. Yet, because of Nora's neediness and the children, the divorce was more a living arrangement than a reality.
At the height of his wealth and fame, Andrew was tapped by Warren Harding to be the Secretary of the Treasury, a position then vastly more influential in setting economic policy than it is in our time. He helped lower taxes, advocated lower government spending, and even worked at paying down the national debt and could see at time when it was eliminated. The prosperity the country enjoyed in the 1920s seemed to confirm his policies and buoyed his popularity. Mellon was retained in the Coolidge and Hoover administrations, although his relationship with Hoover was much colder.
When the world economic crisis came to America and the Wall Street collapse of 1929 was followed by the Great Depression, Mellon advocated riding it out, that recessions had happened before and would happen again. He was too aloof from the suffering that was occurring in the cities and on the farms of America. And the politics of the times caught up with him. He had been Treasury Secretary for ten years and had stayed too long. Hoover appointed him Ambassador to the Court of St. James and got him out of town. FDR beat Hoover by claiming he could fix the recession. And despite his great activity in attempting to turn the economy around, FDR did not fix the Depression any faster than it would have been fixed on its own. Mellon was right in his diagnosis, but his bedside manner was wrong. And the people at the bottom of the economic system did need help in riding out the terrible storm of those years.
After a lifetime of success and then service to the country, what FDR did to Mellon was unconscionable, but politically understandable. FDR had his henchmen drum up charges against Mellon that resulted in acquittals. Then they would come up with new charges. The whole point was to keep Mellon and his wealth in the public eye so FDR could use him as a political smear of the Republicans and retain his power. This was essential to FDR because his own policies were resulting were impotent in stopping the worsening of the recession. Mellon died before the final verdict acquitted him.
Alcoa, a great Mellon company, was essentially a monopoly for aluminum at the time, so FDR and his minions accused them of nefarious dealing. The finding was that Alcoa had done nothing illegal, but the government took it up the appeals process. When it got to the Supreme Court, it was found that too many justices owned Alcoa stock, so the hack Learned Hand was given the case. He found that it didn't matter how you became a monopoly, it was only if you were one. And since Alcoa was a monopoly, it had to be dealt with. Again, the fighting continued and after Mellon's death, Alcoa was acquitted.
Mellon had begun collected great works of art later in life. Along the way he had decided to help create a bequest to the United States for a National Gallery such as the National Gallery of the United Kingdom in London. During the height of the persecution from the FDR administration, he went to FDR and made his offer and requirements for the donation. FDR and Congress wisely accepted Mellon's gift. While work had begun on the building, Mellon died before he could see the dream become real.
The chief irony of the gift was that the trust Mellon had set up years before to hold the art for the gift was one of the main points in FDR's persecution of Mellon. And despite this, Mellon had enough quality of character to keep to his dream and make the gift. He saw beyond his own lifetime and the administration then in power and knew that future generations would benefit from his gift. Any of us who have had the joy of visiting the National Gallery know how well his vision has been realized. Other great bequests have been added and the expansion he foresaw in reserving land next to the Gallery was built with the design by I. M Pei (yes, it was controversial).
Mellon's children were also great patrons to the Gallery and Paul served on the board more than once. Paul was also generous with Yale and I have benefited from visiting a William Blake exhibition at the Yale Center for British Art not too many years ago. Seeing all hundred pages of Jerusalem up close was almost overwhelming.
Of course, you still need to read this wonderful book in order to understand the times and complexities of this man and his family. It is an age that most of us understand too little of and usually in a shorthand phrase like "malefactors of great wealth" (FDR recycled that from his uncle TR).
Firmly and enthusiastically recommended.
reviewed by anexpert on November 28, 2006 7:03 AM