Difference between revisions of "Richard Olney"

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|description=Lawyer for the business affairs of [[Boston]]'s elite families. United States Attorney General who used troops against strikers. Enforcer of the [[Monroe doctrine]].
 
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'''Richard Olney''' was an American lawyer and statesman.
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He was [[United States Attorney General]] in the cabinet of [[Grover Cleveland]] and [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] under Cleveland.
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As attorney general, Olney used injunctions against striking workers in the [[Pullman strike]], setting a precedent, and advised the use of federal troops, when legal means failed to control the strikers.
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== Background ==
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Olney was born into a prosperous family in [[Oxford, Massachusetts]]. His father was Wilson Olney, a textiles manufacturer and banker.<ref name="nyt-obit">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/04/10/102331307.pdf "Richard Olney Dies; Veteran Statesman"] (PDF) ''[[The New York Times]]'' (April 10, 1917), page 13. Retrieved April 6, 2011</ref> Shortly after his birth, the family moved to [[Louisville, Kentucky]], and lived there until Olney was seven. The family then moved back to Oxford and Olney attended school at the [[Leicester Academy]] in [[Leicester, Massachusetts]].<ref name="nyt-obit" />
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He graduated with high honors as class orator from [[Brown University]] in 1856.<ref name="nyt-obit" /> He received a [[Bachelor of Laws]] degree from [[Harvard Law School]] in 1858.<ref name="nyt-obit" />
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In 1859, he passed the bar and began practicing law in [[Boston]], attaining a reputation as an authority on [[probate law|probate]], [[trust law|trust]] and [[corporate law]].<ref name="nyt-obit" />
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== Early career ==
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Olney was elected a selectman in [[West Roxbury, Massachusetts]] and served one term in the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] in 1874. He declined to run again, preferring to return to his law practice.<ref name="nyt-obit" />
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In 1876, Olney inherited his father-in-law's Boston law practice and became involved in the business affairs of Boston's elite families.<ref name="miller">[http://millercenter.org/president/cleveland/essays/cabinet/405 "Richard Olney (1895–1897): Secretary of State"] [[Miller Center of Public Affairs]] at the [[University of Virginia]]. Retrieved April 6, 2011</ref>
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During the 1880s, Olney became one of the Boston's leading railroad attorneys<ref name="miller" /><ref name="wsj-1">Thomas Frank, [https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB124580461065744913 "Obama and 'Regulatory Capture'"] ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]'' (June 24, 2010). Retrieved April 5, 2011</ref> and the general counsel for [[Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad|Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway]].<ref>''Encyclopedia of Populism in America: A Historical Encyclopedia'' {{ISBN|978-1-59884-567-9}} p. 582</ref>
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Olney was once asked by a former railroad employer if he could do something to get rid of the newly formed [[Interstate Commerce Commission]] (ICC). He suggested that the ICC would become a [[regulatory capture|captive regulator]], replying in an 1892 letter,
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{{SMWQ
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|subjects=regulatory capture, Interstate Commerce Commission
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|text=The Commission... is, or can be made, of great use to the railroads. It satisfies the popular clamor for a government supervision of the railroads, at the same time that that supervision is almost entirely nominal. Further, the older such a commission gets to be, the more inclined it will be found to take the business and railroad view of things... The part of wisdom is not to destroy the Commission, but to utilize it."<ref> ISBN 9781400878789</ref>
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|authors=Richard Olney
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|date=1892
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|source_name=Bernstein, Marver H. (1955). ''Regulating Business by Independent Commission.'' Princeton University Press. p. 265.
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}}
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== Attorney General ==
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In March 1893, Olney became U.S. Attorney General and used the law to thwart strikes, which he considered an illegitimate tactic contrary to law.<ref name="miller" /> Olney argued that the government must prevent interference with its mails and with the general railway transportation between the states.
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=== Pullman strike ===
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During the [[Pullman Strike|1894 Pullman strike]], Olney instructed [[U.S. Attorney|district attorney]]s to secure from the Federal Courts [[writs of injunction]] against striking railroad employees.<ref name="nyt-indict">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1894/07/05/106911114.pdf "Orders Sent to Indict Debs"] (PDF) ''The New York Times'' (July 5, 1894). Retrieved April 6, 2011</ref> He ordered the Chicago district attorney to convene a [[grand jury]] to find cause to indict [[Eugene Debs]] and other labor leaders and sent [[federal marshal]]s to protect rail traffic, ordering 150 marshals deputized in [[Helena, Montana]] alone.<ref name="nyt-indict" />
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When the legal measures failed, he advised President Cleveland to send federal troops to Chicago to quell the strike, over the objections of the Governor of Illinois.<ref name="miller" />
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== Secretary of State ==
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Upon the death of Secretary of State [[Walter Q. Gresham]], Cleveland named Olney to the position on June 10, 1895.<ref name="miller" />
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Olney quickly elevated US foreign diplomatic posts to the title of [[embassy]], officially raising the status of the United States to one of the world's greater nations. (Until then, the United States had had only Legations, which diplomatic protocol dictated be treated as inferior to embassies.)
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Olney took a prominent role in [[Venezuelan crisis of 1895|the boundary dispute]] between the British and [[Venezuela]]n governments. In his correspondence with [[Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury|Lord Salisbury]], he gave an extended interpretation of the [[Monroe Doctrine]] that went considerably beyond previous statements on the subject, now known as the [[Olney interpretation]].<ref name="SchlupRyan2003">https://books.google.com/books?id=lhRqUo9HzVwC&pg=PA344</ref>
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== Later years ==
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Olney returned to the practice of the law in 1897,<ref name="nyt-obit" /> at the expiration of Cleveland's term.
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In March 1913, Olney turned down President Wilson's offer to be the US Ambassador to Great Britain,<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1913/03/16/100077085.pdf "Olney Refuses Offer of London Embassy"] (PDF) ''The New York Times'' (March 16, 1913), page 2. Retrieved April 6, 2011</ref> and later, in May 1914, when President Wilson offered Olney the Appointment as Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, he declined that appointment.  Olney was unwilling to take on new responsibilities at his advanced age.<ref>[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1914/05/06/100312633.pdf  "Wilson Seeks Head of Reserve Board"] (PDF) ''The New York Times'' (May 6, 1914), page 14. Retrieved April 6, 2011</ref>
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== Personal life ==
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In 1861, Olney married Agnes Park Thomas of Boston, Massachusetts.<ref name="nyt-obit" />
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Olney was the uncle of Massachusetts Congressman [[Richard Olney II]].
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Author [[H. W. Brands|H.W. Brands]] recounts claims that Olney "responded to a daughter's indiscretion by banishing her from his home, never to see her again, although they lived in the same city for thirty years."<ref>Brands, H.W. Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines. p. 18</ref>
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{{SMWDocs}}
 
==References==
 
==References==
 
{{reflist}}
 
{{reflist}}
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Latest revision as of 13:11, 13 September 2024

Person.png Richard Olney   SpartacusRdf-entity.pngRdf-icon.png
(lawyer)
Richard Olney, Bain bw photo portrait, 1913.jpg
BornSeptember 15, 1835
Oxford, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedApril 8, 1917 (Age 81)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Alma materBrown University, Harvard Law School
ReligionPresbyterian
SpouseAgnes Park Thomas
PartyDemocratic
Lawyer for the business affairs of Boston's elite families. United States Attorney General who used troops against strikers. Enforcer of the Monroe doctrine.

Employment.png United States Attorney General

In office
March 6, 1893 - June 10, 1895

Employment.png US/Secretary of State Wikipedia-icon.png

In office
June 7, 1895 - March 5, 1897

Richard Olney was an American lawyer and statesman.

He was United States Attorney General in the cabinet of Grover Cleveland and Secretary of State under Cleveland.

As attorney general, Olney used injunctions against striking workers in the Pullman strike, setting a precedent, and advised the use of federal troops, when legal means failed to control the strikers.

Background

Olney was born into a prosperous family in Oxford, Massachusetts. His father was Wilson Olney, a textiles manufacturer and banker.[1] Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Louisville, Kentucky, and lived there until Olney was seven. The family then moved back to Oxford and Olney attended school at the Leicester Academy in Leicester, Massachusetts.[1]

He graduated with high honors as class orator from Brown University in 1856.[1] He received a Bachelor of Laws degree from Harvard Law School in 1858.[1]

In 1859, he passed the bar and began practicing law in Boston, attaining a reputation as an authority on probate, trust and corporate law.[1]

Early career

Olney was elected a selectman in West Roxbury, Massachusetts and served one term in the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1874. He declined to run again, preferring to return to his law practice.[1]

In 1876, Olney inherited his father-in-law's Boston law practice and became involved in the business affairs of Boston's elite families.[2]

During the 1880s, Olney became one of the Boston's leading railroad attorneys[2][3] and the general counsel for Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul Railway.[4]

Olney was once asked by a former railroad employer if he could do something to get rid of the newly formed Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC). He suggested that the ICC would become a captive regulator, replying in an 1892 letter,

“The Commission... is, or can be made, of great use to the railroads. It satisfies the popular clamor for a government supervision of the railroads, at the same time that that supervision is almost entirely nominal. Further, the older such a commission gets to be, the more inclined it will be found to take the business and railroad view of things... The part of wisdom is not to destroy the Commission, but to utilize it."[5]”
Richard Olney (1892)  [6]

Attorney General

In March 1893, Olney became U.S. Attorney General and used the law to thwart strikes, which he considered an illegitimate tactic contrary to law.[2] Olney argued that the government must prevent interference with its mails and with the general railway transportation between the states.

Pullman strike

During the 1894 Pullman strike, Olney instructed district attorneys to secure from the Federal Courts writs of injunction against striking railroad employees.[7] He ordered the Chicago district attorney to convene a grand jury to find cause to indict Eugene Debs and other labor leaders and sent federal marshals to protect rail traffic, ordering 150 marshals deputized in Helena, Montana alone.[7]

When the legal measures failed, he advised President Cleveland to send federal troops to Chicago to quell the strike, over the objections of the Governor of Illinois.[2]

Secretary of State

Upon the death of Secretary of State Walter Q. Gresham, Cleveland named Olney to the position on June 10, 1895.[2]

Olney quickly elevated US foreign diplomatic posts to the title of embassy, officially raising the status of the United States to one of the world's greater nations. (Until then, the United States had had only Legations, which diplomatic protocol dictated be treated as inferior to embassies.)

Olney took a prominent role in the boundary dispute between the British and Venezuelan governments. In his correspondence with Lord Salisbury, he gave an extended interpretation of the Monroe Doctrine that went considerably beyond previous statements on the subject, now known as the Olney interpretation.[8]

Later years

Olney returned to the practice of the law in 1897,[1] at the expiration of Cleveland's term.

In March 1913, Olney turned down President Wilson's offer to be the US Ambassador to Great Britain,[9] and later, in May 1914, when President Wilson offered Olney the Appointment as Governor of the Federal Reserve Board, he declined that appointment. Olney was unwilling to take on new responsibilities at his advanced age.[10]

Personal life

In 1861, Olney married Agnes Park Thomas of Boston, Massachusetts.[1]

Olney was the uncle of Massachusetts Congressman Richard Olney II.

Author H.W. Brands recounts claims that Olney "responded to a daughter's indiscretion by banishing her from his home, never to see her again, although they lived in the same city for thirty years."[11]


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References

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h "Richard Olney Dies; Veteran Statesman" (PDF) The New York Times (April 10, 1917), page 13. Retrieved April 6, 2011
  2. ↑ a b c d e "Richard Olney (1895–1897): Secretary of State" Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia. Retrieved April 6, 2011
  3. ↑ Thomas Frank, "Obama and 'Regulatory Capture'" The Wall Street Journal (June 24, 2010). Retrieved April 5, 2011
  4. ↑ Encyclopedia of Populism in America: A Historical Encyclopedia ISBN 978-1-59884-567-9 p. 582
  5. ↑ ISBN 9781400878789
  6. ↑ Bernstein, Marver H. (1955). Regulating Business by Independent Commission. Princeton University Press. p. 265.
  7. ↑ a b "Orders Sent to Indict Debs" (PDF) The New York Times (July 5, 1894). Retrieved April 6, 2011
  8. ↑ https://books.google.com/books?id=lhRqUo9HzVwC&pg=PA344
  9. ↑ "Olney Refuses Offer of London Embassy" (PDF) The New York Times (March 16, 1913), page 2. Retrieved April 6, 2011
  10. ↑ "Wilson Seeks Head of Reserve Board" (PDF) The New York Times (May 6, 1914), page 14. Retrieved April 6, 2011
  11. ↑ Brands, H.W. Bound to Empire: The United States and the Philippines. p. 18
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