"Senator Root" redirects here. For other uses, see Senator Root (disambiguation).
Elihu Root
Root in 1902
38th United States Secretary of State
In office July 19, 1905 – January 27, 1909
President
Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by
John Hay
Succeeded by
Robert Bacon
41st United States Secretary of War
In office August 1, 1899 – January 31, 1904
President
William McKinley
Theodore Roosevelt
Preceded by
Russell A. Alger
Succeeded by
William Howard Taft
United States Senator from New 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 41st United States Secretary of War under presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt and the 38th United 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 a United States Senator from New York and received the 1912 Nobel Peace Prize.
Root was a leading New York City lawyer who moved frequently between high-level appointed government positions in Washington, D.C., and private-sector legal practice in New York. He headed organizations such as the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the American Society of International Law.
As Secretary of War from 1899 to 1904, Root administered colonial possessions won in the Spanish–American War. Root favored a paternalistic approach to colonial administration, emphasizing technology, engineering, and disinterested public service. He helped craft the Foraker Act of 1900, the Platt Amendment of 1901, and the Philippine Organic Act (1902).[2] Root also modernized the Army into a professional military apparatus with a general staff, restructured the National Guard, and established the U.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 the Open Door Policy in China, promoted friendly relations with Latin America, and resolved frictions with Japan over the immigration and treatment of Japanese citizens to the West Coast of the United States. He negotiated 24 bilateral international arbitration treaties, which led to the creation of the Permanent Court of International Justice.[3][4]
As a United States Senator from New York, Root was a conservative supporter of President William Howard Taft, playing a central role in Taft's nomination to a second term at the 1912 Republican National Convention. By 1916, he was a leading proponent of military preparedness with the expectation that the United States would enter World War I. President Woodrow Wilson sent him to Russia in 1917 in an unsuccessful effort to establish an alliance with the new revolutionary government that had replaced the Czar.[5] Root supported Wilson's vision of the League of Nations but with reservations along the lines proposed by Republican senator Henry Cabot Lodge.
^Akiboh, Alvita. "'No anecdotes are told of Elihu Root': America's Twentieth Century Wise Man". U.S. History Scene. Retrieved April 5, 2020.
^Robert Muccigrosso, ed., Research Guide to American Historical Biography (1988) 3:1329–33
^Cross, Graham (2012). The Diplomatic Education of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1882–1933. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. p. 71. ISBN 978-1-137-01453-5.
^Muccigrosso, ed., Research Guide to American Historical Biography (1988) 3:1330
^"Tells How Allies Failed in Russia: Col. Robins Says Boastful American Propaganda Led Russian Army to Quit; Root Mission Knifed Here" (PDF). The New York Times. March 7, 1919. p. 18.
ElihuRoot (/ˈɛlɪhjuː ˈruːt/; February 15, 1845 – February 7, 1937) was an American lawyer, Republican politician, and statesman who served as the 41st...
The ElihuRoot House is a historic house on College Hill Road, on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. Built in 1817, it was the home of...
SS ElihuRoot was a Liberty ship built in the United States during World War II. She was named after ElihuRoot, a United States senator from New York...
Clark, and ElihuRoot, Jr., and named the firm Root, Clark & Bird. The firm took advantages of Root's connections through his father, ElihuRoot, a former...
State ElihuRoot. Root was born in Syracuse, New York, to Oren Root I, a professor of mathematics at Hamilton College and was a brother of ElihuRoot. He...
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Lyman J. Gage, to remain in office. Another holdover, Secretary of War ElihuRoot, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve...
carrying out the purpose of the fund. Carnegie chose longtime adviser ElihuRoot, senator from New York and former Secretary of War and of State, to be...
Hewes Jr., James E. From Root to McNamara: Army Organization and Administration, 1900–1963 (1975) . Semsch, Philip L. "ElihuRoot and the General Staff."...
The Secretary of War ElihuRoot and other military leaders took steps to reform the Army, including the National Guard. Root's allies included Charles...
involved in the bitter politics of that year. He defeated John W. Weeks, ElihuRoot, and several other candidates on the third ballot. While conservative...
was later inherited by Oren's son, ElihuRoot, who, along with the Roots, expanded the gardens. In 1937, Edward Root assumed responsibility for the garden...
leading banker and businessman who worked closely with Secretary of State ElihuRoot, 1905–1909, and served as United States Secretary of State from January...
Afdal seems to think. ElihuRoot Collection of United States Documents Relating to the Philippine Islands, Volume 140. ElihuRoot, United States. U.S....
with Roosevelt (still overseas). Taft asked ElihuRoot (by then a senator) to look into the matter, and Root urged the firing of Pinchot. Taft had ordered...
Retrieved November 13, 2021. "Biographies of the Secretaries of State: ElihuRoot (1845–1937)". Office of the Historian. Archived from the original on December...
but never aired. Helvenston's great-great-uncle was Secretary of War ElihuRoot. Helveston joined the Navy at 17 and received orders to Basic Underwater...
Secretary of War ElihuRoot, had been a Roosevelt confidante for years, and he continued to serve as President Roosevelt's close ally. Root returned to the...
and 38th U.S. Secretary of State ElihuRoot. He was the principal founder of Root, Clark & Bird (expanded later to Root, Clark, Buckner, Howland & Ballantine)...
the next year, although they were awarded as the previous year's Prize: ElihuRoot (1912), Woodrow Wilson (1919), Austen Chamberlain (1925), Charles G. Dawes...
the Spanish–American War, the college was founded by Secretary of War ElihuRoot and President Theodore Roosevelt, and formally established by General...
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