010 - John D. Rockefeller's Favorite Cheese

08/20/21 • 12 min

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The richest man in the world was on the run.

President Theodore Roosevelt’s Justice Department was planning to file an antitrust suit against Rockefeller’s Standard Oil Company in 1906, and the states wanted to get into the action before the Attorney General did. Multiple lawsuits were filed against the directors of the company that controlled over ninety percent of oil production in the United States and had, by prevailing accounts, used unfair practices to gain its monopoly in the market.

Once the floodgates of lawsuits against Standard Oil opened, the focus landed on the company’s origins and rise to power, which meant the testimony of the company’s founder was essential. And of course, having the richest man in the world dragged into your courtroom was a pretty big deal. Process servers and newsmen engaged in a massive manhunt to find him and serve him with subpoenas.

But a man with multiple estates and an annual income of over fifty million dollars could hide out anywhere. He wouldn't be found until he wanted to be found.

Unless you followed your nose.

On our next episode, we catch up with “The Most Famous Man in The World” as Teddy Roosevelt returns to America after his African safari and world tour to find that President William Howard Taft has made a real mess of things and just maybe, he will have to do something about it.

Stay tuned for Teddy Roosevelt’s Third Term, Part V.

Thanks for listening, and for your support.

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Sources

American Experience. “The Cleveland Massacre.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rockefellers-south/

Chernow, Ron. “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” Vintage, 2007

Ohio History Central. “John D. Rockefeller.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/John_D._Rockefeller

Tarbell, Ida M. “The History of the Standard Oil Company: Vol. 1 & 2.” Joe Barta, 2012.

Wikipedia. “John D. Rockefeller.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller

Wikipedia. “Standard Oil.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil

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The richest man in the world was on the run.

But a man with multiple estates and an annual income of over fifty million dollars could hide out anywhere. He wouldn't be found until he wanted to be found.

Unless you followed your nose.

Stay tuned for Teddy Roosevelt’s Third Term, Part V.

Thanks for listening, and for your support.

Click here to support the History's Trainwrecks podcast!

Sources

American Experience. “The Cleveland Massacre.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/rockefellers-south/

Chernow, Ron. “Titan: The Life of John D. Rockefeller, Sr.” Vintage, 2007

Ohio History Central. “John D. Rockefeller.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://ohiohistorycentral.org/w/John_D._Rockefeller

Tarbell, Ida M. “The History of the Standard Oil Company: Vol. 1 & 2.” Joe Barta, 2012.

Wikipedia. “John D. Rockefeller.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Rockefeller

Wikipedia. “Standard Oil.” Retrieved August 13, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Oil

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

009 - Teddy Roosevelt's Third Term, Part IV

William Howard Taft was a nice guy who didn’t really want to be President.

Turns out it was his wife, Nellie Taft, who kept getting him to turn down appointments to the Supreme Court, which was his lifelong ambition. She wanted her husband to be President more than her husband wanted to be Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and she wore the pants in the Taft house. By 1905, it was clear to everyone that Taft would be Theodore Roosevelt’s successor in 1908, and Nellie Taft was already “mentally redecorating the White House.”

Taft was a weak presidential candidate, and Teddy had to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Taft won, and Teddy made plans to leave the country on a year-long African safari. He knew it was best, for many reasons, for him to get out of the United States for a long while.

For many, many good reasons, Theodore Roosevelt went to Africa.

Ultimately, what would have been best for all concerned was for each man to get his heart’s fondest desire: another (and final) term as President for Teddy, after which he could finally lay down his burdens, knowing that he had done all he could. A seat on the highest court in the land for Taft, where his brilliant legal mind could do what it was always meant to do. Forcing these two square pegs into round holes created an off-kilter situation that could only be resolved through disaster.

On our next episode, we take a much-needed break from former President Theodore Roosevelt. As his contemporaries knew all too well, Teddy was exhausting, so we’ll leave him to butcher his way through Africa, slaughtering as many wild beasts as he can and go off on a tangent where Teddy only has a walk-on part, but still looms large. Because he just can’t help himself.

It’s the story of how the escape plan of the richest man in the world was thwarted by his weakness for his favorite food.

Stay tuned for John D. Rockefeller’s Favorite Cheese.

Thanks for listening, and for your support.

Click here to support the History's Trainwrecks podcast!

Sources for this episode:

Morris, Edmund. “Colonel Roosevelt.” Random House, 2010.

Roosevelt, Theodore. “Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt.”

Wikipedia, “William Howard Taft.” Retrieved August 9, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

011 - Teddy Roosevelt's Third Term, Part V

Former President Theodore Roosevelt was in exile.

It was self-imposed, it was him doing the kinds of things he loved—hunting animals in the wild and being out in nature—and it was as far away from the United States as he could get.

He needed to get away from his successor, to whom he couldn’t help offering advice. About the way the public perceived Taft’s penchant for golf, his midday naps, and the appearance that if he moved at all, it was slow. That he should smile more, and get out among the people instead of cozying up to political cronies. “Lacking aggression, all [Taft] wanted was to be loved...he was everybody’s favorite fat uncle from childhood, dispensing coins and lollipops.”

Even though Teddy had anointed Taft President, he couldn’t trust himself to stick around and watch what happened next.

He went to Africa under contract with the Smithsonian, to analyze flora and fauna, and send back exhibits and write scientific papers.

He was also, being Teddy, going to kill some big, scary animals before they got a chance to kill him.

Presidential Retirement Tip Number Two Hundred Fifty Seven: If you are fighting your impulses and ambition to keep yourself from running for president in an election you are pretty sure you can win, do NOT go on a European tour, where you will be treated like a visiting head of state by adoring crowds and European rulers.

A year after his departure from the White House, Theodore Roosevelt went on a European tour, where he was treated like a visiting head of state by adoring

crowds and European rulers.

He came back to New York in 1910, where he was met by a crowd of a million people, who howled "our next President!" at him from the sidewalks along his five mile parade route. One paper wrote that “Never before in the history of America has a private citizen possessed the power which Mr. Roosevelt now holds.”

Teddy went home to Oyster Bay, where he had a lot of thinking to do.

The presidential election of 1912 was approaching, and the next move was his.

Thanks for listening, and click here to support our show!

Sources

Morris, Edmund. “Colonel Roosevelt.” Random House, 2010.

Morris, Edmund. “Theodore Rex.” Simon & Schuster, 2006.

Roosevelt, Theodore. “Autobiography of Theodore Roosevelt.”

Wikipedia, “Freedom of the City.” Retreived August 27, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_the_City

Wikipedia, “William Howard Taft.” Retrieved August 9, 2021 from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Howard_Taft

Subscribe to History's Trainwrecks

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/historys-trainwrecks.

Help keep trainwrecks on the tracks. Become a supporter at https://plus.acast.com/s/historys-trainwrecks.