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60-524: John Pehle was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota to German immigrant Franz Otto Herman Pehle (1881–1956) and Minnesota-born Agnes M. Flodquist (1880–1953). John and his three siblings grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where in 1920 the census shows their father managed a biscuit company. Pehle earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Creighton University, followed by a Bachelor of Laws and Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. In

120-700: A "farmer." On October 30, 1931, along with then Gov. Franklin Roosevelt, Morgenthau became a member of Tri-Po-Bed Grotto in Poughkeespie, NY, an appendant body of Freemasonry. United States Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of

180-593: A "harsh peace" for Germany. Ultimately though, the policy was adopted of reintegrating a fully industrialized and de-Nazified modern Germany into Europe, as idealized in Frank Capra 's influential 1945 short film "Here is Germany". Morgenthau was first appointed by the U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt as temporary President of the Bretton Woods Conference , which established the Bretton Woods system ,

240-489: A "potato field". General George Marshall complained to Morgenthau that German resistance had strengthened. Hoping to get Morgenthau to relent on his plan for Germany, Roosevelt's son-in-law, Lt. Colonel John Boettiger , who worked in the United States Department of War , explained to Morgenthau how the American troops had had to fight for five weeks against fierce German resistance to capture Aachen and complained to him that

300-472: A balanced regular budget, and an "emergency" budget for agencies, like the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Public Works Administration (PWA) and Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), that would be temporary until full recovery was at hand. He fought against the veterans' bonus until Congress finally overrode Roosevelt's veto and gave out $ 2.2 billion in 1936. In the 1937 "Depression within

360-604: A co-founder of Lehman Brothers ; they had three children — Joan Elizabeth Morgenthau Hirschhorn, married to Fred Hirschhorn Jr.; Henry Morgenthau III , and Robert M. Morgenthau . In 1913, Morgenthau purchased a farm in Hopewell Junction, New York , naming it Fishkill Farms . The farm still belongs to the Morgenthau family. And despite his nearly life-long political career, Morgenthau insisted on identifying himself, and listing his occupation on his passport and tax forms, as

420-497: A farm named Fishkill Farms near the Roosevelt estate in upstate New York, specializing, like FDR, in growing Christmas trees. He was concerned about distress among farmers, who comprised over a fourth of the population. In 1922, he took over the American Agriculturalist magazine, making it a voice for reclamation, conservation, and scientific farming. In 1929, Roosevelt, as Governor of New York , appointed him chair of

480-555: A large part in convincing Roosevelt to finally act, according to the PBS documentary “The U.S. and the Holocaust.” The War Refugee Board, nominally co-headed by the U.S. Secretaries of State, War, and Treasury, operated between January 22, 1944, and September 15, 1945. Like Pehle, however, most of the Board’s staff were Treasury Department employees. After years of official inaction in the matter of

540-586: A real estate mogul and diplomat. His parents were born in Germany. He had three sisters. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy , later transferring to the Dwight School . And though he never earned a high school diploma, he studied architecture and agriculture at Cornell University . However, struggling to concentrate and read, he twice left school and also never received a college degree. In 1913, he met and became friends with Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt . He operated

600-405: A result of Morgenthau's investigations. Morgenthau believed in balanced budgets , stable currency, reduction of the national debt , and the need for more private investment. The Wagner Act regarding labor unions met Morgenthau's requirement, because it strengthened the party's political base and involved no new spending. Morgenthau accepted Roosevelt's double budget as legitimate — that is,

660-457: Is Our Problem , in which he described and motivated the Morgenthau plan in great detail. Roosevelt had granted permission for the book the evening before his death, when dining with Morgenthau at Warm Springs . Morgenthau had asked Churchill for permission to also include the text of the then still secret "pastoralization" memorandum signed by Churchill and FDR at Quebec but permission was denied. In November 1945, General Dwight D. Eisenhower ,

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720-526: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Henry Morgenthau Jr. Henry Morgenthau Jr. ( / ˈ m ɔːr ɡ ən θ ɔː / ; May 11, 1891 – February 6, 1967) was the United States Secretary of the Treasury during most of the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt . He played a major role in designing and financing the New Deal . After 1937, while still in charge of

780-525: Is buried in Mount Pleasant, New York . His son Robert M. Morgenthau was the District Attorney of New York County from 1975 to 2009. The 378-foot (115 m) United States Coast Guard Hamilton -class cutter USCGC Morgenthau (WHEC-722) was named in his honor. The ship was sold to Vietnam Coast Guard as CSB-8020. He was married to Elinor Lehman Fatman , granddaughter of Mayer Lehman ,

840-780: The International Monetary Fund and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank ). During the inaugural plenary session on July 1, 1944, the head of the Mexican Delegation, Eduardo Suarez , nominated him as Permanent President of the Conference. This motion was seconded by the Brazilian Head Delegate, Arthur de Souza Costa, and widely supported by several other delegations such as

900-593: The Morgenthau Plan for postwar Germany, calling for Germany to lose its heavy industry, and the Ruhr "should not only be stripped of all presently existing industries, but so weakened and controlled that it can not in the foreseeable future become an industrial area". Germany would keep its rich farmlands in the east. However Stalin insisted on the Oder-Neisse border , which moved those farming areas out of Germany. Therefore,

960-767: The Social Security and Medicare Trust Funds, and as U.S. Governor of the International Monetary Fund , the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development , the Inter-American Development Bank , the Asian Development Bank , and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development . The secretary along with the treasurer of the United States must sign Federal Reserve notes before they can become legal tender . The secretary also manages

1020-555: The United States Emergency Economic Stabilization fund . The secretary of the treasury is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule , thus earning the salary prescribed for that level ( US$ 246,400, as of January 2024). The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury , and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of

1080-492: The Canadian and Soviet ones. In 1945, when Harry S. Truman became president, Morgenthau insisted on accompanying him to Potsdam by threatening to quit if he was not allowed to; Truman accepted his resignation immediately, after he privately said he would refuse to send "any of [FDR's advisor] "Jew boys" to Potsdam. Years later Truman also referred to him as a "block head, nut" who "didn't know shit from apple butter." He devoted

1140-469: The Depression", Morgenthau was unable to persuade Roosevelt to desist from continued deficit spending . Roosevelt continued to push for more spending, and Morgenthau promoted a balanced budget. In 1937, however, Morgenthau successfully convinced Roosevelt to focus on balancing the budget through major spending cuts and tax increases; Keynesian economists have argued that this new attempt by Roosevelt to balance

1200-635: The Military Governor of the U.S. Occupation Zone , approved the distribution of 1,000 free copies of the book to American military officials in occupied Germany. Historian Stephen E. Ambrose draws the conclusion that, despite Eisenhower's later claims that the act was not an endorsement of the Morgenthau plan, Eisenhower both approved of the plan and had previously given Morgenthau at least some of his ideas on how Germany should be treated. Following his resignation in 1945, Morgenthau, along with other prominent liberals such as Eleanor Roosevelt , called for

1260-543: The Morgenthau Plan was "worth thirty divisions to the Germans". In late 1944, Roosevelt's election opponent, Thomas E. Dewey , said it was worth "ten divisions". Morgenthau refused to relent. On May 10, 1945, Truman signed the U.S. occupation directive JCS 1067 . Morgenthau told his staff that it was a big day for the Treasury, and that he hoped that "someone doesn't recognize it as the Morgenthau Plan". The directive, which

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1320-649: The New York State Agricultural Advisory Committee and to the state Conservation Commission. In 1933, Roosevelt became President and appointed Morgenthau governor of the Federal Farm Board . Morgenthau was nonetheless involved in monetary decisions. Roosevelt adopted the idea of raising the price of gold to inflate the currency and reverse the debilitating deflation of prices. The idea came from Professor George Warren of Cornell University. Morgenthau wrote in his diary: Saturday — Went to

1380-517: The Treasury Department alone) were uncoordinated in their efforts; efforts to create a super-agency were stalled by J. Edgar Hoover , who feared his FBI would be overshadowed. Nevertheless, Morgenthau created a coordinator for the Treasury agencies; although the coordinator could not control them, he could move them to some cooperation. Former head of IRS' criminal investigators Elmer Lincoln Irey , who had directed major investigations including

1440-668: The Treasury, he played the central role in financing United States participation in World War II. He also played an increasingly major role in shaping foreign policy, especially with respect to Lend-Lease , support for China, helping Jewish refugees, and proposing (in the " Morgenthau Plan ") measures to deindustrialize Germany. Morgenthau was the father of Robert M. Morgenthau , who was district attorney of Manhattan for 35 years; Henry Morgenthau III , an American author and television producer; and noted pediatrician Dr. Joan Morganthau Hirschhorn. He continued as Treasury secretary through

1500-593: The United States War Refugee Board (WRB) in January 1944. The board sponsored the Raoul Wallenberg mission to Budapest and allowed an increasing number of Jews to enter the U.S. in 1944 and 1945; as many as 200,000 Jews were saved by the board. Hurwitz (1991) argues that in late 1943, the Treasury Department drafted a report calling for the creation of a special rescue agency for European Jewry. At

1560-628: The United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of the president's cabinet and, by law, a member of the National Security Council , and fifth in the U.S. presidential line of succession . Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution ,

1620-408: The United States . The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters pertaining to economic and fiscal policy. The secretary is, by custom, a member of the president's cabinet and, by law, a member of the National Security Council . Under the Appointments Clause of the United States Constitution , the officeholder is nominated by

1680-649: The War Refugee Board, where he was succeeded by William O'Dwyer. In 1946 he entered private practice, as a senior partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Pehle & Lesser and successor firms; and, later, in the Washington office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. John Pehle was not an “all work, no play” man: He was an avid golfer and a member of the Congressional Country Club. His wife, Franche Elser Pehle, died in 1995. According to his obituary in

1740-603: The War Refugee Board: Had begun to fulfill Morgenthau's high expectations. His experience in getting the board established and in helping to oversee its operations constituted his signal wartime success to that date in nurturing humanitarian purpose in American foreign-policy. As for the top Germans, Morgenthau at one point in summer 1944 suggested to Roosevelt that the top 50 or 100 German "arch-criminals" should be shot upon capture. He changed his mind and by early 1945 proposed formal trials. In 1944, Morgenthau proposed

1800-612: The Washington Post, John Pehle died of cancer at the age of 90 in Bethesda, Maryland on March 24, 1999. In 2006 John Pehle was the subject of H.R.5011, which was meant to award him, posthumously, a Congressional Gold Medal in recognition of his contributions to the Nation in helping rescue Jews and other minorities from the Holocaust during World War II. However, while the legislative text recited in detail Pehle's extraordinary accomplishments,

1860-546: The White House and met Jones there. I said to the President that we did not buy any gold last night. He said, "That is right. Harrison called up and spoke to Jesse." I could not make out whether he also spoke to the President. Then Harrison urged that inasmuch as Saturday was only half a day that they should not buy any gold. Both the President and Jones said that they thought they made a mistake by agreeing with Harrison. I believe it

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1920-547: The bill found little support in the Republican-controlled House and Senate; the bill was never referred out of the Subcommittee on Domestic and International Monetary Policy, Trade, and Technology. This biography of a person who has held a non-elected position in the federal government of the United States is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This American law–related biographical article

1980-449: The budget created the recession of 1937–1938 . On November 10, 1937, Morgenthau gave a speech to the Academy of Political Science at New York's Hotel Astor , in which he noted that the Depression had required deficit spending, but that the government needed to cut spending to revive the economy. In his speech, he said: We want to see private business expand. ... We believe that one of

2040-684: The crimes we now call the Holocaust. Winning World War II, however, remained the Allied priority. According to the Holocaust Encyclopedia authored by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, the War Refugee Board was a significant attempt to rescue and relieve Jews and other endangered people under German occupation. Though not created until 1944, the establishment of the WRB provided a clear and coherent U.S. rescue policy. After

2100-543: The deficit he argued for increased taxes, particularly on the wealthy. We have never begun to tax the people in this country the way they should be ... I don't pay what I should. People in my class don't. People who have it should pay. Once confronted by the Holocaust , the Allied Powers reacted slowly. In 1943, Morgenthau's Treasury Department approved the World Jewish Congress ' plan to rescue Jews through

2160-768: The evidence of State Department intransigence and present it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt in January 1944. Originally titled with the fiery phrase, ”Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of this Government in the Murder of the Jews,” the final draft of the briefing memorandum was headed, "Personal Report to the President.” As a result of that briefing, Roosevelt created the War Refugee Board , and placed Pehle in charge as its first executive director. Pehle’s advocacy had played

2220-482: The extermination of European Jews by the Nazis and their Axis collaborators, the War Refugee Board streamlined the work of private relief agencies, helping them send money and resources into neutral and enemy territory. They also placed American representatives in neutral nations to supervise projects, and to pressure these countries to welcome refugees. The War Refugee Board was the first and only official American response to

2280-482: The first few months of Harry Truman 's presidency, and from June 27, 1945, to July 3, 1945, following the resignation of Secretary of State Edward Stettinius Jr. , was next in line to the presidency . Morgenthau was also the first Jew to be in the presidential line of succession. Henry Morgenthau Jr. was born into a prominent Jewish family in New York City, the son of Josephine (Sykes) and Henry Morgenthau Sr. ,

2340-463: The most important ways of achieving these ends at this time is to continue progress toward a balance of the federal budget. His biggest success was the new Social Security program; he reversed the proposals to fund it from general revenue and insisted it be funded by new taxes on employees. Morgenthau insisted on excluding farm workers and domestic servants from Social Security because workers outside industry would not be paying their way. He questioned

2400-484: The officeholder is nominated by the president of the United States, and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance , will take the office if confirmed by the majority of the full United States Senate . The secretary of state , the secretary of the treasury, the secretary of defense , and the attorney general are generally regarded as the four most important Cabinet officials, due to

2460-502: The original Morgenthau plan had to be dropped, Weinberg argues, because it was "too soft on the Germans, not too hard as some still imagine". At the Second Quebec Conference on September 16, 1944, Roosevelt and Morgenthau persuaded the initially very reluctant British prime minister Winston Churchill to agree to the Morgenthau Plan, likely using a $ 6 billion Lend-Lease agreement to do so. Churchill chose however to narrow

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2520-479: The plan was leaked to the press, there was public criticism of Roosevelt. The President's response to inquiries was to deny the press reports. As a consequence of the leak, Morgenthau was in bad favor with Roosevelt for a time. German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels used the leaked plan, with some success, to encourage the German people to persevere in their war efforts so that their country would not be turned into

2580-461: The president of the United States, and, following a confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Finance , is confirmed by the United States Senate .     Federalist (4)     Democratic-Republican (4)     Democratic (30)     Whig (5)     Republican (34)     Independent (1) Status The secretary of

2640-598: The public debt. The Secretary oversees the activities of the Department in carrying out its major law enforcement responsibilities; in serving as the financial agent for the United States Government ; and in manufacturing coins and currency . The Chief Financial Officer of the government, the Secretary serves as Chairman Pro Tempore of the President's Economic Policy Council, Chairman of the Boards and Managing Trustee of

2700-710: The remainder of his life to working with Jewish philanthropies, and also became a financial advisor to Israel. Tal Shahar , an Israeli moshav (agricultural community) near Jerusalem , created in 1948, was named in his honor ( Morgenthau (modern spelling: Morgentau ) means "morning dew" in German, as does "Tal Shahar" in Hebrew ). Morgenthau donated his diary of 840 volumes to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum . He died of heart and kidney failure at Vassar Brothers Hospital in Poughkeepsie, New York , in 1967, and

2760-405: The same time, several congressmen connected with the "Bergson Group" introduced a resolution also calling for the creation of such an agency. On January 16, 1944, Morgenthau presented Roosevelt with the Treasury report, and the president agreed to create the War Refugee Board, the first major attempt of the United States to deal with the annihilation of European Jews. Blum argues that by mid-1944,

2820-565: The scope of Morgenthau's proposal by drafting a new version of the memorandum, which ended up being the version signed by the two statesmen. The gist of the signed memorandum was "This programme for eliminating the war-making industries in the Ruhr and the Saar is looking forward to converting Germany into a country primarily agricultural and pastoral in its character." The plan faced opposition in Roosevelt's cabinet, primarily from Henry L. Stimson , and when

2880-408: The size and importance of their respective departments. The current secretary of the treasury is Janet Yellen , who is the first woman to hold the office. The Secretary is responsible for formulating and recommending domestic and international financial, economic, and tax policy, participating in the formulation of broad fiscal policies that have general significance for the economy, and managing

2940-425: The successful prosecution of Al Capone , assumed the position in 1937. Investigations of official corruption caused the fall of political boss Thomas "Big Tom" Pendergast of Kansas City. A Mafia-related shootout and massive official corruption led to successful investigations against Pendergast and the local Mafia head Charles Carrollo . Other officials — as well as gangsters, in a few rare cases — were convicted as

3000-636: The summer of 1943, Pehle was a staffer at the Treasury Department, reporting directly to Secretary Henry Morgenthau Jr. Pehle and his colleagues in a unit called the Foreign Fund Control became convinced that the U.S. State Department was ignoring warnings of the mass slaughter of Jews under the Nazi regime. Specifically, Assistant Secretary Breckenridge Long , was actively blocking any efforts to rescue Jewish refugees and burying evidence of his obstructionism. Pehle and his colleagues helped Morgenthau marshal

3060-642: The taxes of William Randolph Hearst because FDR was "advised that Hearst was planning to use his newspapers to launch a major attack on the New Deal and its economic policies". Treasury Secretary Morgenthau explained that he examined the taxes of Hearst and actress Marion Davies and "advised FDR to mount a preemptive attack on both her and Hearst". Morgenthau used his position as Treasury chief to investigate organized crime and government corruption. Treasury Intelligence and other agencies (the notoriously fragmented United States federal law enforcement system had five in

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3120-523: The treasury is fifth in the presidential line of succession , following the secretary of state and preceding the secretary of defense . On August 16, 2016, President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13735, which changed the order of succession for filling the Treasury Secretary's role when necessary. At any time when the secretary and the deputy secretary of the treasury have both died, resigned, or cannot serve as secretary for other reasons,

3180-822: The use of blocked accounts in Switzerland, but the State Department and the British Foreign Office procrastinated further. Morgenthau and his staff persisted in bypassing State and ultimately confronting Roosevelt in January 1944 with the Report to the Secretary on the Acquiescence of This Government in the Murder of the Jews . Due to incessant highly visible rescue activism by the Hillel Kook (aka Peter Bergson) led Bergson Group and pressure by Morgenthau and some of his staff, President Roosevelt finally acted and created

3240-596: The value of the deficit spending that had not reduced unemployment and only added debt: We have tried spending money. We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work. And I have just one interest, and if I am wrong ... somebody else can have my job. I want to see this country prosperous. I want to see people get a job. I want to see people get enough to eat. We have never made good on our promises. ... I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started. ... And an enormous debt to boot. To reduce

3300-445: The war, many - including John Pehle himself – called the Board’s actions “little and late.” But while we cannot know how many lives might have been saved had the Board been created earlier, for those lives the Board did save, and for the thousands more aided through the Board’s relief work, the authors of the Holocaust Encyclopedia believe that the efforts of John Pehle and his co-workers should not be minimized. Early in 1945, Pehle left

3360-413: Was in effect for over two years directed the U.S. forces of occupation to "take no steps looking toward the economic rehabilitation of Germany". In occupied Germany Morgenthau left a direct legacy through what in OMGUS commonly were called "Morgenthau boys". These were U.S. Treasury officials whom General Dwight D. Eisenhower had "loaned" in to the Army of occupation. These people ensured that JCS 1067

3420-403: Was interpreted as strictly as possible. They were most active in the first crucial months of the occupation, but continued their activities for almost two years following the resignations of Morgenthau in mid-1945, and some time later, of their leader, Colonel Bernard Bernstein , who was "the repository of the Morgenthau spirit in the army of occupation". They resigned when, in July 1947, JCS 1067

3480-399: Was on Friday that we raised the price 21¢, and the President said, "It is a lucky number because it is three times seven." If anybody ever knew how we really set the gold price through a combination of lucky numbers, etc., I think that they really would be frightened. Saturday we increased the price 10¢. I stayed after Jones left and had a good half hour talk in which most of the time Louis Howe

3540-557: Was present. In 1934, when William H. Woodin resigned because of poor health, Roosevelt appointed Morgenthau Secretary of the Treasury ; even conservatives approved. Morgenthau was a strict monetarist . President Roosevelt, Morgenthau, and Federal Reserve Chairman Marriner Stoddard Eccles jointly kept interest rates low during the depression to finance massive public spending, and then later to support rearmament, support for Britain, and U.S. participation in WWII. In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Morgenthau to examine

3600-421: Was replaced by JCS 1779 , which instead stressed that "An orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic contributions of a stable and productive Germany." Morgenthau's legacy was also seen in the plans for preserving German disarmament by significantly reducing German economic might. (see also Allied plans for German industry after World War II ) In October 1945, Morgenthau published a book titled Germany

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