Brain Trust
Encyclopedia
Brain trust began as a term for a group of close advisors to a political candidate or incumbent, prized for their expertise in particular fields. The term is most associated with the group of advisors to Franklin Roosevelt during his presidential administration. More recently the use of the term has expanded to encompass any group of advisers to a decision maker, whether or not in politics.
and was later a key policy of President Theodore Roosevelt
's administration. The term appears to have not been used again until 1928, when Time
magazine ran a headline on a meeting of the American Council on Learned Societies titled "Brain Trust."
, a group of academic advisors President Woodrow Wilson
formed in 1917 to prepare for the peace negotiations following World War I
. In 1932, New York Times writer James Kieran first used the term Brains Trust (shortened to Brain Trust later) when he applied it to the close group of experts that surrounded United States presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt. According to Roosevelt Brain Trust member Raymond Moley
, Kieran coined the term, however Rosenman contended that Louis Howe, a close advisor to the President, first used the term but used it derisively in a conversation with Roosevelt.
The core of the first Roosevelt brain trust consisted of a group of Columbia law professors (Moley, Tugwell, and Berle). These men played a key role in shaping the policies of the First New Deal
(1933). Although they never met together as a group, they each had Roosevelt's ear. Many newspaper editorials and editorial cartoons ridiculed them as impractical idealists.
The core of the second Roosevelt brain trust sprang from men associated with the Harvard law school (Cohen, Corcoran, and Frankfurter). These men played a key role in shaping the policies of the Second New Deal (1935–1936).
Etymology
The first use of the term brain trust was in 1899 when it appeared in the Marion (Ohio) Daily Star: "Since everything else is tending to trusts, why not a brain trust?" This sense was referring to the era of trust-busting, a popular political slogan and objective of the time that helped spur the 1890 Sherman Antitrust ActSherman Antitrust Act
The Sherman Antitrust Act requires the United States federal government to investigate and pursue trusts, companies, and organizations suspected of violating the Act. It was the first Federal statute to limit cartels and monopolies, and today still forms the basis for most antitrust litigation by...
and was later a key policy of President Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
's administration. The term appears to have not been used again until 1928, when Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
magazine ran a headline on a meeting of the American Council on Learned Societies titled "Brain Trust."
Roosevelt's "Brains Trust"
Franklin Roosevelt speechwriter and legal counsel Samuel Rosenman suggested having an academic team to advise Roosevelt in March 1932. This concept was perhaps based on The InquiryThe Inquiry
The Inquiry was a study group established in September 1917 by Woodrow Wilson to prepare materials for the peace negotiations following World War I. The group, composed of around 150 academics, was directed by presidential adviser Edward House and supervised directly by philosopher Sidney Mezes...
, a group of academic advisors President Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
formed in 1917 to prepare for the peace negotiations following World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1932, New York Times writer James Kieran first used the term Brains Trust (shortened to Brain Trust later) when he applied it to the close group of experts that surrounded United States presidential candidate Franklin Roosevelt. According to Roosevelt Brain Trust member Raymond Moley
Raymond Moley
Raymond Charles Moley was a leading New Dealer who became its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression....
, Kieran coined the term, however Rosenman contended that Louis Howe, a close advisor to the President, first used the term but used it derisively in a conversation with Roosevelt.
The core of the first Roosevelt brain trust consisted of a group of Columbia law professors (Moley, Tugwell, and Berle). These men played a key role in shaping the policies of the First New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
(1933). Although they never met together as a group, they each had Roosevelt's ear. Many newspaper editorials and editorial cartoons ridiculed them as impractical idealists.
The core of the second Roosevelt brain trust sprang from men associated with the Harvard law school (Cohen, Corcoran, and Frankfurter). These men played a key role in shaping the policies of the Second New Deal (1935–1936).
First New Deal
- Adolf Berle - original Brain Trust
- Hugh S. Johnson
- Raymond MoleyRaymond MoleyRaymond Charles Moley was a leading New Dealer who became its bitter opponent before the end of the Great Depression....
- original Brain Trust (Moley broke with Roosevelt and became a sharp critic of the New DealNew DealThe New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
from the right) - Basil O'ConnorBasil O'ConnorBasil O'Connor was an American lawyer. In co-operation with US-President Franklin D. Roosevelt he started two foundations for the rehabiltation of polio patients and the research on polio prevention and treatment...
- Rexford TugwellRexford TugwellRexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
- original Brain Trust - Frances PerkinsFrances PerkinsFrances Perkins , born Fannie Coralie Perkins, was the U.S. Secretary of Labor from 1933 to 1945, and the first woman appointed to the U.S. Cabinet. As a loyal supporter of her friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt, she helped pull the labor movement into the New Deal coalition...
- Harry HopkinsHarry HopkinsHarry Lloyd Hopkins was one of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's closest advisers. He was one of the architects of the New Deal, especially the relief programs of the Works Progress Administration , which he directed and built into the largest employer in the country...
- Harold IckesHarold IckesHarold Ickes may refer to:*Harold L. Ickes , U.S. Secretary of the Interior in Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration*Harold M. Ickes , son of the U.S. Interior Secretary, deputy White House Chief of Staff during the administration of U.S. President Bill Clinton...
- Louis BrandeisLouis BrandeisLouis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
- James WarburgJames WarburgJames Paul Warburg was an American banker and financial adviser to Franklin D. Roosevelt. His father was Paul Warburg.- Biography :...
- original Brain Trust
Second New Deal
- Benjamin V. CohenBenjamin Victor CohenBenjamin V. Cohen , a member of the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, had a public service career that spanned from the early New Deal through and beyond the Vietnam War era.-Early career:...
- 2nd New Deal - Thomas Gardiner CorcoranThomas Gardiner CorcoranThomas Gardiner Corcoran was one of several Irish American advisors in President Franklin D. Roosevelt's brain trust during the New Deal, and later, a close friend and advisor to President Lyndon B. Johnson....
- 2nd New Deal - Felix FrankfurterFelix FrankfurterFelix Frankfurter was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court.-Early life:Frankfurter was born into a Jewish family on November 15, 1882, in Vienna, Austria, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in Europe. He was the third of six children of Leopold and Emma Frankfurter...
- 2nd New Deal
Other Advisers
- Napoleon HillNapoleon HillNapoleon Hill was an American author who was one of the earliest producers of the modern genre of personal-success literature. He is widely considered to be one of the great writers on success...
- Louis Howe
- Paul M. O'LearyPaul M. O'LearyPaul Martin O'Leary was an American economist and educator, and the first Dean of the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management. He served on the faculty of Cornell University from 1924 until 1967, taking several leaves to join other economists from Eastern universities in Franklin D...
- George PeekGeorge PeekGeorge Nelson Peek was an American agricultural economist, business executive, and civil servant. He was the first Administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration and the first President of the two banks that would become the Export-Import Bank of the United States.-Early life and...
- Charles William TaussigCharles William TaussigCharles William Taussig was an American author and manufacturer.Charles William Taussig, was President of American Molasses Company and early Brain Trust advisor to Franklin Delano Roosevelt.-References:...
- Robert F. WagnerRobert F. WagnerRobert Ferdinand Wagner I was an American politician. He was a Democratic U.S. Senator from New York from 1927 to 1949.-Origin and early life:...
- F. Palmer WeberF. Palmer WeberFrederick Palmer Weber was an American activist and businessman. Born in Smithfield, Virginia, he became involved in radical politics when he was sent to a tuberculosis sanatorium as a teenager....