James Paul Warburg (18 August 1896 – 3 June 1969) was an American banker and financial adviser to
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. His father was the Jewish-German-American banker
Paul WarburgPaul Moritz Warburg was a Jewish-German-American banker and early advocate of the U.S. Federal Reserve system.- Early life :...
.
Born in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
, Warburg was educated at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
. He served in the Navy Flying Corps during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
before entering a career in business. He was at the First National Bank of Boston between 1919 and 1921. Between 1921 and 1929 he was Vice President at the International Acceptance Bank.
James Paul Warburg (18 August 1896 – 3 June 1969) was an American banker and financial adviser to
Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , the only U.S. President elected to more than two terms, was a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. His father was the Jewish-German-American banker
Paul WarburgPaul Moritz Warburg was a Jewish-German-American banker and early advocate of the U.S. Federal Reserve system.- Early life :...
.
Biography
Born in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
, Warburg was educated at
Harvard UniversityHarvard University is a private university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1636 by the colonial Massachusetts legislature, Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and currently comprises ten separate academic units...
. He served in the Navy Flying Corps during
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
before entering a career in business. He was at the First National Bank of Boston between 1919 and 1921. Between 1921 and 1929 he was Vice President at the International Acceptance Bank. He was president at the International Manhattan Company from 1929 to 1931, then president of the International Acceptance Bank from 1931 to 1932. He was Vice Chairman of the Board at the Bank of Manhattan Company between 1932 and 1935.
While at the Bank of Manhattan, from 1932 to 1934, he became financial adviser to President Roosevelt. This included acting as financial adviser at the 1933 London
World Economic ConferenceThe London Economic Conference was a meeting that took place between representatives of 66 nations in the June 1933. Held at London's Geological Museum, the purpose was to attack global depression, revive international trade, and stabilize international currencies. However, while vacationing on his...
.
Warburg left government in 1934, having come to oppose certain policies of the
New DealThe New Deal was the name that United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave to his complex package of economic programs 1933-36 with the goals of what historians call the 3 Rs, of giving Relief to the unemployed and badly hurt farmers, Reform of business and financial practices, and promoting...
. He was opposed to political '
isolationismIsolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of economic nationalism...
' however, and re-entered government service in 1941 as Special Assistant to the
Coordinator of InformationThe Office of the Coordinator of Information was an intelligence agency of the United States Government, founded on July 11, 1941 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, prior to U.S. involvement in the Second World War...
,
William Joseph DonovanMajor General William Joseph Donovan, USA, GCSS, KBE was an American soldier, lawyer and intelligence officer, best remembered as wartime head of the Office of Strategic Services . He is also widely known as the "father" of today's Central Intelligence Agency .-Early life:Donovan was born in...
. In 1942, when propaganda responsibilities were transferred to the
Office of War InformationOWI the government agency should not be confused with OWI the hobby robotics companyThe United States Office of War Information was a U.S. government agency created during World War II to consolidate government information services. It operated from June 1942 until September 1945...
, he became its Overseas Branch Deputy Director.
In 1963, along with
SearsSears Holdings Corporation is the eighth largest retailer in the United States, trailing behind Wal-Mart, The Home Depot, Costco, Target, CVS Caremark, Walgreens, and Kroger. It was formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co...
heir, Philip Stern, he helped to found the
WashingtonWashington, D.C. , formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States, founded on July 16, 1790...
-based
Institute for Policy StudiesInstitute for Policy Studies is a policy studies non-profit think-tank for progressive or liberal causes based in Washington, D.C. Its work is organized into over a dozen projects, all working collaboratively and strategically to pursue three overarching policy goals: Peace, Justice and the...
.
Warburg married the composer and musician
Kay SwiftKay Swift was an American composer of popular and classical music, the first woman to score a complete musical. Written in 1930, Fine and Dandy includes some of her best known songs; the title song has become a jazz standard. "Can't We Be Friends?" was another important hit...
in 1918, but they divorced in late 1934. Under the pseudonym
Paul James he wrote the lyrics to Swift's 1929 hit song "Can't We Be Friends?" and their 1930 musical,
Fine and Dandy,which introduced the song "
Fine And Dandy"Fine and Dandy" is a popular song from the 1930 Broadway musical of the same name.The music was written by Kay Swift, the lyrics by Paul James . The song was published in 1930....
".
He has gained some notoriety for the following quote: "We shall have world government, whether or not we like it. The question is only whether world government will be achieved by consent or by conquest." (Feb. 17, 1950, to the
United States Senate Committee on Foreign RelationsThe United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
)
External links
- Biographical note at the John F. Kennedy Library
The John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum is the presidential library and museum of the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. It is located on Columbia Point in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, USA, next to the Boston campus of the University of...
- Hell Bent for Election Warburg's Critique of FDR and the New Deal