Past Meeting

At our public meeting on Sunday, March 15, 2009 at 2 pm the featured presentation was:

The Forgotten Statesman: Philander Knox and the Politics of the early 1900s

by Mike Bertram

Philander Knox was the most powerful politician to live in our area but his political achievements have been forgotten. This presentation described Knox’s life covering both his career as a lawyer at the end of the 19th century, and his political life from 1901 to 1921. The talk was illustrated by newspaper cartoons and photographs from the time.

In the early 20th century Knox held the positions of Attorney General in McKinley’s and Roosevelt’s Administrations, Secretary of State under Taft, and was a highly-respected senator for Pennsylvania. He was a candidate for the Republican nomination for President in 1908, but lost the contest to Taft.

During Knox’s political career he was involved in the development of restrictions on company monopolies and cartels, foreign policy relating to South and Central America, the building of the Panama Canal, and the US involvement in the First World War.