Jesse I. Straus
Encyclopedia
Jesse Isidor Straus served as the American ambassador to France from 1933 to 1936. He was the eldest son of Isidor Straus
(1845–1912), who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, co-owner with his brother Nathan Straus
of the department store R.H. Macy & Co.
His uncle Oscar Solomon Straus
(1850–1926) was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary, serving as Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1909.
Jesse Straus was born in New York City. He graduated from Harvard College
in 1893. He and his brothers Percy and Herbert, both also Harvard graduates, donated funds that built Straus Hall in Harvard Yard.
After college Jesse Straus was made to gain outside business experience before joining the family business. He worked as a clerk at the Hanover National Bank for a year and a half and then for a similar period as a department store salesman at Abraham & Straus
, a Macy's rival. He married Irma Nathan in 1895. He began working at Macy's on September 3, 1896.
In 1929, he purchased a piece of land on New York City's Park Avenue to construct an apartment building because he found that the better buildings in the area would not accept Jews as residents. He moved his family into the topmost two floors, a seven-bedroom duplex with terraces, a thousand-square-foot library, and a baronial stone fireplace.
A political ally of New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt
, in March 1931 Jesse Straus funded a poll of the delegates to the 1928 Democratic Convention
to assess Roosevelt's chances in the race for the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. Straus was president of his family's department store in the 1930s until Roosevelt appointed him Chairman of the state's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA), which provided unemployment assistance to ten percent of New York's families, in 1931.
When Roosevelt took office and the public anticipated a run on the banks, he bought full-page newspaper advertisements that announced:
Roosevelt appointed him U.S. Ambassador to France
in 1933 and he presented his credentials in Paris on June 8, 1933. He served in that office, returning to the U.S. several times for health care, until he resigned for health reasons on August 18, 1936. He was fluent in French and was the first Jew to serve in the position.He reported to the President that public morale there was low and the country was unprepared for war.
In the 1930s he warned against efforts on the part of American Jews to organize opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany in the belief that is was "stirring up trouble" on an issue in which their involvement only demonstrated their inability to integrate themselves fully into American life. According to a biography in the Straus family newsletter, he "felt that Judaism was a religion, not a nationality, and that Jews, and members of all religious groups in any country, should assimilate....He refused all traffic with the Zionists and rigidly opposed pro-Jewish discrimination at Macy's."
He was one of the founders of the Lycée français de New York
.
He died of pneumonia at his home at 720 Park Avenue in New York City on October 5, 1936. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
In response to New Deal
legislation increasing estate taxes
to 60%, he had distributed some of his assets and revised his will. Time
called his actions a "protest" and the result of "troubled thought." First he gave away one fourth of his Macy's stock, paying far less tax than had the shares remained part of his estate. Then, On July 31, 1934, he revised his 1933 will to remove a list of gifts to 18 educational and charitable institutions because:
His widow died in 1970 at the age of 94.
Straus was a noteworthy collector of fine arts and memorabilia. He left a collection of autographs to his granddaughter, who donated them to Vassar College
, where they form the Jesse Isidor Straus Autograph Collection (ca. 1727-1873).
New York City's PS 199, the Jesse Isadore Straus School on West 70 Street, is named for him.
Isidor Straus
Isidor Straus —a German Jewish American—was co-owner of the Macy's department store with his brother Nathan. He also served briefly as a member of the United States House of Representatives...
(1845–1912), who died in the sinking of the RMS Titanic, co-owner with his brother Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus
Nathan Straus was an American merchant and philanthropist who co-owned two of New York City's biggest department stores – R.H...
of the department store R.H. Macy & Co.
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
His uncle Oscar Solomon Straus
Oscar Straus (politician)
Oscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary. - Biography :...
(1850–1926) was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary, serving as Secretary of Commerce and Labor from 1906 to 1909.
Jesse Straus was born in New York City. He graduated from Harvard College
Harvard College
Harvard College, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is one of two schools within Harvard University granting undergraduate degrees...
in 1893. He and his brothers Percy and Herbert, both also Harvard graduates, donated funds that built Straus Hall in Harvard Yard.
After college Jesse Straus was made to gain outside business experience before joining the family business. He worked as a clerk at the Hanover National Bank for a year and a half and then for a similar period as a department store salesman at Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus
Abraham & Straus was a major New York City department store, based in Brooklyn. Founded in 1865, in 1929 it became part of Federated Department Stores, which eliminated the A&S brand shortly after its 1994 acquisition of R.H. Macy & Company...
, a Macy's rival. He married Irma Nathan in 1895. He began working at Macy's on September 3, 1896.
In 1929, he purchased a piece of land on New York City's Park Avenue to construct an apartment building because he found that the better buildings in the area would not accept Jews as residents. He moved his family into the topmost two floors, a seven-bedroom duplex with terraces, a thousand-square-foot library, and a baronial stone fireplace.
A political ally of New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and 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...
, in March 1931 Jesse Straus funded a poll of the delegates to the 1928 Democratic Convention
1928 Democratic National Convention
The 1928 Democratic National Convention was held at Sam Houston Hall in Houston, Texas from June 26 – June 28, 1928. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Alfred E. Smith of New York for President and Senator Joseph T. Robinson of Arkansas for Vice-President.The convention was...
to assess Roosevelt's chances in the race for the 1932 Democratic presidential nomination. Straus was president of his family's department store in the 1930s until Roosevelt appointed him Chairman of the state's Temporary Emergency Relief Administration (TERA), which provided unemployment assistance to ten percent of New York's families, in 1931.
When Roosevelt took office and the public anticipated a run on the banks, he bought full-page newspaper advertisements that announced:
- I trust my government.
- I trust our banks.
- I do not expect the impossible.
- I shall do nothing hysterical. If it is normal to carry little cash in my pocket when there is plenty to go round, I shall carry little now. There never was a time when everyone on earth could possess all his cash in is pockets, his socks, his safe-deposit box, or anywhere else.
- I will not stampede. I will not lose nerve. I will keep my head.
Roosevelt appointed him U.S. Ambassador to France
United States Ambassador to France
This article is about the United States Ambassador to France. There has been a United States Ambassador to France since the American Revolution. The United States sent its first envoys to France in 1776, towards the end of the four-centuries-old Bourbon dynasty...
in 1933 and he presented his credentials in Paris on June 8, 1933. He served in that office, returning to the U.S. several times for health care, until he resigned for health reasons on August 18, 1936. He was fluent in French and was the first Jew to serve in the position.He reported to the President that public morale there was low and the country was unprepared for war.
In the 1930s he warned against efforts on the part of American Jews to organize opposition to the Nazi regime in Germany in the belief that is was "stirring up trouble" on an issue in which their involvement only demonstrated their inability to integrate themselves fully into American life. According to a biography in the Straus family newsletter, he "felt that Judaism was a religion, not a nationality, and that Jews, and members of all religious groups in any country, should assimilate....He refused all traffic with the Zionists and rigidly opposed pro-Jewish discrimination at Macy's."
He was one of the founders of the Lycée français de New York
Lycée Français de New York
The Lycée Français de New York , literally The French High School of New York, is an exclusive French-medium school for K-12 students based in Manhattan, New York which follows the French curriculum of study and allows students to study for the French general Baccalauréat, the international option...
.
He died of pneumonia at his home at 720 Park Avenue in New York City on October 5, 1936. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York.
In response to 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...
legislation increasing estate taxes
Estate tax in the United States
The estate tax in the United States is a tax imposed on the transfer of the "taxable estate" of a deceased person, whether such property is transferred via a will, according to the state laws of intestacy or otherwise made as an incident of the death of the owner, such as a transfer of property...
to 60%, he had distributed some of his assets and revised his will. 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...
called his actions a "protest" and the result of "troubled thought." First he gave away one fourth of his Macy's stock, paying far less tax than had the shares remained part of his estate. Then, On July 31, 1934, he revised his 1933 will to remove a list of gifts to 18 educational and charitable institutions because:
- The present Federal and State estate tax laws impose substantially increased tax burdens upon the estates of decedents and may under certain conditions cause undue hardship and financial sacrifice and loss resulting from untimely sale and liquidation of assets of estates to provide for the payment of such taxes. The increased estate taxes upon the estates of decedents are devoted in large part to Governmental social programs. Under the circumstances now existing, I deem it advisable to cancel and revoke the bequests made by me...in my [earlier] last will and testament.
His widow died in 1970 at the age of 94.
Straus was a noteworthy collector of fine arts and memorabilia. He left a collection of autographs to his granddaughter, who donated them to Vassar College
Vassar College
Vassar College is a private, coeducational liberal arts college in the town of Poughkeepsie, New York, in the United States. The Vassar campus comprises over and more than 100 buildings, including four National Historic Landmarks, ranging in style from Collegiate Gothic to International,...
, where they form the Jesse Isidor Straus Autograph Collection (ca. 1727-1873).
New York City's PS 199, the Jesse Isadore Straus School on West 70 Street, is named for him.
External links
- Straus Historical Society, "Jesse Isidor Straus, 1872-1936," Part One, August 2004 and Part Two, February 2005