Secretary of Treasury Mellon
By: Anna S.
Description
Andrew Mellon served as the secretary of treasury under the presidency of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. During his early life he had a lot of experience with starting businesses, and at one point took over ownership of his family bank. His bank played a large role in providing financial support to growing businesses. In later years he would become a large financial supporter of republican candidates. Although he was relatively unknown to the public, he was selected to be the secretary of treasury by President Harding. He managed many of the nation’s financial issues very well and had quite a bit of success. One of his main achievements was reducing individual and corporate tax rates substantially. He was also well known for reducing the nation’s debt considerably.
Significance
Mellon was very well liked for a majority of the time he served. He did his job so well that he was kept throughout three presidencies. Many of his tax policies successfully created economic prosperity. By cutting these, the economy could get back on its feet after the war, and unemployment rates lowered significantly. Much of the prosperity found in the 1920s can be attributed to him. Many thought that by cutting tax rates the federal income would decrease, however Mellon still managed to decrease national debt substantially.
Citations
"Andrew Mellon." Photos/Illustrations. Library of Congress. American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
O'Brien, Steven G. "Andrew Mellon." American History. ABC-CLIO, 2015. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.