Dwight Morrow

Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873 – October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.–Mexico relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the

Life

Of Scotch-Irish descent, Morrow was born in

With the onset of World War I in Europe, the bank lent Britain and France large sums of money with which they purchased war materials in the U.S. When the United States entered the war, Morrow became the director of the National War Savings Committee for the State of New Jersey. He also served abroad as adviser to the Allied Maritime Transport Council and as a civilian member of the Military Board of Allied Supply. With his proven logistical and intellectual talents, Morrow was sent to France by President Woodrow Wilson to serve as chief civilian aide to General John J. Pershing.

In 1925, Morrow was summoned by his old Amherst College classmate and friend,

Ambassador to Mexico

Morrow was appointed

Morrow initiated a series of breakfast meetings with President Plutarco Elías Calles (1924–1928), at which the two would discuss a range of issues, from oil and irrigation to a religious uprising in Mexico. This earned Morrow the nickname "ham and eggs diplomat" in U.S. newspapers. ^[6] Morrow also invited Rogers to accompany him and Calles on a tour of Mexico, with Rogers sending favorable human-interest stories about Mexico and Mexicans back to U.S. newspapers, helping to change U.S. perceptions of Mexico.^[6]

In a dispute about Mexican petroleum, with U.S. and other foreign oil companies demanding protection of their interests in Mexico, Morrow helped prevent Mexican nationalization of the oilfields. ^[2] The nationalization did, however, occur ten years later in 1938.

Morrow's best known accomplishment was his mediation of the conflict between the Mexican government and the

After the assassination in 1928 of the newly re-elected President Álvaro Obregón, former president Calles was ineligible to serve again due to term limits, and the Mexican Congress named Emilio Portes Gil as president. In practice, Calles remained in power during a period known as the Maximato. As interim president in December 1928, Portes Gil permitted Morrow and Burke to revitalize their peace initiative. Portes Gil told a foreign correspondent on May 1 that "the Catholic clergy, when they wish, may renew the exercise of their rites with only one obligation, that they respect the laws of the land."^{[citation needed]}

Morrow managed to bring the war parties to agreement on June 21, 1929. His office drafted a pact called the arreglos (agreement) that permitted worship to resume in Mexico and granted three concessions to the Catholics: only priests who were named by hierarchical superiors would be required to register, religious instruction in the churches (but not in the schools) would be permitted, and all citizens, including the clergy, would be allowed to make petitions to reform the laws. The

Later career

In 1930 Morrow was elected as a Republican to the

Death

Following a speaking engagement in New York City, Morrow suffered a stroke in his sleep at his home in Englewood, New Jersey and died the next afternoon on October 5, 1931.^[11]

A partner at J.P. Morgan, Morrow was one of the richest men in New Jersey. Morrow's death occurred within 30 days of the next election allowing the Republican Governor

Morrow's will was dated January 24, 1927, and made over $1 million in specific bequests, including $200,000 to Amherst College, $200,000 to Smith College, $100,000 to the Smithsonian Institution, and several other bequests to family and friends.^[14] The estate was valued at about $10 million (equivalent to $175 million in 2023). The large $1,000,000 in estate taxes paid to the state of New Jersey enabled the state to balance their books. ^[11]In addition, a $1 million trust fund had been set up for Anne Morrow Lindbergh in 1929.^[15]

Morrow's personal papers are held by the Archives & Special Collections in

Dwight Morrow High School, founded in 1932, was named in his honor. It is a public school serving students in Englewood and Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

The

He was portrayed by Bruce Greenwood in the 2012 film For Greater Glory set during the Cristero War.

See also

• List of covers of Time magazine (1920s)
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49)
• List of people from Morelos, Mexico

Sources

• ISBN 0405069820
  (originally published 1935)

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to Dwight Morrow.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dwight Morrow.

• Dwight W. Morrow Papers Archived June 21, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at Amherst College
• Morrow-Lindbergh-McIlvaine Family Papers at the Amherst College Archives & Special Collections

• United States Congress. "Dwight Whitney Morrow (id: M001002)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Dwight Whitney Morrow at The Political Graveyard
• Dwight Whitney Morrow at Find a Grave

U.S. Senate
Preceded by David Baird, Jr.	United States Senator from New Jersey 1930–1931	Succeeded by W. Warren Barbour
Party political offices
Preceded by Walter E. Edge	Republican Nominee for the U.S. Senate (Class 2) from New Jersey 1930	Succeeded by W. Warren Barbour
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by James R. Sheffield	U.S. Ambassador to Mexico 1927–1930	Succeeded by J. Reuben Clark