The Goodriches

by Starbuck, Dane

• ISBN13: 9780865971844
• ISBN10: 0865971846
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2001-06-01
• Publisher: Liberty Fund

Summary

When local author Dane Starbuck set out several years ago to write the biography of Pierre Goodrich, scion of one of Indiana's most prominent twentieth-century families, he soon discovered that it was impossible to really understand Pierre Goodrich without also closely examining his family. Starbuck's years of research culminated in The Goodriches: An American Family,now available from Liberty Fund. This work is a revealing window into the founding ideals of both Indiana and our country, and how our founders meant these ideals to be lived. The Goodriches: An American Familybegins with the birth of James P. Goodrich in 1864 and continues through the death of his son Pierre F. Goodrich in 1973. As the story of two fascinating and fiercely individualistic men, it is compelling reading, but as author Dane Starbuck says in the preface, ''the later chapters of this book are as much a social commentary on American life in the twentieth century as parts of a biography of two accomplished men." In his foreword to The Goodriches: An American Family,James M. Buchanan, Nobel laureate in economics and celebrated Liberty Fund author, says, "The Indiana Goodriches are an American family whose leading members, James and Pierre, helped to shape the American century. . . . This biography makes us recognize what is missing from the millennial setting in which we find ourselves. We have lost the 'idea of America,' both as a motivation for action and as a source of emotional self-confidence. We have lost that which the Goodriches possessed." What did the Goodrich family "possess" which made them so unique? A belief in the power of knowledge, the importance of education, and a strong work ethic combined to imbue the Goodrich family with a distinctive sense of civic duty. James Goodrich served as governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921 and as adviser to Presidents Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, and Herbert Hoover. During his eulogy of James Goodrich, the Reverend Gustav Papperman explained, "The Governor felt that he had been given talents that were a trust, that he was to administer them faithfully. . . ." According to author Dane Starbuck, "Education was a large part of the Goodriches' work ethos. . . . The family viewed education as a process by virtue of which the individual remained informed, made better business decisions, learned the importance of citizenship, and was given an opportunity for individual self-improvement. Therefore, work and education became the centerpieces of the Goodrich family's ethical and practical life." In later years, Pierre Goodrich, successful businessman and entrepreneur, would set aside a portion of his estate to found Liberty Fund because he believed that the principles of liberty on which our nation was founded need to be constantly kept before the public.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations	xiii
Foreword	xv
Preface	xix
Acknowledgments	xxv
PART I Family Life and Early Background
An American Family	3	(10)
Origins	13	(10)
Youth and Experience	23	(8)
Initiation into Politics	31	(7)
The Early Years, 1894-1900	38	(8)
Entering the Business World	46	(10)
The Early Years, 1901-1916	56	(13)
PART II James P. Goodrich: The Consummate Politician
The Political Years	69	(16)
The 1916 Campaign	85	(9)
Years as Governor, 1917-1921	94	(27)
The Middle Years, 1916-1923	121	(9)
The Great Russian Famine, 1921-1923	130	(22)
Emissary to Russia	152	(30)
Return to Russia, 1925	182	(15)
PART III Businessmen with the Midas Touch
The 1920s	197	(21)
The 1930s	218	(21)
Companies! Companies! Companies!	239	(17)
Ayrshire Collieries Corporation	256	(14)
The Ecologist	270	(9)
The Later Years, 1940-1960	279	(16)
The Later Years, 1960-1973	295	(16)
PART IV Pierre F. Goodrich: Crusader and Philosopher
Associations and Causes	311	(14)
Wabash College	325	(20)
The Mont Pelerin Society	345	(9)
A Scholar's Life	354	(16)
Education in a Free Society	370	(13)
Moral, Political, and Metaphysical Beliefs	383	(15)
Why Liberty?	398	(16)
Liberty Fund, Inc.	414	(19)
PART V The Goodriches Assayed
Who was Pierre F. Goodrich?	433	(19)
Defining Influences	452	(12)
Why Did They Work So Hard? Work, Ideas, Citizenship, and Virtue	464	(15)
Epilogue	479	(20)
APPENDIXES
A: The Goodrich Family Tree	492	(2)
B: Liberty Fund Book List	494	(2)
C: The Gods of the Copybook Headings	496	(3)
Bibliography	499	(12)
Index	511