Editing Andrew Mellon (section)

==Business career, 1873–1920==
===Business career, 1873–1898===

Mellon's role at T. Mellon & Sons continued to grow after 1873, and in 1876 he was given power of attorney to direct the operations of the bank. That same year, Thomas introduced his son to [[Henry Clay Frick]], a customer of the bank who would become one of Mellons's closest friends. In 1882, Thomas turned over full ownership of the bank to his son, but Thomas continued to be involved in the bank's activities.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 64–67</ref> Five years later, Mellon's younger brother, [[Richard B. Mellon]], joined T. Mellon & Sons as a co-owner and vice president.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 87–88</ref>

During the 1880s, Mellon began to expand the bank's activities. Along with Frick, Mellon gained control of the Pittsburgh National Bank of Commerce, a [[National Bank Act|national bank]] that was authorized to print [[banknote]]s. Mellon also acquired or helped found the Union Insurance Company, City Deposit Bank, the Fidelity Title and Trust Company, and the Union Trust Company. He branched out into industrial concerns, becoming a director of the [[Pittsburgh Stock Exchange|Pittsburgh Petroleum Exchange]] and a co-founder of two natural gas companies that collectively controlled 35,000 acres of gas lands in the late 1880s.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 79–80, 96</ref> In 1890, Thomas Mellon transferred his properties to Andrew, who would manage the properties on behalf of himself, his parents, and his brothers.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 90–91</ref> In late 1894, Thomas transferred all of his remaining assets to Andrew.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 94</ref> Despite the large sums entrusted to Andrew, the businesses he ran were still fairly small in the 1890s; T. Mellon & Sons employed seven individuals in 1895.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 96</ref>

In 1889, Mellon agreed to loan $25,000 to the Pittsburgh Reduction Company, a fledgling operation seeking to become the first successful industrial producer of aluminum. Mellon became a director of the company in 1891, and he and Richard played a major role in the establishment of aluminum factories in [[New Kensington, Pennsylvania]], and [[Niagara Falls, New York]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 97–98</ref> The company would emerge as one of the most profitable ventures invested in by the Mellons, and in 1907 it was renamed [[Alcoa]].<ref name="Cannadine 2006, p. 184">Cannadine (2006), p. 184</ref> Moving into the petroleum industry, the Mellon family also established the Crescent Oil Company, the Crescent Pipeline Company, and the Bear Creek refinery. By 1894, the Mellon family's [[Vertical integration|vertically integrated]] companies produced ten percent of the oil exported by the United States.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 99–102</ref> Partly due to the difficult economic conditions caused by the onset of the [[Panic of 1893]], in 1895 the Mellons sold their oil interests to [[Standard Oil]]. At roughly the same time they were selling their oil concerns, Andrew and Richard invested in the Carborundum Company, a producer of [[silicon carbide]]. The brothers gained majority ownership of the Carborundum Company in 1898 and replaced the company's founder and president, [[Edward Goodrich Acheson]], with a Carnegie protege, Frank W. Haskell.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 117–120</ref> Mellon also invested in mining concerns, becoming vice president of the Trade Dollar Consolidated Mining Company.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 121–122</ref>

Mellon and Henry Clay Frick enjoyed a long-lasting business and social relationship, and Frick frequently hosted Mellon, attorney [[Philander C. Knox]], inventor [[George Westinghouse]], and others for [[poker]] games. Frick and Mellon both joined the [[Duquesne Club]] and, after Frick established the [[South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club]], Mellon became one of that club's first members.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 81, 106–107</ref> The South Fork Fishing and Hunting Club built the [[South Fork Dam]], which supported an artificial lake that the club used for boating and fishing. In 1889, the dam broke, causing the [[Johnstown Flood]], which killed 2,000 people and destroyed 1,600 homes. In the aftermath of the flood, Knox led a legal defense that successfully argued that the club bore no legal responsibility for the flood. Mellon did not publicly comment on the flood, though he did donate $1,000 to a relief fund.<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 108</ref>

===Business career, 1898–1920===

By the late 1890s, Mellon had amassed a substantial fortune, but his wealth paled in comparison to that of better-known business leaders such as [[John D. Rockefeller]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 127–128</ref> In the late 1890s, the Union Trust Company emerged for the first time as one of Mellon's most important and profitable holdings after Mellon broadened the company's activities to include commercial banking. With an infusion of capital from Union Trust, Mellon underwrote the capitalization of National Glass and several other companies. He also became a co-owner of the McClintic-Marshall Construction Company and established Crucible Steel Company, the [[Pittsburgh Coal Company]], and the [[Monongahela River Consolidated Coal and Coke Company|Monongahela River Coal Company]]; the two coal companies collectively contributed 11 percent of the coal production of the United States. With Frick, Richard Mellon, and [[William Donner]], Mellon co-founded Union Steel Company, which specialized in the production of nails and [[barbed wire]]. Though Frick had fallen out with steel magnate and long-time business partner [[Andrew Carnegie]], Mellon received Carnegie's consent to venture into the steel industry. Responding to the growing emphasis on naval power in the aftermath of the [[Spanish–American War]], Mellon and Frick also became major shareholders in the [[New York Shipbuilding Corporation]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 134–139</ref>

[[File:Mellon National Bank Building Pittsburgh.jpg|thumb|The [[Mellon National Bank Building]], which served as the headquarters of Mellon National Bank after it was completed in 1924]]

In 1902, Mellon reorganized T. Mellon & Sons as the Mellon National Bank, a federally chartered National Bank. Andrew Mellon, Richard Mellon, and Frick drew up a new business arrangement in which the three of them jointly controlled the Union Trust Company, which in turn controlled Mellon National Bank. They also established Union Savings Bank, which accepted deposits by mail, and the Mellon banks flourished in the first years of the 20th century.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 162–164</ref> While Mellon's financial empire prospered, his investments in other areas, including Pittsburgh's streetcar network, the Union Steel Company (which was bought out by [[U.S. Steel]]), and the Carborundum Company, also paid off handsomely.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 165–167</ref> Another successful Mellon investment, the [[Standard Steel Car Company]], was created in partnership with three former U.S. Steel executives.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 176–177</ref> As part of the [[Texas oil boom]], the Mellons also helped J. M. Guffey establish the Guffey Company.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 178–179</ref> The Mellons later removed Guffey as the head of his company, and in 1907 they reorganized the Guffey Company as [[Gulf Oil]] and installed [[William Larimer Mellon Sr.]] (a son of Andrew Mellon's older brother, James Ross Mellon) as the head of Gulf Oil.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 179, 183–184</ref> The success of Mellon's financial empire and his varied investments made him, according to biographer David Cannadine, the "single most significant individual in the economic life and progress of western Pennsylvania" in the first decade of the 20th century.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 180–181</ref>

The [[Panic of 1907]] devastated several companies based in Pittsburgh, ending a period of strong growth.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 216–217, 219</ref> Some of Mellon's investments experienced a sustained down period after 1907, but most experienced a quick recovery. Mellon also became an investor in [[George Westinghouse]]'s [[Westinghouse Electric Corporation]] after he helped prevent the company from going into bankruptcy.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 225–228</ref> By the end of 1913, Mellon National Bank held more money in deposits than any other bank in Pittsburgh, and the Farmer's Deposit National Bank, which held the second-largest amount of deposits, was controlled by Mellon's Union Trust Company.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 228–230</ref> In 1914, Mellon became a co-owner of [[Koppers]], which produced a more sophisticated [[Coke (fuel)|coking]] oven than the one that had earlier been pioneered by Frick.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 242–244</ref> He also served as a director of various other companies, including the [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] and the [[American Locomotive Company]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), p. 257</ref> Mellon was deeply involved in the financing of [[World War I]], as the Union Trust Company and other Mellon institutions provided millions of dollars in loans to the United Kingdom and France, and Mellon himself invested in [[Liberty bond]]s.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 252–254</ref>

===Old Overholt whiskey===

In 1887, Frick, Andrew, and Richard Mellon jointly purchased [[Old Overholt]], a whiskey distillery located in  [[West Overton, Pennsylvania]].<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 81–82</ref><ref name="Wondrich-1">{{cite web|last1=Wondrich|first1=David|title=The Rise & Fall of America's Oldest Whiskey|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/02/the-rise-fall-of-america-s-oldest-whiskey.html|access-date=October 3, 2016|website=The Daily Beast|date=September 2, 2016}}</ref> At the time, Old Overholt was one of the largest and most respected whiskey producers in the country.<ref name="Wondrich-2" /> In 1907, as prohibition became more popular across the country, Frick and Mellon removed their names from the distilling license but retained ownership in the company.<ref name="Wondrich-2">{{cite web|last1=Wondrich|first1=David|title=How Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey Lost Its Way|url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/09/12/how-pennsylvania-rye-whiskey-lost-its-way.html|access-date=October 3, 2016|website=[[The Daily Beast]]|date=September 12, 2016}}</ref> It is believed that Mellon's connections in the Treasury Department are what allowed the company to secure a medicinal permit during Prohibition.<ref name="Wondrich-2" /> This permit allowed Overholt to sell existing whiskey stocks to druggists for medicinal use.<ref name="Wondrich-2" /> When Frick died in December 1919, he left his share to Mellon.<ref name="Wondrich-2" /> In 1925, under pressure from prohibitionists, Mellon sold his share of the company to a New York grocer.<ref name="Wondrich-2" />

===Early involvement in politics===
{{see also|Gilded Age|Progressive Era}}

Like his father, Mellon consistently supported the Republican Party, and he frequently donated to state and local party leaders. Through state party boss [[Matthew Quay]], Mellon influenced legislators to place high tariffs on aluminum products in the [[McKinley Tariff]] of 1890.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 110–111</ref> During the early 20th century, Mellon was dismayed by the rise of [[Progressive Era|progressivism]] and the [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] actions pursued by the presidential administrations of [[Theodore Roosevelt]], [[William Howard Taft]], and [[Woodrow Wilson]]. He especially opposed the Taft administration's investigations into Alcoa, which in 1912 signed a [[consent decree]] rather than going to trial.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 220–222</ref> In the aftermath of World War I, he provided financial support to [[Henry Cabot Lodge]] and other Republicans in their successful campaign to prevent ratification of the [[Treaty of Versailles]]. Mellon attended the [[1920 Republican National Convention]] as a nominal supporter of Pennsylvania Governor [[William Cameron Sproul]] (Mellon hoped Senator [[Philander C. Knox|Philander Knox]] would win the nomination), but the convention chose Senator [[Warren G. Harding]] of Ohio as the party's presidential nominee. Mellon strongly approved of the party's conservative platform, and he served as a key fundraiser for Harding during the presidential campaign.<ref>Cannadine (2006), pp. 266–268</ref>