Edward Mandell House was a erudite, accomplished man who exercised tremendous influence on U.S. politics and world diplomacy in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, he is one of the more obscure and forgotten figures of American history. What drew me to learn more about House is the fact that he—like me—was a native of Austin, Texas, and because he appeared on the margins in one of my favorite novels 1919 written by John Dos Passos. Dos Passos is another giant of the early twentieth century who has become obscured with time. I wrote a review of Dos Passos’ journey across the Pacific as a war correspondent in WWII. He is an author who has greatly influenced my own writing.
As for House, he was probably the first man in American history to fulfill the role of White House Chief of Staff, under President Woodrow Wilson. In the early twentieth century, such a title didn’t officially exist. House was born in Houston before the Civil War to an English father and an American mother. His father, Thomas House—an intriguing character who is probably worthy of a biography himself—made money through the dry goods and cotton business, and then through banking and the accumulation of property all over the state of Texas. During the Civil War the elder House was a blockade runner, sending out cotton and bringing in arms, manufactured goods and other items from Europe. Upon his death in 1880 Thomas’ children, including Edward, inherited a fortune of $500,000, the third largest fortune in Texas at that time. Edward House then moved to Austin, and besides overseeing a productive cotton farm in Taylor, he decided to take a hand in Texas politics. An inveterate networker, he made connections in Democratic circles and helped elect four consecutive governors of Texas. His first project was twice-elected Governor James Hogg who gave House the honorary title of ‘Colonel’ which stuck throughout House’s career. House helped convince Hogg to create a Texas state Railroad Commission, to regulate the railroads. It subsequently became one of the more powerful national agencies because of its oversight of the Texas oil industry. House built a large home on Judge’s Hill west of the capital, above Shoal Creek. It served as a social and political center of the growing capitol city.
House later deeded land he owned along Shoal Creek that had served as a horse paddock to the City of Austin, with the stipulation that the land only be used for youth recreation. It is now the site of House Park, a high school football stadium.
Tiring of the provincialism of Austin, House decided to try his hand at national politics. He moved to New York and began sizing up presidential candidates for the beleaguered Democratic Party, which had won only two elections (both by Grover Cleveland) since the Civil War. House seized upon New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson, like House, a liberal. Wilson’s name today brings up negative connotations of racism, but at the time he was seen as very progressive and believed in social programs for the poor and in curbing the malign influence of large corporations.
Of course, Wilson’s most noteworthy accomplishments included the creation of the League of Nations (which America never joined) and the Fourteen Points that guided the Treaty of Versailles ending World War I. House was instrumental in creating these policies, working as Wilson’s right-hand man in Versailles. House was also the first man probably ever to engage in what we call today ‘shuttle diplomacy’ in the early years of the First World War, travelling between London, Paris, and Berlin, even as these nations were engaged in a titanic struggle on the Western Front.
Neu’s comprehensive biography of House is generally favorable, though Neu does point out that House, who avoided the limelight all of his life as a behind-the-curtain-fixer, became enamored with international negotiating and ‘summiteering’ and he often worked out backroom deals with the British and French heads of states, without Wilson’s full knowledge. House also enjoyed the attention he began getting in the international press. He could arrive unannounced in any European capital and be seen by presidents and prime ministers without an appointment. This practice grew irksome to Wilson and after the Versailles Treaty was signed on June 28, 1919, the friendship broke and the two men never spoke again. Wilson was soon to suffer a debilitating stroke and would pass away in 1924. House would live out his life as an elder statesman, in the last years counseling President Franklin Roosevelt before passing away in 1938. He was buried in Houston. Although House was a man born with all the advantages, he was hardly one to rest on his laurels (reminding one of an early version of Averell Harriman). He made a significant impact on the state of Texas, the United States, and the entire world through his sage and measured counseling, and his progressive politics. It is a testament that he is better-known in Europe (among the Fourteen Points were stipulations for the creation of independent states in Eastern Europe), and that he has statue in at least one European capital, but not one in Texas or the United States. His sole memorial is the stadium in Central Austin.
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