Background
Sapiro, Aaron was born on February 5, 1884 in San Francisco, California, United States. Son of Jacob and Selina (Wascerwitz) Sapiro.
lawyer leader of the farmers' movement
Sapiro, Aaron was born on February 5, 1884 in San Francisco, California, United States. Son of Jacob and Selina (Wascerwitz) Sapiro.
Graduate Lowell High School, San Francisco, 1900. Bachelor of Arts, University of Cincinnati, 1904, Master of Arts, 1905. Studied Hebrew Union College, Cincinnati.
Bachelor of Laws, Hastings Law College (University of California), 1911.
One of the many issues he spoke on was cooperative grain marketing and was particularly active in California and Saskatoon in Saskatchewan where he addressed several meetings between 1923 and 1924.
Despite this, he was able to obtain a law degree and gain a position on the California markets board staff, where he became acquainted with the concepts of agricultural cooperation for the first time. He was active in organizing in the United States before being posted by the Farmers’ Union leadership to promote the Pool in western Canada most notably Saskatchewan. Sapiro Plan involved developing farmer co-operatives in an effort to eliminate middlemen and wholesalers and, in the process, to dramatically increase farm profits, particularly for fruit sellers in California.
By 1925, the Plan had a membership of some 890,000 farmers nationwide and had the endorsement of the National Council of Farmer's Cooperative Marketing Association.
Sapiro did spent much of his time organizing cooperatives in California. He publicized the need for a uniform Cooperative Marketing Acting and received widespread recognition for enabling many of the states of America to adopt the Acting, as well as the endorsement of the National Council of Farmer's Cooperative Marketing Association.
While not on his promotional travels, he worked extensively as a lawyer in both Chicago and San Francisco where, in April 1924, he became outraged with remarks made by Henry Ford in his book The International Jew.
News reports at the time quoted Sapiro as being shocked by the content in particular the section "Jewish Exploitation of the American Farmer's Organizations: Monopoly Traps Operate Under the Guise of Marketing Associations,". Which attacked the band of Jewish-bankers, lawyers, advertising agencies, fruit farmers, market buyers, and office professionals which, according to Ford, contributed to the domination of Jewish people in the American cooperative marketing system.
Many prominent Jewish professionals were cited including Bernard Baruch, Albert Lasker, Eugene Meyer, Otto Kahn and Julius Rosenwald but the chapter was primarily directed at the influence of Sapiro.
Sapiro brought a lawsuit against Ford in the federal courts and put the substance of his allegations on national display.
As the trial unfolded and combatants of the perceived antisemitism in California participated in court proceedings, Ford secretly commissioned the constitutional lawyer and Jewish activist Louis Marshall, to write his apology for his remarks. In doing so, Marshall ended the public controversy and foreclosed further legal action in the case in December 1927. The result of the case is seen historically as an act of repentance and a monumental event in Jewish history in the United States.
Member Phi Beta Kappa. Clubs: Concordia (San Francisco).
Married Janet Arndt, of Stockton, California, November 17, 1913. Children: Jean Louise, Andree, Stanley, Leland.