Oscar Solomon Straus was United States Secretary of Commerce and Labor under President Theodore Roosevelt from 1906 to 1909. Straus was the first Jewish United States Cabinet Secretary.
Background
Oscar was born on December 23, 1850 in Otterberg, Rhenish Bavaria (now Germany). He was the third son of Lazarus and Sara (Straus) Straus, whose other two sons, Isidor and Nathan, achieved fame as merchants and philanthropists. After emigrating to the United States in 1854, the family settled first in Talbotton and Columbus, Georgia, and later in New York City.
Education
Oscar studied at private schools, at Columbia College, from which he was graduated in 1871, and at the Columbia law school, where he obtained his degree in 1873.
Career
In 1881 Straus gave up law and became a partner in L. Straus & Sons, merchants in china and glassware. It is as a diplomat that he makes his chief claim to historical fame. A progressive Democrat in politics, he first drew the attention of President Cleveland, who, at the instance of Henry Ward Beecher, named him minister to Turkey (appointment confirmed, December 21, 1887), a post that he held until 1889.
Here his diplomatic tact and zeal enabled him to obtain concessions for American interests in Turkey, chiefly of an educational and religious nature. At the same time he won the admiration of the sultan to such a degree that he was invited to arbitrate between the Turkish government and Baron Maurice de Hirsch in a matter concerning the building of railroads.
In 1898 he was again appointed to the post at Constantinople by President McKinley, whom he had supported because of McKinley's opposition to the Free Silver pledge of the Bryan Democrats. His tactful and successful work at the Sublime Porte again won him the commendation of the State Department. He resigned at the close of 1900.
During the presidency of Theodore Roosevelt, he was frequently called upon to give his advice on matters of national and international importance. In 1902 he was appointed a member of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague, and was subsequently reappointed in 1908, 1912, and 1920.
In December 1906 Roosevelt named him secretary of commerce and labor, a post he held until March 4, 1909. As secretary his chief problems were those of Japanese immigration and naturalization.
In 1909, under William Howard Taft, he went once more to Turkey, this time as the first American ambassador to the Ottoman Empire (appointment confirmed, May 17, 1909). Again he distinguished himself by obtaining special securities for American interests in Turkey, notably in the exemption of foreign religious, educational, and benevolent institutions from supervision by the Turkish authorities; and in the special sanction to American colleges to own property in their own names.
When he resigned his mission to Turkey in December 1910, it was only to throw himself more actively into the arena of national politics, which was at that time agitated by the Taft-Roosevelt split and the emergence of the Progressive party. As nominee for governor he headed the Progressive ticket in New York State, and, while the party went down generally to defeat at the polls, his own popularity was so great that he ran ahead not only of his ticket but even of Roosevelt himself.
In 1913 he travelled through North Africa and Europe, the better to acquaint himself with foreign affairs. In 1915 he was appointed chairman of the New York Public Service Commission by Governor Charles S. Whitman. He was a member of the League to Enforce Peace, and by interviewing many influential persons in London and Paris he actively assisted Wilson in his successful attempt to incorporate a League of Nations in the Versailles treaty.
Throughout his career he made many polished addresses. Both the tradition of his family and his own inclinations led him to make many efforts in behalf of his co-religionists. When he met Baron Maurice de Hirsch he discussed with him plans for the amelioration of the lot of the Russian Jews. As one of a committee, he presented to President Harrison a description of their sad circumstances.
In 1903, when the Kishinev pogroms outraged the civilized world, he discussed with President Roosevelt the note that was later sent to the Russian government, and aided in the collection of funds for the relief of the destitute. During the Russo-Japanese Treaty of 1905, he met with Count Sergius Witte to discuss the question of the Jews in Russia. When in Turkey he conferred with Dr. Theodor Herzl and took up with him the Zionist movement, of which Dr. Herzl was founder.
Towards the latter part of his life he was frequently ill, but he always remained a dynamo of energy. When he died in New York City he was mourned as an outstanding public citizen.
Achievements
Politics
A progressive Democrat in politics, he first drew the attention of President Cleveland. It is worthy of note that his service under both Democratic and Republican administrations made him one of the earliest American career diplomats.
Personality
In private and in public life he was singularly charming. He was a persuasive and eloquent speaker not only by virtue of the enthusiasms that animated him but by the possession of a literary skill that he showed at an early age.
Connections
On April 19, 1882, he was married to Sarah Lavanburg, who with two daughters and a son survived him.