Thomas Alexander Scott

Thomas Alexander Scott (December 28 1823–May 21, 1881) was the president of what was the largest corporation in the world, the Pennsylvania Railroad, during the middle of the 19th century. In connection with his railroad interests, he also took a leading role in crafting what eventually became the Compromise of 1877, which marked the end of Reconstruction following the Civil War.

Early life

Scott was born in Fort Loudoun, Pennsylvania. He joined the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1850 as a station agent, and by 1858 was general superintendent. It was during this time that a young Andrew Carnegie began working for the Pennsylvania Railroad under the supervision of Scott. Their association continued through the Civil War and for some time after, until Carnegie turned his full attention to iron and steel. In 1860, Scott became the first Vice President of the Pennsylvania Railroad. From 1871 to 1872, he was President of the Union Pacific Railroad and assumed the Presidency of the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1874. The Pennsylvania Railroad expanded from a state line railroad to a transportation empire in the 1860s and '70s.

Civil War

At the outbreak of the Civil War, Pennsylvania Governor Andrew Curtin called on Scott for his extensive knowledge of the rail and transportation systems of the state. In August 1861, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Scott as Assistant Secretary of War. The next year, he helped organize the Loyal War Governors' Conference in Altoona, Pennsylvania. Later on, Scott took on the task of equipping a substantial military force. He assumed supervision of government railroads and other transportation lines, and made the movement of supplies and troops more efficient and effective in the war effort on behalf of the Union. In one instance, he engineered the movement of 25,000 troops in 24 hours, turning the tide of battle once more to a Union victory.

Reconstruction

In the aftermath of the Civil War, the southern states wanted their economic infrastructure restored and the railroads competed to acquire and construct lines in the south. Federal assistance was desired by both interest groups, but the Credit Mobilier scandal had made this difficult. Scott made a proposal that came to be called the "Scott Plan" by which largely Democratic Southern politicians would give their votes in Congress and state legislatures for government subsidies for various infrastructure improvements, including in particular, an enterprise headed by Scott, the Texas and Pacific Railway. Scott employed the expertise of Grenville Dodge in buying the support of newspaper editors as well as various politicians in order to build public support for the subsidies. The Scott Plan became the basis for the Compromise of 1877, which included an end to the Federal occupation of the South and the concomitant abandonment of African Americans in that region.

University of Pennsylvania Endowments

Scott and his widow made a variety of endowments in his name at the University of Pennsylvania, including:
* the Thomas A. Scott Fellowship in Hygiene
* the Thomas A. Scott Professorship of Mathematics
* endowed beds for patients of chronic diseases at the university hospital [citation
last1 = Nitzsche
first1 = George Erasmus
authorlink1 = George Erasmus Nitzsche
title = University of Pennsylvania: Its History, Traditions, Buildings and Memorials; Also a Brief Guide to Philadelphia
publisher = International Printing Company
year = 1918
edition = 7th
location = Philadelphia
pages = 328
page = 155
url = http://books.google.com/books?id=CWYgAAAAMAAJ&printsec=titlepage&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPA155,M1
oclc = 65488397]

ee also

*Robber baron (industrialist)
*South Improvement Company

References

* "Reunion and Reaction: The Compromise of 1877 and the End of Reconstruction", by C. Vann Woodward, Doubleday (1956)

External links

* [http://gangsofamerica.com/6.html "Gangs of America" by Ted Nace, Chapter Six - The genius: The man who reinvented the corporation (1850-1880)]
* [http://alpha.furman.edu/~benson/col-tom.html Re-Assessing Tom Scott, the 'Railroad Prince']
* [http://www.ranknfile-ue.org/uen_1877.html The Great Strike of 1877: Remembering a Worker Rebellion]
*Find A Grave|id=11428591