August Belmont
Encyclopedia
August Belmont, Sr. was an American politician.
, Hesse
, on December 8, 1813--some sources say 1816--to Simon and Frederika Elsass Schönberg, a Jewish family. After his mother's death, when he was seven, he lived with his uncle and grandmother in Frankfurt. He attended the Jewish Junior and Senior High School until he began his first job as an apprentice to the Rothschilds. He would sweep floors, polish furniture, and run errands while studying English, arithmetic, and writing. He was then given a confidential clerkship in 1832 and promoted to private secretary before travelling to Naples
, Paris
, and Rome
. In 1837, Belmont set sail for Havana charged with the Rothschild's Cuban interests. On his way to Havana, however, Belmont stopped in New York. He arrived there during the Panic of 1837
and then remained to supervise jeopardised Rothschild interests there instead of continuing on to Havana. After he emigrated to the United States, he changed his surname, Schönberg (German for "beautiful mountain"), to Belmont (French for "beautiful mountain").
, hundreds of American businesses, including the Rothschild's American agents, collapsed. As a result, Belmont postponed his departure for Havana indefinitely and began August Belmont & Company, believing that he could supplant the recently bankrupt firm, the American Agency. August Belmont and Company was an instant success, and Belmont restored health to the Rothschild's US interests over the next five years. In 1844, Belmont was named the Consul-General of Austria
at New York
. He resigned the post in 1850 in response to what he viewed as Austria's cruelty towards Hungary
, even as his interest in politics grew.
John Slidell
, his wife's uncle, made Belmont his protégé. Belmont's first task was to campaign for James Buchanan
in New York
. In June, 1851, Belmont wrote letters to the New York Herald
and the New York National-Democrat, insisting that they do justice to Buchanan's presidential run. But Franklin Pierce
won the nomination instead, and Belmont made large contributions to the Democratic cause, weathering political attack. After his victory, Pierce in 1853 appointed Belmont chargé d'affaires and minister to The Hague
. While in Holland, Belmont urged American annexation of Cuba
as a new slave state in what became known as the Ostend Manifesto
.
Though Belmont lobbied hard for it, Buchanan denied him the ambassadorship to Spain
after his election in 1856, thanks to the Ostend Manifesto. As a delegate to the Democratic Convention of 1860
, Belmont supported Stephen A. Douglas
, who subsequently named Belmont chairman of the Democratic National Committee
. Belmont energetically supported the Union
cause during the Civil War
as a War Democrat, conspicuously helping Missouri
congressman Francis P. Blair
raise and equip the Union army's first predominantly German-American regiment. Belmont also used his influence with European business and political leaders to support the Union
cause in the American civil war
, dissuading the Rothschilds and other bankers from lending to the Confederacy
and meeting personally with the British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, and members of Napoleon III’s French government.
-Johnson
administrations. Horatio Seymour
’s electoral defeat in that year paled in comparison to liberal Republican Horace Greeley
's disastrous 1872 presidential campaign. While the party chairman had promoted Charles Francis Adams
for the nomination, Greeley’s nomination implied Democratic endorsement of a candidate who often had referred to Democrats as “‘slaveholders,’ ‘slave-whippers,’ ‘traitors,’ and ‘Copperheads’ and accused them of thievery, debauchery, corruption, and sin.” Although the election of 1872 prompted Belmont to resign his chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, he nevertheless continued to dabble in politics as a champion of US Senator Thomas F. Bayard
of Delaware
for the presidency, as a fierce critic of the process
granting Rutherford B. Hayes
the presidency in 1877, and as an advocate of “hard money.”
Belmont's sons were Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont
, Perry Belmont
, and August Belmont, Jr.
.
He was an avid sportsman, and the famed Belmont Stakes
thoroughbred horse race is named in his honor. It debuted at Jerome Park Racetrack
, owned by Belmont's friend, Leonard Jerome
. Today The Belmont Stakes is part of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown
and takes place at Belmont Park
, just outside New York City.
Also named in Belmont's honor is the town of Belmont, New Hampshire
, an honor Mr. Belmont never acknowledged. Edith Wharton
reputedly modeled the character of Julius Beaufort in The Age of Innocence
on Belmont.
Early life
August Belmont was born in AlzeyAlzey
Alzey is a Verband-free town – one belonging to no Verbandsgemeinde – in the Alzey-Worms district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the fourth-largest town in Rhenish Hesse, after Mainz, Worms, and Bingen....
, Hesse
Grand Duchy of Hesse
The Grand Duchy of Hesse and by Rhine , or, between 1806 and 1816, Grand Duchy of Hesse —as it was also known after 1816—was a member state of the German Confederation from 1806, when the Landgraviate of Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to a Grand Duchy, until 1918, when all the German...
, on December 8, 1813--some sources say 1816--to Simon and Frederika Elsass Schönberg, a Jewish family. After his mother's death, when he was seven, he lived with his uncle and grandmother in Frankfurt. He attended the Jewish Junior and Senior High School until he began his first job as an apprentice to the Rothschilds. He would sweep floors, polish furniture, and run errands while studying English, arithmetic, and writing. He was then given a confidential clerkship in 1832 and promoted to private secretary before travelling to Naples
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, and Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. In 1837, Belmont set sail for Havana charged with the Rothschild's Cuban interests. On his way to Havana, however, Belmont stopped in New York. He arrived there during the Panic of 1837
Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
and then remained to supervise jeopardised Rothschild interests there instead of continuing on to Havana. After he emigrated to the United States, he changed his surname, Schönberg (German for "beautiful mountain"), to Belmont (French for "beautiful mountain").
August Belmont and Company
In the Panic of 1837Panic of 1837
The Panic of 1837 was a financial crisis or market correction in the United States built on a speculative fever. The end of the Second Bank of the United States had produced a period of runaway inflation, but on May 10, 1837 in New York City, every bank began to accept payment only in specie ,...
, hundreds of American businesses, including the Rothschild's American agents, collapsed. As a result, Belmont postponed his departure for Havana indefinitely and began August Belmont & Company, believing that he could supplant the recently bankrupt firm, the American Agency. August Belmont and Company was an instant success, and Belmont restored health to the Rothschild's US interests over the next five years. In 1844, Belmont was named the Consul-General of Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
at New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. He resigned the post in 1850 in response to what he viewed as Austria's cruelty towards Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
, even as his interest in politics grew.
Entrance into Politics
Belmont married Caroline Slidell Perry, the daughter of Matthew Calbraith Perry, on November 7, 1849. Soon,John Slidell
John Slidell
John Slidell was an American politician, lawyer and businessman. A native of New York, Slidell moved to Louisiana as a young man and became a staunch defender of southern rights as a U.S. Representative and Senator...
, his wife's uncle, made Belmont his protégé. Belmont's first task was to campaign for James Buchanan
James Buchanan
James Buchanan, Jr. was the 15th President of the United States . He is the only president from Pennsylvania, the only president who remained a lifelong bachelor and the last to be born in the 18th century....
in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In June, 1851, Belmont wrote letters to the New York Herald
New York Herald
The New York Herald was a large distribution newspaper based in New York City that existed between May 6, 1835, and 1924.-History:The first issue of the paper was published by James Gordon Bennett, Sr., on May 6, 1835. By 1845 it was the most popular and profitable daily newspaper in the UnitedStates...
and the New York National-Democrat, insisting that they do justice to Buchanan's presidential run. But Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce
Franklin Pierce was the 14th President of the United States and is the only President from New Hampshire. Pierce was a Democrat and a "doughface" who served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Pierce took part in the Mexican-American War and became a brigadier general in the Army...
won the nomination instead, and Belmont made large contributions to the Democratic cause, weathering political attack. After his victory, Pierce in 1853 appointed Belmont chargé d'affaires and minister to The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
. While in Holland, Belmont urged American annexation of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
as a new slave state in what became known as the Ostend Manifesto
Ostend Manifesto
The Ostend Manifesto was a document written in 1854 that described the rationale for the United States to purchase Cuba from Spain and implied the U.S. should declare war if Spain refused. Cuba's annexation had long been a goal of U.S. expansionists, particularly as the U.S. set its sights...
.
Though Belmont lobbied hard for it, Buchanan denied him the ambassadorship to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
after his election in 1856, thanks to the Ostend Manifesto. As a delegate to the Democratic Convention of 1860
1860 Democratic National Convention
The 1860 Democratic National Convention was one of the crucial events in the lead-up to the American Civil War. Following a fragmented official Democratic National Convention that was adjourned in deadlock, two more presidential nominating conventions took place: a resumed official convention,...
, Belmont supported Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen A. Douglas
Stephen Arnold Douglas was an American politician from the western state of Illinois, and was the Northern Democratic Party nominee for President in 1860. He lost to the Republican Party's candidate, Abraham Lincoln, whom he had defeated two years earlier in a Senate contest following a famed...
, who subsequently named Belmont chairman of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
. Belmont energetically supported the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
cause during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
as a War Democrat, conspicuously helping Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
congressman Francis P. Blair
Francis Preston Blair, Jr.
Francis Preston Blair, Jr. was an American politician and Union Army general during the American Civil War. He represented Missouri in both the House of Representatives and the Senate, and he was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President in 1868.-Early life and career:Blair was born in...
raise and equip the Union army's first predominantly German-American regiment. Belmont also used his influence with European business and political leaders to support the Union
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
cause in the American civil war
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, dissuading the Rothschilds and other bankers from lending to the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
and meeting personally with the British prime minister, Lord Palmerston, and members of Napoleon III’s French government.
Postwar Political Career
Remaining chairman of the Democratic National Committee after the war, Belmont presided over what he called “‘the most disastrous epoch in the annals of the Democratic Party.’” As early as 1862, Belmont and Samuel Tilden bought stock in the New York World in order to mold it into a major Democratic organ with the help of Manton M. Marble, its editor-in-chief. Seeking to capitalize on divisions in the Republican party at the war’s end, Belmont organized new party gatherings and promoted Salmon Chase for president in 1868, the candidate he viewed least vulnerable to charges of disloyalty to the party during the Republican LincolnAbraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
-Johnson
Andrew Johnson
Andrew Johnson was the 17th President of the United States . As Vice-President of the United States in 1865, he succeeded Abraham Lincoln following the latter's assassination. Johnson then presided over the initial and contentious Reconstruction era of the United States following the American...
administrations. Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour
Horatio Seymour was an American politician. He was the 18th Governor of New York from 1853 to 1854 and from 1863 to 1864. He was the Democratic Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election of 1868, but lost the election to Republican and former Union General of...
’s electoral defeat in that year paled in comparison to liberal Republican Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley
Horace Greeley was an American newspaper editor, a founder of the Liberal Republican Party, a reformer, a politician, and an outspoken opponent of slavery...
's disastrous 1872 presidential campaign. While the party chairman had promoted Charles Francis Adams
Charles Francis Adams, Sr.
Charles Francis Adams, Sr. was an American lawyer, politician, diplomat and writer. He was the grandson of President John Adams and Abigail Adams and the son of President John Quincy Adams and Louisa Adams....
for the nomination, Greeley’s nomination implied Democratic endorsement of a candidate who often had referred to Democrats as “‘slaveholders,’ ‘slave-whippers,’ ‘traitors,’ and ‘Copperheads’ and accused them of thievery, debauchery, corruption, and sin.” Although the election of 1872 prompted Belmont to resign his chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, he nevertheless continued to dabble in politics as a champion of US Senator Thomas F. Bayard
Thomas F. Bayard
Thomas Francis Bayard was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served three terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware, and as U.S. Secretary of State, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom.-Early life and family:Bayard was born in...
of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
for the presidency, as a fierce critic of the process
Compromise of 1877
The Compromise of 1877, also known as the Corrupt Bargain, refers to a purported informal, unwritten deal that settled the disputed 1876 U.S. Presidential election and ended Congressional Reconstruction. Through it, Republican Rutherford B. Hayes was awarded the White House over Democrat Samuel J...
granting Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes was the 19th President of the United States . As president, he oversaw the end of Reconstruction and the United States' entry into the Second Industrial Revolution...
the presidency in 1877, and as an advocate of “hard money.”
Death
Belmont died in New York in 1890. The Letters, Speeches and Addresses of August Belmont was published at New York in 1890. Belmont left an estate valued at more than ten million dollars. He is buried in Newport, Rhode Island.Belmont's sons were Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont
Oliver Belmont
Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont was an American socialite and United States Representative from New York.- Biography :...
, Perry Belmont
Perry Belmont
Perry Belmont was an American politician and diplomat.-Biography:He was born on December 28, 1851 in New York City to August Belmont. His brothers were Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and August Belmont, Jr....
, and August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr.
August Belmont, Jr. was an American financier, the builder of New York's Belmont Park racetrack, and a major owner/breeder of thoroughbred racehorses.-Early life:...
.
August Belmont in culture
August Belmont threw lavish balls and dinner parties, receiving from New York's high society mixed reviews.He was an avid sportsman, and the famed Belmont Stakes
Belmont Stakes
The Belmont Stakes is an American Grade I stakes Thoroughbred horse race held every June at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is a 1.5-mile horse race, open to three year old Thoroughbreds. Colts and geldings carry a weight of 126 pounds ; fillies carry 121 pounds...
thoroughbred horse race is named in his honor. It debuted at Jerome Park Racetrack
Jerome Park Racetrack
Jerome Park Racetrack was an American thoroughbred horse racing facility.-History:It opened in 1866 in the northwest part of Fordham, Westchester County , New York....
, owned by Belmont's friend, Leonard Jerome
Leonard Jerome
Leonard Walter Jerome was a Brooklyn, New York, financier and grandfather of Winston Churchill.- Early life :...
. Today The Belmont Stakes is part of thoroughbred racing's Triple Crown
Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing
The Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing consists of three races for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses. Winning all three of these Thoroughbred horse races is considered the greatest accomplishment of a Thoroughbred racehorse...
and takes place at Belmont Park
Belmont Park
Belmont Park is a major thoroughbred horse-racing facility located in Elmont in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, on Long Island adjoining New York City. It first opened on May 4, 1905...
, just outside New York City.
Also named in Belmont's honor is the town of Belmont, New Hampshire
Belmont, New Hampshire
Belmont is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,356 at the 2010 census.The primary settlement in town, where 1,301 people resided at the 2010 census, is defined by the U.S...
, an honor Mr. Belmont never acknowledged. Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton , was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, short story writer, and designer.- Early life and marriage:...
reputedly modeled the character of Julius Beaufort in The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence
The Age of Innocence is a novel by Edith Wharton published in 1920, which won the 1921 Pulitzer Prize. The story is set in upper-class New York City in the 1870s. In 1920, The Age of Innocence was serialized in four parts in the Pictorial Review magazine, and later released by D...
on Belmont.
External links
- Photograph of August Belmont's birth record, Zivilstandsregister Alzey, Germany, 1813
- Mr. Lincoln and New York: August Belmont
- Our CrowdOur CrowdOur Crowd is a book by Stephen Birmingham that documents the lives of prominent New York Jewish families of the 19th Century. Historian Louis Auchincloss called it "A fascinating and absorbing chapter of New York social and financial history..." There have been 14 editions of the book as of...
by Stephen BirminghamStephen BirminghamStephen Birmingham, born May 28, 1932 in Hartford, Connecticut, is an author.Born to Thomas Birmingham and Editha Gardner Birmingham, he received a BA from Williams College in 1953. He is a former teacher of writing at the University of Cincinnati. He has written over thirty books and is now retired...
(c) 1967 Harper and Row NY Pages 57-62
