We the Corporations: How American Businesses Won Their Civil Rights
by Adam Winkler · 27 Feb 2018 · 581pp · 162,518 words
was not discovered until a year after Powell’s confirmation, once revealed it became a rallying cry for business leaders across the country. Indeed, the Powell Memorandum became an influential strategic planning document of the emerging New Right—a coalition of free market advocates and religious conservatives that swept Ronald Reagan into
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became the Supreme Court’s swing vote, and while he occasionally sided with the liberal Warren court holdouts on social issues, the author of the Powell Memorandum was a corporationalist who voted more consistently to expand the rights of corporations and protect industry from burdensome regulation and lawsuits.7 While the Supreme
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, Powell’s Memorandum identified Nader as “the single most effective antagonist of American business.”13 Under the title “Attack on American Free Enterprise System,” the Powell Memorandum insisted that “no thoughtful person can question” whether capitalism was under siege from within. The “extremists of the left,” including “Communists, New Leftists and other
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revolutionaries” in the universities and the media were “waging ideological warfare against the enterprise system.” To counter Nader and his powerful reform movement, the Powell Memorandum advised that “it is essential that spokesmen for the enterprise system—at all levels and at every opportunity—be far more aggressive than in the
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likely expected the Chamber to take up at least some of Powell’s recommendations. What they could not have imagined, however, was how influential the Powell Memorandum would turn out to be for both the Chamber and the country.15 * * * IN 1969, AT THE HEIGHT of Ralph Nader’s popularity, his father
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educational materials for schools, was a direct outgrowth of Lewis Powell’s memorandum to the Chamber of Commerce.36 When it was first written, the Powell Memorandum was marked “confidential,” intended only for the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce and perhaps a small group of Powell and Sydnor’s friends. The
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was the growth in the number of corporations with “government affairs” lobbyists in Washington, which surged over 500 percent between 1968 and 1978.38 The Powell Memorandum touched off what one historian called “an explosion of efforts to recast Americans’ understanding of business and economics and to rehabilitate the public image of
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had “no muscle either in the executive branch or on Capitol Hill.”40 WRITTEN MONTHS BEFORE LEWIS POWELL WAS NOMINATED TO THE SUPREME COURT, THE POWELL MEMORANDUM WOULD HELP INSPIRE AND SHAPE THE POLITICAL REVITALIZATION OF CORPORATE AMERICA. Powell’s memo triggered a complete overhaul of the Chamber’s approach to politics
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parties themselves spent more on politics.41 Washington politics would also be reshaped by the Business Roundtable, founded in 1972 on the basis of the Powell Memorandum and “in the belief that business executives should take an increased role in the continuing debates about public policy.” Bryce Harlow, a Procter & Gamble representative
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placed on the ballot was explicitly limited to individuals. Hill remained undaunted. Like an increasing number of businesspeople in the years after publication of the Powell Memorandum, Hill was convinced of the need to defend the interests of business, and his resolve had only been fortified by the stagnating economy of the
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new hurdles, the businessmen went to court to protect their interests. It was precisely the type of relentless, assertive mobilization of business envisioned by the Powell Memorandum. And the final word on whether Massachusetts could prohibit corporations from spending money to influence ballot campaigns would rest with the court on which sat
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the other justices, however, the brash liberalism of the 1960s was being overtaken by a rising conservative tide that followed the channel suggested by the Powell Memorandum. Brennan still achieved some notable liberal victories after President Nixon transformed the court—including Furman v. Georgia, temporarily outlawing the death penalty; Roe v. Wade
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Duke.”66 Powell similarly enjoyed great success, profoundly shaping the law both before and after his appointment to the Supreme Court. When he wrote the Powell Memorandum in 1971, the law was moving in the progressive direction of Ralph Nader, and business interests were on the defensive. Yet Powell’s passionate cri
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time he passed away in 1998 at the age of 91. The Reagan Revolution of 1980, which was built around the vision articulated in the Powell Memorandum, ushered in a conservative era committed to free markets, small government, pro-business tax policies, and deregulation of industry. The shift was so profound that
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regain their Election Day competitiveness. One of Powell’s most lasting influences was on the role of business advocates before the Supreme Court. Following the Powell Memorandum’s suggestion, the Chamber of Commerce established its own law firm, the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC) in 1977, just as the Bellotti case was
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effort whatsoever, corporations had gained new legal rights to influence democratic elections. Unlike unions, however, corporations showed little interest in forming PACs prior to the Powell Memorandum of 1971. A handful of companies, mostly California-based aerospace firms looking for government contracts, formed “good government” or “civic action” committees, but the funds
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had lost that early challenge, the Michigan branch of the Chamber of Commerce decided to try again seventy years later, following the advice of the Powell Memorandum to become more assertive in defending its rights. The Supreme Court, however, upheld Michigan’s law, pointing to the “unique legal and economic characteristics” of
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interests. When Rex Lee founded Sidley Austin’s Supreme Court practice, he sought out paying business clients, such as those companies that were heeding the Powell Memorandum’s advice and litigating to defend corporate interests. Lee brought in “a virtual Who’s Who of the nation’s major industries” from “banking, mining
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. 3. “Meet Ralph Nader,” Newsweek, January 22, 1968, cover, 65; “The U.S.’s Toughest Customer,” Time, December 12, 1969, cover, 89. 4. On the Powell Memorandum and its impact, see Benjamin C. Waterhouse, Lobbying America: The Politics of Business From Nixon to NAFTA (2013), 58–60; Kim Phillips-Fein, Invisible Hands
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Council Campaigns (2013). 37. See Phillips-Fein, Businessmen’s Crusade, 161–162. 38. See Chamber of Commerce of the United States, Business Response to the Powell Memorandum, Washington Report, November 26, 1973; Phillips-Fein, Businessmen’s Crusade, 162; Vogel, “The ‘New’ Social Regulation,” 176; Jack Doyle, “Nader’s Raiders, 1968–1974,” PopHistoryDig
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–22, 256, 258, 259, 273–75, 359, 369, 388, 401, 402 Associated Industries of Massachusetts, 310 Atlantic, 171–72 “Attack on American Free Enterprise System” (Powell Memorandum), 281, 283–89, 300–305, 303, 314, 321, 322, 333, 335, 350, 402 Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce, 335–36, 341, 353, 356, 357
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, 284, 288, 298, 300–308, 303, 311, 312, 313, 314–22, 324, 333, 335, 336, 346, 350, 365, 392, 393, 402 Powell, Nathaniel, 16, 281 Powell Memorandum (“Attack on American Free Enterprise System”), 281, 283–89, 300–305, 303, 314, 321, 322, 333, 335, 350, 402 Powell’s Creek, 281 preferred shares
Who Stole the American Dream?
by Hedrick Smith · 10 Sep 2012 · 598pp · 172,137 words
the past and discover a hitherto unknown pregnant beginning. One such hidden beginning, with powerful impact on our lives today, occurred in 1971 with “the Powell Memorandum.” The memo, first unearthed by others many years ago, was written by Lewis Powell, then one of America’s most respected and influential corporate attorneys
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such hidden beginning Lewis F. Powell, Jr., memorandum, “Attack on American Free Enterprise System,” August 23, 1971, http://law.wlu.edu/deptimages/Powell%20Archives/PowellMemorandumTypescript.pdf. 8 “America is coming apart at the seams” Charles Murray, Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960–2010 (New York: Crown Forum
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of America: The Rise of Corporate Power and the Disabling of Democracy (San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler, 2003), 137–51. 4 Powell warned the corporate community Powell, memorandum, “Attack on American Free Enterprise System,” August 23, 1971, http://www.aspenlawschool.com. 5 Business was being victimized Ibid. 6 “Business must learn the
Free Market Missionaries: The Corporate Manipulation of Community Values
by Sharon Beder · 30 Sep 2006 · 273pp · 34,920 words
deal of money from the beer brewing corporation his grandfather founded, was one of those inspired by the business battle plan in the Powell Memorandum: ‘Coors recalls that the Powell memorandum “stirred” him up and convinced him that American business was “ignoring” a crisis.’2 In 1973 Coors, angry after being found guilty of
Tailspin: The People and Forces Behind America's Fifty-Year Fall--And Those Fighting to Reverse It
by Steven Brill · 28 May 2018 · 519pp · 155,332 words
of Law / Jasmin Shah 13 Harold Shapiro 14 Courtesy of Issue One 15 Washington and Lee University Library: Lewis F. Powell, Jr., “The Memo” (1971); Powell Memorandum: Attack on American Free Enterprise System, 1 16 House.Sinema.Gov 17 Alexei Agaryshev 18 Photograph by Diana Walker / Time & Life Pictures / Getty Images (Getty
Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right
by Jane Mayer · 19 Jan 2016 · 558pp · 168,179 words
galvanized by Lewis Powell. In 1974, Charles gave a speech to a group of businessmen gathered at a hotel in Dallas, quoting Powell. “As the Powell Memorandum points out,” Koch warned the group, “business and the enterprise system are in trouble, and the hour is late.” Koch urged his fellow business leaders
Sleeping Giant: How the New Working Class Will Transform America
by Tamara Draut · 4 Apr 2016 · 255pp · 75,172 words
. The Washington and Lee University School of Law, which Lewis Powell attended, maintains an archive of his writing and work. The complete text of the Powell Memorandum is available on the school’s website at http://law2.wlu.edu/powellarchives/page.asp?pageid=1251, and from many other sources on the Internet
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. The Washington and Lee University School of Law, which Lewis Powell attended, maintains an archive of his writing and work. The complete text of the Powell Memorandum is available on the website http://law2.wlu.edu/powellarchives/page.asp?pageid=1251, and from many other sources on the Internet. 29. Phillips
The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy
by Peter Temin · 17 Mar 2017 · 273pp · 87,159 words
They also are the people who have tried for many years to transform their ideas about the role of government into public policy. The 1971 Powell Memorandum was a call to arms to business leaders that began a complex dance between these groups of rich people that can be clarified by describing
The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order: America and the World in the Free Market Era
by Gary Gerstle · 14 Oct 2022 · 655pp · 156,367 words
magnate who had established the Olin Foundation in 1953, now redoubled the efforts through his foundation to mount ideological defenses for free market capitalism. “The Powell memorandum,” he wrote, “gives reason for a well organized effort to re-establish the validity and importance of the American free enterprise system.”2 Joseph Coors
Evil Geniuses: The Unmaking of America: A Recent History
by Kurt Andersen · 14 Sep 2020 · 486pp · 150,849 words
’t secret at all. For instance, in a 1974 speech Charles Koch gave to business executives in Dallas, he quoted its final line—“As the Powell Memorandum points out,” he said, without further explanation, “ ‘business and the enterprise system are in trouble, and the hour is late.’ ” He assumed that everyone in
Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer-And Turned Its Back on the Middle Class
by Paul Pierson and Jacob S. Hacker · 14 Sep 2010 · 602pp · 120,848 words
, 116–36, 150–51, 160, 169, 170–72, 179–80, 183–84, 197–98, 207, 230–31, 242–43, 271–75, 282, 292–93, 304 Powell memorandum on, 117–18, 119, 125 regulation of, 55–56, 116–36, 179–80, 187, 205–6, 219–21, 246–47, 273–77 Republicans supported by
Power Systems: Conversations on Global Democratic Uprisings and the New Challenges to U.S. Empire
by Noam Chomsky and David Barsamian · 1 Nov 2012
The Upswing: How America Came Together a Century Ago and How We Can Do It Again
by Robert D. Putnam · 12 Oct 2020 · 678pp · 160,676 words
Because We Say So
by Noam Chomsky
Geek Heresy: Rescuing Social Change From the Cult of Technology
by Kentaro Toyama · 25 May 2015 · 494pp · 116,739 words