# A. Piatt Andrew

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American politician and economist

Abram Piatt Andrew Jr. Abram Piatt Andrew circa 1920 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th district In office September 27, 1921 – June 3, 1936 Preceded by Willfred W. Lufkin Succeeded by George J. Bates Personal details Born (1873-02-12)February 12, 1873 La Porte, Indiana Died June 3, 1936(1936-06-03) (aged 63) Gloucester, Massachusetts Resting place ashes scattered over Red Roof, Eastern Point, Gloucester, MA Party Republican Alma mater Lawrenceville School, Princeton College Signature Military service Allegiance United States Branch/service United States Army Years of service September 1917–1918 Rank Lieutenant colonel Battles/wars World War I Awards Legion of Honor Distinguished Service Medal

**Abram Piatt Andrew Jr.** (February 12, 1873 – June 3, 1936) was an American economist and politician who served as [Assistant Secretary of the Treasury](/source/Assistant_Secretary_of_the_Treasury), the founder and director of the [American Ambulance Field Service](/source/AFS_Intercultural_Programs) during [World War I](/source/World_War_I), and a [member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts](/source/List_of_United_States_representatives_from_Massachusetts).

## Early life and education

He was born in [La Porte, Indiana](/source/La_Porte%2C_Indiana), on February 12, 1873.[1] He attended the public schools and the [Lawrenceville School](/source/Lawrenceville%2C_New_Jersey). He graduated from [Princeton College](/source/Princeton_College) in 1893, studied at the [Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences](/source/Harvard_Graduate_School_of_Arts_and_Sciences) from 1893 to 1898, graduating with a master's degree in 1895 and a doctorate in 1900.[2] He later pursued postgraduate studies in the Universities of [Halle](/source/University_of_Halle), [Berlin](/source/University_of_Berlin), and [Paris](/source/University_of_Paris).[3]

## Early career in economics

He moved to [Gloucester, Massachusetts](/source/Gloucester%2C_Massachusetts), and was an instructor and assistant professor of economics at [Harvard University](/source/Harvard_University) from 1900 to 1909.[3]

In January 1907, Andrew published a paper that anticipated the economic panic that hit in the fall of that year. On the strength of this paper as well as on his strong economics education, Andrew was selected to serve on the [National Monetary Commission](/source/National_Monetary_Commission) tasked with reforming the American banking system. Andrew took a leave from Harvard and spent two years studying the central banks of [Germany](/source/Germany), [Britain](/source/Great_Britain) and [France](/source/France). He served as [Director of the U.S. Mint](/source/Director_of_the_United_States_Mint) in 1909 and 1910, and as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury during 1910–1912.[2] He attended the historic meeting at [Jekyll Island](/source/Jekyll_Island_Club) in 1910 with commission chairman [Nelson W. Aldrich](/source/Nelson_W._Aldrich), [Henry P. Davison](/source/Henry_Pomeroy_Davison), [Benjamin Strong](/source/Benjamin_Strong_Jr.), [Paul Warburg](/source/Paul_Warburg), and [Frank A. Vanderlip](/source/Frank_A._Vanderlip).[4] The commission's report recommended the creation of a [Federal Reserve System](/source/Federal_Reserve_System).[5]

The Republicans lost the White House in 1912, putting Andrew out of a job. He worked informally after the election with Democratic Senator [Robert Latham Owen](/source/Robert_Latham_Owen) to draft Owen's version of a Federal Reserve Bill, which in the event came closest of several competing drafts to the Act eventually passed and signed into law in December 1913.[6]

## Founder of American Field Service

Grenville Keogh, [Anne Harriman Vanderbilt](/source/Anne_Harriman_Vanderbilt), [Anne Morgan](/source/Anne_Morgan_(philanthropist)), Piatt Andrew, 1916 (Grenville Keogh was an ambulance driver for the American Ambulance Field Service)

Despite American neutrality, Andrew went to France when war broke out in the summer of 1914. He wrote to his parents about his compulsion to respond to "the possibility of having even an infinitesimal part in one of the greatest events in all history--...and above all the chance of doing the little all that one can for France."[7]

Andrew drove an ambulance in the Dunkirk sector for a few weeks, but his supervisor at the [American Military Hospital](/source/American_Hospital_of_Paris) recognized his exceptional energy and organizing ability. [Robert Bacon](/source/Robert_Bacon) created a new position for him to fill: Inspector General of the American Ambulance Field Service.[8] In his official capacity, Andrew toured the ambulance sections of Northern France and learned that the American volunteers were bored with so called "jitney work," transporting wounded soldiers from railheads to hospitals, far back from the front lines. French army policy prohibited foreign nationals from traveling into battle zones.[9]

In March 1915, Andrew met with Captain Aime Doumenc, head of the French Army Automobile Service and pleaded his case for the American volunteers. They desired above all, he said, "To pick up the wounded from the front lines..., to look danger squarely in the face; in a word, to mingle with the soldiers of France and to share their fate!"[10] Doumenc agreed to a trial. The success of Andrew's Section Z was immediate and overwhelming. By April 15, 1915, the French created American Ambulance Field Service operating under French Army command.

Lieutenant Colonel A. Piatt Andrew Jr.

Andrew headed the organization, soon shortened to [American Field Service](/source/American_Field_Service), throughout the war, though his role changed significantly when its ambulance sections were taken over by the United States Army in late summer 1917. Andrew established a domestic organization based in Boston to recruit young American drivers and to raise funds from wealthy donors. The stateside office was headed by [Henry Davis Sleeper](/source/Henry_Davis_Sleeper) and assisted by [John Hays Hammond Jr](/source/John_Hays_Hammond_Jr) and former ambulance driver, Leslie Buswell. The French office was located at number 21 rue Raynouard, Paris.

At the time of militarization, the American Field Service had formed thirty-four ambulance sections manned by 1,200 American volunteers. (A total of 2,100 volunteers had volunteered over the course of two years.) In addition the AFS had created fourteen camion sections with 800 additional American volunteers trucking supplies and soldiers up the [Voie Sacree](/source/Voie_Sacree) from Bar-le-Duc to Verdun and other routes to the Front.[11]

The AFS motto was "Tous et tout pour France," everyone and everything for France. At an AFS reunion a few years after the war, Andrew said, "The opportunity of living in France, as we Americans lived during the first years of the war...meant glimpses of human nature shorn of self, exalted by love of country, singing and jesting in the midst of hardships, smiling at pain, unmindful even of death."[12]

## Congressman

Andrew was elected as a [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) to the [Sixty-seventh United States Congress](/source/Sixty-seventh_United_States_Congress) to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of [Willfred W. Lufkin](/source/Willfred_W._Lufkin); he was reelected to the [Sixty-eighth](/source/Sixty-eighth_United_States_Congress) and to the six succeeding Congresses and served from September 27, 1921, until his death.[3]

He was a delegate to the [Republican National Conventions](/source/Republican_National_Conventions) in 1924 and 1928. In 1924, he proposed a bonus for [World War I](/source/World_War_I) veterans.[13]

He was a member of the [board of trustees](/source/Board_of_trustees) of [Princeton University](/source/Princeton_University) from 1932 to 1936.[3]

## Personal life

Andrew, a lifelong bachelor, was in a relationship with his neighbor, interior designer [Henry Davis Sleeper](/source/Henry_Davis_Sleeper), and this relationship may have been sexual.[14][15][16]

## Awards

He was made an officer in the [Legion of Honor](/source/Legion_of_Honor) in 1927.[17] He received the [Army Distinguished Service Medal](/source/Distinguished_Service_Medal_(U.S._Army)) for his World War I service.[18] He was named an Officer in Belgium's [Order of Leopold](/source/Order_of_Leopold_(Belgium)).[3] He was awarded the [Croix de Guerre](/source/Croix_de_Guerre) and named a Chevalier de la [Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) in 1917 by the French government.[19]

## Death and legacy

He died on June 3, 1936, in [Gloucester, Massachusetts](/source/Gloucester%2C_Massachusetts), at his home "Red Roof" from [influenza](/source/Influenza), which he had been suffering from for several weeks.[1] The following day the [United States House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) adjourned at 2:55 p.m. to honor his death.[20]

His remains were cremated and the ashes scattered from an airplane flying over his estate on Eastern Point in Gloucester.

In 1953, a bridge carrying [Massachusetts Route 128](/source/Massachusetts_Route_128) over the [Annisquam River](/source/Annisquam_River) to the island section of Gloucester was named the "A. Piatt Andrew Bridge" in honor of his service as a congressman.[21]

## See also

- [Biography portal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Biography)

- [List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)](/source/List_of_members_of_the_United_States_Congress_who_died_in_office_(1900%E2%80%931949))

## References

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-obit_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-obit_1-1) ["A. P. Andrew Dies. Massachusetts Republican Was Stricken With Influenza at the Capital"](https://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B06E1DF113FEE3BBC4B53DFB066838D629EDE). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). June 3, 1936. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-cyclo_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-cyclo_2-1) [*The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography*](https://books.google.com/books?id=nm9GAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA430) (Supplement 1 ed.). New York: James T. White & Company. 1910. pp. 430–1. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-auto_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-auto_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-auto_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-auto_3-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-auto_3-4) *Who Was Who in American History – the Military*. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. p. 12. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0837932017](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0837932017).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** McCulley, Richard T. (1980). *The Origins of the Federal Reserve Act of 1913: Banks and Politics during the Progressive Era, 1897-1913* (Ph.D.). University of Texas. p. 366.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["The Federal Reserve And The Men Who Created It. Part Three: Abram Piatt Andrew"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150513174037/http://www.jekyllclub.com/2010/12/part-three-abram-piatt-andrew/). Archived from [the original](http://www.jekyllclub.com/2010/12/part-three-abram-piatt-andrew/) on May 13, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** Lowenstein, Roger. *America's Bank* (New York, Penguin, 2015), p. 202.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Hansen, Arlen (2011) [1996]. *Gentlemen Volunteers*. Arcade Publishing. pp. 39–40.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Hansen, Arlen (2011) [1996]. *Gentlemen Volunteers*. Arcade Publishing. p. 42.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** Hansen, Arlen (2011) [1996]. *Gentlemen Volunteers*. Arcade Publishing. p. 14.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Hansen, Arlen (2011) [1996]. *Gentlemen Volunteers*. Arcade Publishing. p. 44.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** History of the American Field Service in France, as told by its members, vol. 3, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920, pages 429-434; and Hansen, page 54

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** History of the American Field Service, volume 1, page 15

1. **[^](#cite_ref-bill_13-0)** ["New Bonus Plan Urged By Andrews. Bill Offered in House Would Eliminate Officers and Vocational Training"](https://www.nytimes.com/1924/02/21/archives/new-bonus-plan-urged-by-andrews-bill-offered-in-house-would.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. February 21, 1924. Retrieved August 1, 2014. An alternative to the pending bonus bill was presented today by Representative A. Piatt Andrew of Massachusetts, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury and an officer in the World War. In recent months Colonel Andrew and Secretary Mellon have exchanged sharp letters over the cost of adjusted compensation. ...

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [*Improper Bostonians: Lesbian and Gay History from the Puritans to Playland*](https://books.google.com/books?id=azaIecghLVgC&pg=PA92). Beacon Press. 1999. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780807079492](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780807079492).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** Shand-Tucci, Douglass (2005). [*Ralph Adams Cram: An Architect's Four Quests - Medieval, Modernist, American, Ecumenical*](https://books.google.com/books?id=SLgXOQdUrakC&pg=PA223). Univ of Massachusetts Press. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9781558494893](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9781558494893).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** Carter, Alice A. (2005). *Cecilia Beaux*. Random House. p. 149.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** ["A. Piatt Andrew Is Made Officer of Legion of Honor"](https://www.nytimes.com/1927/10/09/archives/a-piatt-andrew-is-made-officer-of-legion-of-honor.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. October 9, 1927. Retrieved August 1, 2014. At an official ceremony this afternoon at Les Invalides Representative A. Piatt Andrew of Massachusetts was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor ...

1. **[^](#cite_ref-18)** ["Abram Piatt Andrew"](https://web.archive.org/web/20161109021325/http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=17195). *Hall of Valor*. Archived from [the original](http://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=17195) on November 9, 2016. Retrieved August 7, 2025.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-19)** *Who Was Who in American History – the Military*. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1975. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0837932017](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0837932017).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-20)** ["Andrew Is Honored As House Adjourns. Former Representative From Massachusetts Eulogized in Chamber by Treadway"](https://www.nytimes.com/1936/06/04/archives/andrew-is-honored-as-house-adjourns-former-representative-from.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. June 4, 1936. Retrieved August 1, 2014. The House adjourned at 2:55 o'clock this afternoon in respect to Representative A. Piatt Andrew of the Sixth Massachusetts District, who died last night after a ...

1. **[^](#cite_ref-21)** ["Yankee Division Highway, Historic Overview"](http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-128/). *Boston Roads*. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20150512030706/http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/MA-128/) from the original on May 12, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.

## Further reading

- United States Congress. ["A. Piatt Andrew (id: A000240)"](http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=A000240). *[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress](/source/Biographical_Directory_of_the_United_States_Congress)*. Retrieved on 2008-03-18

- Hansen, Arlen. Gentlemen Volunteers. New York: Arcade Publishing, 1996, 2011.

- History of the American Field Service in France, as told by its members, volumes 1–3, Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1920.

## External links

- Media related to [Abram Piatt Andrew](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Abram_Piatt_Andrew) at Wikimedia Commons

Government offices Preceded by Frank A. Leach Director of the United States Mint November 1909 – June 1910 Succeeded by George E. Roberts U.S. House of Representatives Preceded by Willfred W. Lufkin Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 6th congressional district September 27, 1921 – June 3, 1936 Succeeded by George J. Bates

v t e United States representatives from Massachusetts 1st district F. Ames Dexter Goodhue Holten Sedgwick Skinner Sedgwick J. Bacon Eustis Quincy Ward Jr. Mason Gorham Webster Gorham N. Appleton Gorham A. Lawrence Fletcher A. Lawrence Winthrop N. Appleton Winthrop S. Eliot W. Appleton Scudder T. D. Eliot Hall T. D. Eliot Buffington Crapo R. Davis Randall Wright G. Lawrence Treadway Heselton Conte Olver Neal 2nd district Goodhue Foster W. Lyman Sedgwick Ward Sr. W. Lyman Shepard J. Crowninshield Story Pickman W. Reed Pickering Silsbee Barstow B. Crowninshield Choate Phillips Saltonstall D. King Rantoul Fay Crocker Buffington O. Ames Harris Long E. Morse Gillett Churchill Bowles Kaynor Granfield Clason Furcolo Boland Neal McGovern 3rd district Gerry Bourne Coffin S. Lyman Mattoon Cutler Nelson Livermore White Pickering Nelson Varnum Nelson Osgood Cushing A. Abbott Duncan Edmands Damrell C. Adams Thomas A. Rice Twichell Whiting I Pierce Field B. Dean Field Ranney L. Morse J. Andrew Walker J. R. Thayer R. Hoar C. Washburn J. A. Thayer Wilder Paige F. Foss Casey Philbin Drinan Donohue Early Blute McGovern N. Tsongas Trahan 4th district Sedgwick Dearborn G. Thatcher Wadsworth Foster L. Lincoln Sr. Hastings Varnum W. Richardson Dana Stearns Fuller E. Everett Sa. Hoar Parmenter Thompson Palfrey Thompson Sabine Walley Comins A. Rice Hooper Frost J. Abbott L. Morse Collins O'Neil Apsley Weymouth Tirrell Mitchell Wilder Winslow Stobbs P. Holmes Donohue Drinan Frank Kennedy III Auchincloss 5th district Partridge Bourne Freeman L. Williams T. Dwight Ely Mills Lathrop Sibley J. Davis L. Lincoln Jr. Hudson C. Allen W. Appleton Burlingame W. Appleton Hooper Alley Butler Gooch Banks Bowman L. Morse Hayden Banks Sh. Hoar Stevens Knox B. Ames J. Rogers E. Rogers B. Morse Cronin P. Tsongas Shannon Atkins Meehan N. Tsongas Markey Clark 6th district G. Thatcher Leonard J. Reed Sr. J. Smith Taggart S. Allen Locke Kendall Grennell Alvord Baker Ashmun G. Davis Upham T. Davis Alley Gooch Banks Butler Thompson Loring Stone Lovering Lodge Cogswell Moody Gardner Lufkin A.P. Andrew G. Bates W. Bates Harrington Mavroules Torkildsen Tierney Moulton 7th district Leonard Ward Sr. Leonard Bullock Bishop Mitchell Barker Baylies Turner Baylies Hulbert Shaw H. Dwight S. Allen Grennell Briggs J. Rockwell Goodrich Banks Gooch Boutwell Brooks Esty E. Hoar Tarbox Butler W. Russell Stone Cogswell W. Everett Barrett Roberts Phelan Maloney W. Connery L. Connery Lane Macdonald Markey Capuano Pressley 8th district Grout G. Thatcher F. Ames Otis Eustis L. Williams Green Gardner Green J. Reed Jr. Baylies Sampson Hobart Lathrop Bates Calhoun J. Adams Mann Wentworth Knapp Train Baldwin G. Hoar J. M. S. Williams Warren Claflin Candler W Russell C. H. Allen Greenhalge Stevens McCall Deitrick Dallinger H. Thayer Dallinger Healey Goodwin Macdonald O'Neill Kennedy II Capuano Lynch 9th district Varnum Bishop J. Dean Wheaton J. Reed Jr. Folger J. Reed Jr. H. Dwight Briggs Jackson Hastings H. Williams Hale Fowler Little De Witt E. Thayer Bailey A. Walker W. Washburn Crocker G. Hoar W. Rice T. Lyman Ely Burnett Candler G. Williams O'Neil Fitzgerald Conry Keliher Murray Roberts Fuller Underhill Luce R. Russell Luce T. H. Eliot Gifford Nicholson Keith McCormack Hicks Moakley Lynch Keating 10th district Goodhue Sewall Read Hastings Upham J. Allen Brigham Wheaton Morton F Baylies Bailey H. A. S. Dearborn W. Baylies Borden H. Williams Borden Burnell Grinnell Scudder Dickinson Chaffee Delano Dawes Crocker Stevens Seelye Norcross W. Rice J. E. Russell J. Walker McEttrick Atwood Barrows Naphen McNary O'Connell Curley Murray Tague Fitzgerald Tague Douglass Tinkham Herter Curtis Martin Heckler Studds Delahunt Keating 11th district Bradbury Bartlett Cutler Stedman A. Bigelow Brigham B. Adams J. Russell Hobart J. Richardson J. Adams J. Reed Jr. Burnell Goodrich Trafton Dawes Chapin Robinson Whiting II Wallace Coolidge Draper Sprague Powers Sullivan Peters Tinkham Douglass Higgins Flaherty Curley Kennedy O'Neill Burke Donnelly 12th district H. Dearborn I. Parker Lee S. Thatcher Skinner Larned Bidwell Bacon Dewey Hulbert Strong Kendall L. Bigelow Baylies Hodges J. Adams Robinson F. Rockwell Crosby E. Morse Lovering Powers Weeks Curley Gallivan McCormack Keith Studds 13th district Wadsworth Seaver Ruggles Dowse Eustis J. Reed Jr. Randall Simpkins Greene Weeks Mitchell Carter Luce Wigglesworth Burke 14th district G. Thatcher Cutts C. King J. Holmes Lovering E. Foss Harris Gilmore Olney Frothingham Wigglesworth Martin 15th district Wadsworth Ilsley Whitman Widgery Bradbury Whitman Greene Leach Martin Gifford 16th district S. Thatcher Cook Tallman S. Davis Brown Orr Hill Thacher Walsh Gifford 17th district Bruce Chandler Gannett F. Carr Wood J. Carr Wilson Kinsley 18th district Wilson T. Rice J. Parker 19th district J. Parker Conner Gage Cushman 20th district Hubbard Parris E. Lincoln At-large Cobb

v t e Directors of the United States Mint Rittenhouse de Saussure Boudinot R. Patterson Moore R. M. Patterson Eckert Pettit Snowden Pollock Millward Linderman Pollock Linderman Burchard Kimball Leech Preston Roberts Leach Andrew Roberts Woolley von Engelken Baker Scobey Grant Ross Brett Adams Brooks Hackel Sims Pope Ryder Diehl Johnson Fore Moy Ryder Gibson Hollis

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