Root
Root names 2 different subjects across the 6 encyclopedias on this shelf. Each is set out below.
Root ELIHU, an American lawyer and statesman born inclinton
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
ELIHU, an American lawyer and statesman born inclinton, He studied at Hamilton College, of whose faculty his father was a member, then attended New York University Law School, being admitted to the bar in 1867. His first public office was that of United States District Attorney for the Southern District of New York, which he held in 1883. In that same year he was a delegate at large to the New York State Constitutional Convention, where he was appointed chairman of the judiciary committee. In 1899 he was appointed Secretary of War by President McKinley, and again in 1901. During this period, covering the Spanish-American War and the Filipino insurrection, he performed remarkable work in harmonizing the regular army and the state militia forces. It was at his initiative that the General Staff was created. In 1904 he again took up private law practice, but in the following year succeeded John Hay as Sec-' retary of State. In 1909 he went to Washington as Senator from New York, but declined to serve further as such in 7 ELIHU ROOT 1913. In 1910 he was made a permanent member of the International Court of Arbitration at the Hague, since which he has been prominently identified with the movement toward international peace. In 1912, he was awarded the Nobelprize. In 1917 he was sent as special commissioner to represent President Wilson to the Provisional Government of the new Russian Republic, but was not well received there on account of his well known antipathy toward Socialistic ideas. During 1920, when it became apparent that the United States would not become a member of the League of Nations, Mr. Root devoted his attention to drafting alternative proposals in the form of an international legislative body which would be less centralized than the League. Mr. Root was generally considered one of the keenest American diplomats and experts on international law.
Root GEORGE FREDERICK, an American musician and song-writer
Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)
GEORGE FREDERICK, an American musician and song-writer; born in Sheffield, Mass., Aug. 30, 1820. His first song, "Hazel Dell" (1853), was very popular. It appeared as the work of "Wurzel," the German name for "Root," a pseudonym he often used later. Among the most popular of his songs are: "Rosalie, the Prairie Flower" (1855); "Shouting the Battle Cry of Freedom" (1861); "Just Before the Battle, Mother" (1863); "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, the Boys are Marching" (1864); and the well-known quartet, "There's Music in the Air." His cantatas include "The Flower Queen" (1852) and "The Haymakers" (1857). He did much to elevate the standard of music in the United States, and also published methods for the piano and organ, handbooks on harmony and teaching, etc. He died Aug. 6, 1895.
What Has Changed in the Last Century
Collier's wrote this in 1921 with Elihu Root still active; he lived another sixteen years, dying in New York on 7 February 1937 at 91. The "alternative proposals" it credits him with in 1920 were in fact his work on the League committee of jurists that drafted the statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice at The Hague — the direct ancestor of today's International Court of Justice, though the United States never joined the court he helped design. George Frederick Root's reputation has narrowed rather than changed: of the dozen songs listed, chiefly "The Battle Cry of Freedom" and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" are still sung, the latter's tune long since borrowed for other words, while "Hazel Dell" and the cantatas have passed out of use.
Written for this edition, 2026.