House of Morgan

J.P Morgan's Library

In E.L. Doctorow’s Ragtime, Coalhouse Walker Jr. attempts to take J.P. Morgan as a hostage in his lavish New York City library in order to broadcast the Coalhouses’ crusade for justice onto a national level of recognition. The library is described as “one of the city’s most celebrated depositories of art,”(267). Coalhouse chooses the library as his target because of the national attention that this building garners. J.P. Morgan is also described as a famous national figure for his immense success in business, expensive lifestyle and vast influence. “Morgan was not the richest man in America, but his influence exceeded that of men like John D. Rockefeller and Andrew Carnegie, who were far wealthier than he.”(fofweb.com) Doctorow attempts to pose Morgan’s library, as an iconic symbol that people look at as untouchable. The Coalhouses want to take over this library because everyone in America sees it as a great public icon and never would dream that it could be taken over by vigilantes. However this element of the novel is not necessarily true. Morgan’s “personal library was made public after his death”(fofweb.com) and therefore it was not as much of a symbol as Doctorow wants to it be. The library was not a public icon by itself. While Americans may not have looked at the capturing of Morgan’s library as overly symbolic for the cause of the radicals, they certainly would have taken notice if J.P. Morgan were taken as a hostage. Perhaps Morgan’s library is meant to be a metaphor for the “House of Morgan” that was established by the combination of several powerful banking firms. Doctorow uses the “House of Morgan” to further the theme of power and domination by the wealthy white elite during this time period. Doctorow may not want readers to look at the capture of Morgan’s library as an isolated incident, but consider the broader implications of a challenge to Morgan’s social supremacy. While Morgan’s power and influence was huge during the early 20th century, the Coalhouses’ takeover of Morgan’s library was not significant to the public because of the library itself, but the broader implications of J.P. Morgan’s House of Morgan being scathed by radical protesters.

By Mac Kelley

Wepman, Dennis. "Morgan, J. P." In Hoogenboom, Ari, and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: The Development of the Industrial United States, 1870 to 1899, Revised Edition (Volume VI). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHVI198&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 16, 2011).

Wepman, Dennis. "Morgan, J. P." In Hoogenboom, Ari, and Gary B. Nash, eds. Encyclopedia of American History: The Development of the Industrial United States, 1870 to 1899, Revised Edition (Volume VI). New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. American History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
ItemID=WE52&iPin=EAHVI198&SingleRecord=True (accessed May 16, 2011).

Genthe, Arnold. Interior of J.P. Morgan's Library. 1912. Library of Congress.
     Web. 18 May 2011. .