Merchants of death was an epithet used in the U.S. in the 1930s to attack industries and banks that had supplied and funded

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(then called the Great War).

Origin

The term originated in 1932 as the title of an article about an arms dealer named Basil Zaharoff: "Zaharoff, Merchant of Death". It was then borrowed for the title of the book ''Merchants of Death'' (1934), an exposé by

H. C. Engelbrecht Helmuth Carol Engelbrecht (January 15, 1895 – October 8, 1939) was an American writer. Biography Engelbrecht studied at the University of Chicago before completing his doctorate on Johann Gottlieb Fichte at Columbia University in 1932. In ...

and

F. C. Hanighen Frank Cleary Hanighen (1899 – January 10, 1964) was an American journalist.Martin H. Folly, Niall A. Palmer, ''Historical dictionary of US diplomacy from World War I through World War II'', Scarecrow Press, 2010 p. 14/ref> Biography Frank Ha ...

United States

The term was popular in antiwar circles of both the left and the right, and was used extensively regarding the Senate hearings in 1936 by the

Nye Committee The Nye Committee, officially known as the Special Committee on Investigation of the Munitions Industry, was a United States Senate committee (April 12, 1934 – February 24, 1936), chaired by U.S. Senator Gerald Nye (R-ND). The committee investig ...

. The Senate hearing examined how much influence the manufacturers of armaments had in the American decision to enter World War I. Ninety-three hearings were held, over 200 witnesses were called, and little hard evidence of a conspiracy was found. The Nye Committee came to an end when Chairman Nye accused President Woodrow Wilson of withholding information from Congress when he chose to enter World War I. The failure of the committee to find a conspiracy did not change public prejudice against the manufactures of armaments, thus the popular name "merchants of death".

Nye Report findings

Extraordinary arms sales produce fear, hostility, greater munitions orders, economic strain and collapse or war. Munitions companies engaged in bribery of foreign governmental officials to secure business. Profits flowed from German orders for aviation materiel. Munitions companies evaded the embargo of arms to China. The committee also found price-fixing agreements and profit-sharing arrangements.

Great Britain

Similar allegations in Great Britain resulted in a major government inquiry in 1935–1936.David G. Anderson, “British Rearmament and the ‘Merchants of Death’: The 1935-36 Royal Commission on the Manufacture of and Trade in Armaments.” ''Journal of Contemporary History'' 29#1 (1994), pp. 5–37
online

Book topics

''Merchants of Death'' (1934) covers the history of the

Arms industry The arms industry, also known as the arms trade, is a global industry classification, industry which manufacturing, manufactures and sells weapons and military technology. It consists of a commerce, commercial Private industry, industry involved ...

. Featured companies include DuPont,

Colt Colt(s) or COLT may refer to: *Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age People * Colt (given name) *Colt (surname) Places *Colt, Arkansas, United States *Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...

Remington Remington may refer to: Organizations * Remington Arms, American firearms manufacturer * Remington Rand, American computer manufacturer * Remington Products, American manufacturer of shavers and haircare products * Remington College, American c ...

Vickers Vickers was a British engineering company that existed from 1828 until 1999. It was formed in Sheffield as a steel foundry by Edward Vickers and his father-in-law, and soon became famous for casting church bells. The company went public i ...

Schneider-Creusot Schneider et Cie, also known as Schneider-Creusot for its birthplace in the French town of Le Creusot, was a historic French iron and steel-mill company which became a major arms manufacturer. In the 1960s, it was taken over by the Belgian Empain ...

, Krupp, and

Škoda Works The Škoda Works ( cs, Škodovy závody, ) was one of the largest European industrial conglomerates of the 20th century, founded by Czech engineer Emil Škoda in 1859 in Plzeň, then in the Kingdom of Bohemia, Austrian Empire. It is the predece ...

. Individuals include

Hiram Maxim Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (5 February 1840 – 24 November 1916) was an American- British inventor best known as the creator of the first automatic machine gun, the Maxim gun. Maxim held patents on numerous mechanical devices such as hair-curl ...

and Basil Zaharoff. Arms profits before and during World War I are compared.^:159 The growth of Japanese armaments is covered.

Origin

United States

Nye Report findings

Great Britain

Book topics

See also

References

Further reading