1 00:00:02,279 --> 00:00:06,199 Speaker 1: Hey, listeners, This episode is part of our new playlist 2 00:00:06,240 --> 00:00:08,920 Speaker 1: to help everybody get through these times we're living in. 3 00:00:09,440 --> 00:00:12,400 Speaker 1: It's our host faves playlist. Yeah, these are just some 4 00:00:12,480 --> 00:00:15,000 Speaker 1: of our personal favorites, ones that we had a particular 5 00:00:15,040 --> 00:00:18,599 Speaker 1: affinity for, and because these are stressful and trying times, 6 00:00:18,680 --> 00:00:22,240 Speaker 1: we tried to stick to the ones that weren't quite 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:25,160 Speaker 1: as dour. So hopefully they'll give you a little lift, 8 00:00:25,320 --> 00:00:31,560 Speaker 1: Stay safe. Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, 9 00:00:31,840 --> 00:00:41,040 Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. Hello, and welcome to 10 00:00:41,040 --> 00:00:44,720 Speaker 1: the podcast. I'm Holly Frying and I'm Tracy V. Wilson. 11 00:00:45,200 --> 00:00:49,080 Speaker 1: And today's episode was requested approximately one years ago, if 12 00:00:49,120 --> 00:00:52,600 Speaker 1: you go by way of hyperbole by our listener other 13 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,400 Speaker 1: not really one hundred years ago, but it feels that way. 14 00:00:55,440 --> 00:00:57,680 Speaker 1: It was a very long time, and I have had 15 00:00:57,680 --> 00:00:59,440 Speaker 1: it on my list throughout that time, but I am 16 00:00:59,480 --> 00:01:01,920 Speaker 1: only just getting to it for a variety of reasons. 17 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,800 Speaker 1: We are talking today about Levi Strauss, and his story 18 00:01:05,880 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: is really historically interesting because it touches on a lot 19 00:01:08,840 --> 00:01:11,840 Speaker 1: of important moments in US history. So he was an 20 00:01:11,880 --> 00:01:14,640 Speaker 1: immigrant who ended up in a business that was impacted 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:17,880 Speaker 1: by and in turn affected the U. S Civil War 22 00:01:18,240 --> 00:01:21,960 Speaker 1: and American clothing culture. He has a story that's tied 23 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:24,720 Speaker 1: to the Gold Rush. He also had a vision for 24 00:01:25,040 --> 00:01:28,440 Speaker 1: his adopted city of San Francisco that he worked really 25 00:01:28,520 --> 00:01:32,200 Speaker 1: hard to achieve so that future generations would benefit from it. 26 00:01:33,040 --> 00:01:35,199 Speaker 1: Uh and his life in many ways is the story 27 00:01:35,240 --> 00:01:37,679 Speaker 1: of the United States in the nineteenth century from the 28 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: perspective of a Jewish immigrant who became a captain of industry. 29 00:01:41,360 --> 00:01:43,040 Speaker 1: And before we get into his story, I will make 30 00:01:43,080 --> 00:01:47,560 Speaker 1: a confession, which is that until fairly recently, probably five 31 00:01:47,640 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: years this Shugo, I thought Levi and Strauss were two 32 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:53,440 Speaker 1: different people that have been a business together. That's all 33 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:58,559 Speaker 1: I'm saying. So clearly I missed this in history class 34 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:02,000 Speaker 1: because even though people aware Levi's and you'd call it 35 00:02:02,080 --> 00:02:04,960 Speaker 1: Levice Trouse, I didn't realize that was one person's proper name. 36 00:02:05,160 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: So I grew up in North Carolina, not all that 37 00:02:07,960 --> 00:02:11,400 Speaker 1: far away from Cone Mills, which is who made the 38 00:02:11,480 --> 00:02:15,920 Speaker 1: denim for Levi's five oh ones for but two hundred 39 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: years or something, so like this is a piece of 40 00:02:19,200 --> 00:02:21,400 Speaker 1: history that is like I'm a little more steeped, and 41 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,480 Speaker 1: I didn't have confusion about whether Levi and Straus or 42 00:02:24,480 --> 00:02:29,200 Speaker 1: two people. It's not my proudest moment. But in my defense, 43 00:02:29,320 --> 00:02:32,240 Speaker 1: even though I am a clothes person, I don't think 44 00:02:32,280 --> 00:02:35,359 Speaker 1: I owned a pair of genes of any flavor from 45 00:02:35,400 --> 00:02:40,480 Speaker 1: about until like two years ago. Like that's just never 46 00:02:40,520 --> 00:02:46,560 Speaker 1: been my things. So that's that's my excuse paltry. Though 47 00:02:46,560 --> 00:02:50,080 Speaker 1: it may be that I just never examined Levice Trouse. 48 00:02:50,200 --> 00:02:52,519 Speaker 1: If it makes you feel better, I thought Hannah Barbara 49 00:02:52,680 --> 00:02:56,720 Speaker 1: was one person. It was a woman. Oh no, that'd 50 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: be funny, but no. So. Lee V was born Lub 51 00:03:01,520 --> 00:03:05,800 Speaker 1: Strauss on February twenty six, eighteen twenty nine, in Budenheim, Germany. 52 00:03:06,200 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: His father, Hersch Strauss, was a salesman who sold household 53 00:03:09,760 --> 00:03:13,640 Speaker 1: goods store to door. His mother's name was Rebecca hass Strauss, 54 00:03:13,680 --> 00:03:17,280 Speaker 1: and both she and Hersh grew up in Franconia. It's 55 00:03:17,320 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 1: an area in the north of modern day Bavaria which 56 00:03:20,320 --> 00:03:25,000 Speaker 1: was predominantly Jewish. Rebecca was Hersh's second wife. His first wife, 57 00:03:25,240 --> 00:03:28,519 Speaker 1: Mardel bauman Strauss, had died at the age of thirty five, 58 00:03:29,000 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: leaving him with five children. Then Hersh and Rebecca had 59 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,120 Speaker 1: two more children together, a daughter, and then Lub and Hersh, 60 00:03:37,240 --> 00:03:40,120 Speaker 1: Rebecca and their seven children lived in a three room 61 00:03:40,320 --> 00:03:43,200 Speaker 1: downstairs floor of a two story house. So this was 62 00:03:43,240 --> 00:03:46,720 Speaker 1: a time when Bavaria's dn Addict or Jew Law was 63 00:03:46,760 --> 00:03:49,160 Speaker 1: in effect that had started in the eighteen teens. In 64 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,480 Speaker 1: this law seemed as though it offered Jewish citizens the 65 00:03:52,520 --> 00:03:55,360 Speaker 1: opportunity to pursue a number of jobs that had once 66 00:03:55,400 --> 00:03:58,680 Speaker 1: been forbidden to them, but in return, it also created 67 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:02,760 Speaker 1: really strict regulation for their lives. Among them, marriage and 68 00:04:02,840 --> 00:04:06,560 Speaker 1: immigration of new Jews was severely limited. All Jews had 69 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:09,440 Speaker 1: to be registered, they had to take German names, they 70 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,920 Speaker 1: could not own land, and even their language was codified 71 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:15,440 Speaker 1: so all public records had to be kept in German. 72 00:04:15,760 --> 00:04:19,680 Speaker 1: They could not use Hebrew. For those someone like hersch Strauss, 73 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:22,839 Speaker 1: who traveled through the area selling his wares, also served 74 00:04:22,880 --> 00:04:26,520 Speaker 1: as messengers and as community connectors during this time, and 75 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:30,520 Speaker 1: in this profession Kirsh was sort of exempted from a 76 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 1: part of the union edict. Working as a peddler, which 77 00:04:33,880 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: had been a traditional job for Jewish men in the 78 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:38,920 Speaker 1: area for a long time, was no longer considered an 79 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:43,560 Speaker 1: acceptable career. But older people like Hersh, who weren't able 80 00:04:43,600 --> 00:04:46,000 Speaker 1: to pick up a new profession were allowed to keep 81 00:04:46,040 --> 00:04:48,560 Speaker 1: doing it. Yeah, it was expected that they would just 82 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,080 Speaker 1: eventually die off, and so would that profession. And all 83 00:04:52,120 --> 00:04:56,320 Speaker 1: of the limitations of the unon aidict eventually inspired emmigration. 84 00:04:57,200 --> 00:04:59,360 Speaker 1: One of the marriage laws that really created a problem 85 00:04:59,400 --> 00:05:02,720 Speaker 1: was that only the eldest son of any Jewish household 86 00:05:02,720 --> 00:05:06,360 Speaker 1: could get married, and so there were some workarounds like 87 00:05:06,480 --> 00:05:09,799 Speaker 1: if another son that was younger wanted to marry a widow, 88 00:05:09,880 --> 00:05:12,000 Speaker 1: that was acceptable, or if a couple that had no 89 00:05:12,120 --> 00:05:14,360 Speaker 1: children wanted to give up the slot, their eldest son 90 00:05:14,400 --> 00:05:16,279 Speaker 1: would have had to another family so they could have 91 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:19,360 Speaker 1: two sons mary they could. But basically this really limited 92 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:25,000 Speaker 1: the entire societal culture because all of these young women 93 00:05:25,200 --> 00:05:27,440 Speaker 1: could not get married, all of these young men could 94 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:30,320 Speaker 1: not get married. It was frustrating. So eventually they wanted 95 00:05:30,360 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: to leave, and in eighteen thirty seven there was a 96 00:05:33,480 --> 00:05:36,760 Speaker 1: group of eighteen people that left. Eighteen young people and 97 00:05:36,800 --> 00:05:39,320 Speaker 1: two of Lub's older siblings were part of that. They 98 00:05:39,400 --> 00:05:42,359 Speaker 1: left Germany to make homes in London and New York. 99 00:05:43,240 --> 00:05:46,960 Speaker 1: In nineteen forty nine, two more of the Strass children 100 00:05:47,320 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: followed suit. In eighteen forty six, Perst died of superculesis. 101 00:05:51,960 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: Rebecca remarried soon after to hersh's brother, who was a 102 00:05:55,600 --> 00:05:59,200 Speaker 1: widower named Lippman, but Lippman died just a few weeks 103 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:02,640 Speaker 1: after the wedding. Lub was seventeen at that time, and 104 00:06:02,680 --> 00:06:05,360 Speaker 1: two of his sisters were still living at home. An 105 00:06:05,360 --> 00:06:07,960 Speaker 1: immigration at this point was not easy. You couldn't just 106 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: pick up and leave. The Bavarian government had to approve 107 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,480 Speaker 1: anyone who wished to leave the country, and you had 108 00:06:14,520 --> 00:06:17,160 Speaker 1: to prove that neither you nor anyone in your family 109 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 1: had any sort of criminal record, and that you could 110 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:23,200 Speaker 1: afford to make the trip. On March seventeenth, eighteen forty seven, 111 00:06:23,200 --> 00:06:27,159 Speaker 1: Rebecca Strouss filed an immigration petition in which she stated 112 00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:29,200 Speaker 1: that because she was a widow, she didn't have the 113 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:32,719 Speaker 1: financial support anymore. She didn't know how she would provide 114 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:35,640 Speaker 1: for her youngest son, but she had children in the 115 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:39,000 Speaker 1: United States who could help her get settled there. Lib 116 00:06:39,120 --> 00:06:41,400 Speaker 1: was old enough to work and contribute to the family's 117 00:06:41,480 --> 00:06:45,119 Speaker 1: finances once they arrived, and for his part, Lub wrote 118 00:06:45,120 --> 00:06:48,200 Speaker 1: his own petition stating quote, no members of my family 119 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:50,200 Speaker 1: will stay behind. I will share the faith that has 120 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:52,960 Speaker 1: been assigned to me with them in foreign lands. I 121 00:06:53,040 --> 00:06:57,680 Speaker 1: thus joined my mother and her plea. On June seven, 122 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:01,080 Speaker 1: Rebecca and her children, so Love and his two sisters 123 00:07:01,080 --> 00:07:05,320 Speaker 1: were approved for immigration, but they didn't leave immediately because 124 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:07,520 Speaker 1: Rebecca needed to make sure that the family that had 125 00:07:07,560 --> 00:07:10,680 Speaker 1: gone on to New York had indeed made preparations for 126 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:13,360 Speaker 1: the three of them to arrive and live there. They 127 00:07:13,400 --> 00:07:15,960 Speaker 1: finally made their way in the spring of eighteen forty eight, 128 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:20,080 Speaker 1: although the specifics of their transatlantic passage aren't really documented 129 00:07:20,160 --> 00:07:24,440 Speaker 1: or known. Jonas and Louis Strauss, libs brothers, had both 130 00:07:24,480 --> 00:07:27,240 Speaker 1: become dry goods merchants in the city. They had opened 131 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:30,520 Speaker 1: up a shop at and a half Grand Street, but 132 00:07:30,560 --> 00:07:32,840 Speaker 1: by the time the family arrived, they had moved to 133 00:07:32,880 --> 00:07:35,480 Speaker 1: a more lucrative location at two oh three and a 134 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:39,680 Speaker 1: half Division Street. They lived above the shop. Jonas had 135 00:07:39,720 --> 00:07:42,800 Speaker 1: also gotten married and started his own family, and at 136 00:07:42,840 --> 00:07:47,440 Speaker 1: some point lub followed the example that his siblings had 137 00:07:47,480 --> 00:07:50,120 Speaker 1: and he changed his name to a more Americanized version. 138 00:07:50,560 --> 00:07:53,560 Speaker 1: This was not uncommon, uh, and in the eighteen fifty 139 00:07:53,600 --> 00:07:57,520 Speaker 1: censes he is listed as Levi with a Y. He 140 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:00,280 Speaker 1: also started working in the family dry goods business while 141 00:08:00,320 --> 00:08:02,760 Speaker 1: he was there, he learned English really quickly so that 142 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:05,640 Speaker 1: he could speak with business partners and customers, and he 143 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 1: applied for U. S. Citizenship, just as his brothers had 144 00:08:08,560 --> 00:08:11,560 Speaker 1: done before him. The Strouse's dry goods business was doing 145 00:08:11,560 --> 00:08:14,800 Speaker 1: really well. They moved to another new location near Union 146 00:08:14,840 --> 00:08:18,120 Speaker 1: Market in eighteen fifty one, and as their family business 147 00:08:18,160 --> 00:08:21,600 Speaker 1: was growing, a new opportunity was making itself apparent across 148 00:08:21,640 --> 00:08:25,520 Speaker 1: the country as the California Gold Rush fostered New Town's 149 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 1: new prosperity and a need for dry goods. The Strauss 150 00:08:30,280 --> 00:08:33,120 Speaker 1: brothers did not want to miss a chance to capitalize 151 00:08:33,120 --> 00:08:35,640 Speaker 1: on this new market, but they also needed to keep 152 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:39,079 Speaker 1: their established New York business going, and so the youngest 153 00:08:39,080 --> 00:08:42,880 Speaker 1: brother of the family was sent west. Five days after 154 00:08:42,920 --> 00:08:45,760 Speaker 1: he took his oath of citizenship. On January thirty first, 155 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:50,200 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty three, Lob Strauss, who was now going by Levi, 156 00:08:50,800 --> 00:08:53,520 Speaker 1: left New York for San Francisco aboard the U. S. 157 00:08:53,600 --> 00:08:57,560 Speaker 1: Mail ship Georgia, which was a steamer, and the family 158 00:08:57,679 --> 00:09:00,640 Speaker 1: had already loaded a shipment of merchandise aboard another ship 159 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:03,760 Speaker 1: called the Winged Racer for Levi to take possession of 160 00:09:03,800 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: once he reached San Francisco, the clipper winged Racer was 161 00:09:07,440 --> 00:09:10,160 Speaker 1: sailing down around the tip of South America and then 162 00:09:10,200 --> 00:09:13,839 Speaker 1: north to California. Levi would make the trip in less time, 163 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:17,080 Speaker 1: traveling through Panama. This was, of course, before the Panama 164 00:09:17,120 --> 00:09:19,760 Speaker 1: Canal was built, so he took the steamer Georgia to 165 00:09:19,840 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: Panama and then traveled across that thin strip of the 166 00:09:22,800 --> 00:09:25,800 Speaker 1: country to Panama City on the Pacific side. They got 167 00:09:25,800 --> 00:09:28,760 Speaker 1: on another steamer there called the Isthmus and that was 168 00:09:28,760 --> 00:09:32,400 Speaker 1: bound for San Francisco. He arrived in San Francisco on 169 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:36,160 Speaker 1: March thirteenth, eighteen fifty three. This was considered for a 170 00:09:36,160 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: lot of people a safer plan than trying to travel 171 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,120 Speaker 1: overland from New York to San Francisco, because people often 172 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:46,920 Speaker 1: did not survive that journey, or if they did get 173 00:09:46,960 --> 00:09:49,840 Speaker 1: to California, they got there in pretty sorry shape. Uh. 174 00:09:49,840 --> 00:09:52,559 Speaker 1: This was a little bit of an easier move and 175 00:09:52,640 --> 00:09:56,320 Speaker 1: the specifics of Levi's first days in San Francisco are 176 00:09:56,360 --> 00:09:59,240 Speaker 1: also unknown. He would have needed to rent warehouse space 177 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,280 Speaker 1: for the goods that were coming in on the winged Racer, 178 00:10:01,760 --> 00:10:04,600 Speaker 1: and he would have needed to find lodgings for himself. 179 00:10:04,800 --> 00:10:07,840 Speaker 1: He most likely had some letters of introduction to family 180 00:10:07,840 --> 00:10:10,640 Speaker 1: connections that had already made that journey west. So it 181 00:10:10,679 --> 00:10:12,280 Speaker 1: wasn't as though he just showed up and had to 182 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:15,720 Speaker 1: figure everything out by himself. He had some security net 183 00:10:15,760 --> 00:10:18,840 Speaker 1: in place that merchandise that had been shipped showed up 184 00:10:18,880 --> 00:10:23,200 Speaker 1: two weeks after Leavi did on March. Unlike other merchants 185 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:26,120 Speaker 1: who had to bid on merchandise that was shipped on spec, 186 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:28,840 Speaker 1: once it got to the port at San Francisco, Levin 187 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:30,960 Speaker 1: knew what was coming. He just had to inspect it, 188 00:10:31,240 --> 00:10:33,959 Speaker 1: accept it, and then move it into the warehouse. As 189 00:10:33,960 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 1: I got to know the market in California, he could 190 00:10:36,080 --> 00:10:39,120 Speaker 1: ensure that future shipments contained items that would be the 191 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,320 Speaker 1: most likely to move and to make the most money. 192 00:10:41,600 --> 00:10:44,640 Speaker 1: And for clarity, the Strouses were not opening a retail 193 00:10:44,720 --> 00:10:47,120 Speaker 1: shop in San Francisco, even though they had sort of 194 00:10:47,320 --> 00:10:50,800 Speaker 1: a similar one in New York. They were basically setting 195 00:10:50,840 --> 00:10:53,360 Speaker 1: up a wholesale business that would sell stock to other 196 00:10:53,440 --> 00:10:57,280 Speaker 1: merchants for their shops. So Levin had to invest time 197 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:00,480 Speaker 1: in developing really good relationships with other busines. Thisman in 198 00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:03,079 Speaker 1: the area, and he was twenty four at this point. 199 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:06,439 Speaker 1: He wasn't supporting a wife or family, so Aside from 200 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,280 Speaker 1: attending synagogue and participating in social events primarily within San 201 00:11:10,280 --> 00:11:14,080 Speaker 1: Francisco's Jewish community, all of his efforts could be focused 202 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,760 Speaker 1: on establishing the family's new West Coast firm. And he 203 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 1: wasn't only working with retailers in San Francisco either. He 204 00:11:20,840 --> 00:11:24,080 Speaker 1: also traveled inland to Sacramento, and he paid visits to 205 00:11:24,160 --> 00:11:27,120 Speaker 1: smaller mining towns to make deals with the shopkeepers there. 206 00:11:27,440 --> 00:11:29,800 Speaker 1: And this was an ongoing practice for the business that 207 00:11:29,880 --> 00:11:34,040 Speaker 1: he pretty much carried out forever. So when news broke 208 00:11:34,080 --> 00:11:36,400 Speaker 1: of new or strikes or a new town popping up, 209 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:39,120 Speaker 1: Strauss was smart enough to go get into those towns 210 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,360 Speaker 1: that sprouted up in those places really quickly and forged 211 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,880 Speaker 1: those new business partnerships. Coming up, we'll talk more about 212 00:11:45,880 --> 00:11:48,720 Speaker 1: how Levi Strouss set up the Strouss family business in 213 00:11:48,800 --> 00:11:51,320 Speaker 1: San Francisco, but first we will take a little break 214 00:11:51,360 --> 00:12:03,040 Speaker 1: for a word from a sponsor. So Levi quickly established 215 00:12:03,040 --> 00:12:05,800 Speaker 1: a list of regular clientele, and even as he had 216 00:12:05,800 --> 00:12:08,160 Speaker 1: received shipment of that first load of freight that his 217 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,040 Speaker 1: brothers had sent, there were already two other shipments on 218 00:12:11,080 --> 00:12:14,480 Speaker 1: the way. He was doing business ostensibly for the company 219 00:12:14,480 --> 00:12:17,240 Speaker 1: that his brother founded, which was j. Strauss and brother 220 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:19,760 Speaker 1: but he was invoicing clients sort of as a separate 221 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: business as just Levi Strauss. In July eighteen fifty five, 222 00:12:24,160 --> 00:12:26,720 Speaker 1: Levi sent a shipment of gold back to his brothers. 223 00:12:27,240 --> 00:12:30,280 Speaker 1: This was valued at a little over ten thousand dollars 224 00:12:30,320 --> 00:12:32,520 Speaker 1: at the time, which is estimated to be close to 225 00:12:32,600 --> 00:12:36,160 Speaker 1: a quarter of a million dollars in modern currency. Of course, 226 00:12:36,200 --> 00:12:41,480 Speaker 1: it's really difficult to make those estimates. Clearly, the California 227 00:12:41,520 --> 00:12:44,280 Speaker 1: office was doing really well. In spite of the fact 228 00:12:44,320 --> 00:12:46,640 Speaker 1: that there was something of a financial panic going on 229 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:50,320 Speaker 1: in San Francisco that year, it didn't seem to impact Strauss. 230 00:12:50,360 --> 00:12:52,439 Speaker 1: By the end of eighteen fifty five, he'd sent more 231 00:12:52,480 --> 00:12:56,200 Speaker 1: than eighty thousand dollars home in gold. Yeah, one of 232 00:12:56,240 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 1: the things that really made his business. It'll come up 233 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:01,240 Speaker 1: over and over that even when they're faculties, they still 234 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:03,680 Speaker 1: managed to pull through and even do pretty well. Like 235 00:13:03,840 --> 00:13:07,119 Speaker 1: people will always need dry goods, they always need clothes 236 00:13:07,200 --> 00:13:10,320 Speaker 1: and linens and household basics. So it was a really 237 00:13:10,360 --> 00:13:13,439 Speaker 1: smart business to be in in the first place. In 238 00:13:13,559 --> 00:13:17,480 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty six saw continued expansion of the Strouss enterprise 239 00:13:17,559 --> 00:13:21,600 Speaker 1: in California. Levi's sister, Fogla, who had changed her name 240 00:13:21,640 --> 00:13:24,200 Speaker 1: to Fanny when she moved to the United States, moved 241 00:13:24,240 --> 00:13:26,920 Speaker 1: to San Francisco with her husband, David Stearns, and their 242 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:30,360 Speaker 1: children to assist with the growing responsibilities of the business, 243 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:33,800 Speaker 1: and his brother Lewis also joined them. It is possible, 244 00:13:33,840 --> 00:13:37,000 Speaker 1: though unconfirmed, that his mother, Rebecca, made the journey as well, 245 00:13:37,559 --> 00:13:39,640 Speaker 1: and for the first time since moving to the US, 246 00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:42,320 Speaker 1: Levi actually had a home with an address that was 247 00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:46,480 Speaker 1: separate from his business, not living above it or within it, 248 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,600 Speaker 1: indicating that there was this ongoing trend of prosperity. The 249 00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:53,520 Speaker 1: firm also changed names that year. It went from J. 250 00:13:53,679 --> 00:13:57,600 Speaker 1: Strouss and Brother to J. Strouss Brother and Company, maybe 251 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:02,400 Speaker 1: to acknowledge Levi's contribution, but on all records in California 252 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:06,319 Speaker 1: it was listed as Levi Strausse. Levi sent more than 253 00:14:06,480 --> 00:14:08,960 Speaker 1: double the amount to New York in eighteen fifty six 254 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,280 Speaker 1: that he had in eighteen fifty five. That amounted to 255 00:14:11,320 --> 00:14:16,280 Speaker 1: approximately two hundred thousand dollars. Eventually, in the late eighteen sixties, 256 00:14:16,360 --> 00:14:19,440 Speaker 1: Levi changed the name of the California branch to Levi, 257 00:14:19,680 --> 00:14:25,240 Speaker 1: Strousse and Company, recognizing his family members contributions. Eighteen fifty 258 00:14:25,240 --> 00:14:28,360 Speaker 1: six was also the year that Levi Strouss became involved, 259 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:31,400 Speaker 1: along with his brother in law, in the Committee of Vigilance, 260 00:14:31,440 --> 00:14:34,600 Speaker 1: which was a vigilante group made up largely of merchants 261 00:14:34,600 --> 00:14:37,720 Speaker 1: that formed a combat the city's growing political corruption and 262 00:14:37,760 --> 00:14:42,240 Speaker 1: related violence. While business and politics had largely stayed separate 263 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,400 Speaker 1: up to that point, concerns over how businesses could be 264 00:14:45,440 --> 00:14:48,640 Speaker 1: impacted by the lawlessness of men and power led to 265 00:14:48,640 --> 00:14:52,720 Speaker 1: the Committee of Vigilance nominating and eventually electing many of 266 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:56,160 Speaker 1: the city's business leaders into political office. So they picked 267 00:14:56,200 --> 00:14:59,720 Speaker 1: people that they knew from other merchants and put them 268 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:02,200 Speaker 1: in a this because they thought that was safer. And 269 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:05,120 Speaker 1: while Strauss did not seem to have any political ambitions 270 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:07,880 Speaker 1: of his own, he did back the political efforts of 271 00:15:07,880 --> 00:15:11,840 Speaker 1: the Committee. Those committees that there were several of them 272 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:15,640 Speaker 1: and several places at this time period, and in some 273 00:15:15,760 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: places their activities were kind of controversial because there was 274 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:25,080 Speaker 1: like an extra judicial violence capacity in this combat of corruption. 275 00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:27,960 Speaker 1: So it's like there's a whole bigger story there. But 276 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:33,440 Speaker 1: his involvement was really about electing businessmen to city positions, 277 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,520 Speaker 1: and there had actually been a similar committee in San 278 00:15:36,560 --> 00:15:39,400 Speaker 1: Francisco several years prior to this that was much more 279 00:15:39,440 --> 00:15:43,400 Speaker 1: of like a vigilante law force that thought that they 280 00:15:43,400 --> 00:15:46,480 Speaker 1: would fill the gap between the crime that was going 281 00:15:46,520 --> 00:15:49,440 Speaker 1: on and the police that were obviously to their minds, 282 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:51,920 Speaker 1: not doing anything about it. So that existed in San 283 00:15:51,920 --> 00:15:53,920 Speaker 1: Francisco as well, although he was not part of that 284 00:15:53,960 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: at the time. In eighteen fifties seven, the Strouss family 285 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,960 Speaker 1: experienced a financial loss. Except member the s S Central America, 286 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:05,560 Speaker 1: which had picked up passengers and freight in Panama, including 287 00:16:05,640 --> 00:16:08,680 Speaker 1: a large shipment of gold, went down in a hurricane 288 00:16:08,800 --> 00:16:12,080 Speaker 1: off the US coast in the Atlantic. More than four 289 00:16:12,160 --> 00:16:15,960 Speaker 1: hundred people died and an estimated one point five million 290 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:20,480 Speaker 1: dollars of gold was lost, including seventy six thousand dollars 291 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:23,200 Speaker 1: that was en route to J. Strouss brother and Company 292 00:16:23,400 --> 00:16:27,400 Speaker 1: from Levi Strouss and Company. Incidentally, the wreckage of the 293 00:16:27,440 --> 00:16:30,240 Speaker 1: Central America was found and much of the treasure treasure 294 00:16:30,280 --> 00:16:34,200 Speaker 1: recovered in although there was a significant legal battle over 295 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,160 Speaker 1: who should get that gold. The thinking of the Central 296 00:16:37,200 --> 00:16:40,160 Speaker 1: America set off a financial panic. There was a lot 297 00:16:40,200 --> 00:16:43,000 Speaker 1: of gold that New York banks had been expecting on 298 00:16:43,120 --> 00:16:45,440 Speaker 1: that ship, so when it didn't show up, that was 299 00:16:45,560 --> 00:16:50,120 Speaker 1: It was a significant economic disruption, and yet, as seems 300 00:16:50,160 --> 00:16:52,960 Speaker 1: to be the pattern of his life, Levi Strouss weathered 301 00:16:52,960 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: this storm. Part of this was because his brothers were 302 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:58,800 Speaker 1: the ones shipping him goods, so that meant he didn't 303 00:16:58,880 --> 00:17:01,600 Speaker 1: have to reassure us a flyer of his good credit 304 00:17:01,680 --> 00:17:03,480 Speaker 1: and be like, no, no, I know, I lost some money, 305 00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:05,480 Speaker 1: but I will make it up to you. They were like, yeah, 306 00:17:05,480 --> 00:17:08,320 Speaker 1: we'll just keep it going. So the Strouss family continued 307 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:12,119 Speaker 1: business as usual, and because other entrepreneurs didn't have the 308 00:17:12,160 --> 00:17:15,240 Speaker 1: credit or the leverage to do the same thing, Levi's 309 00:17:15,280 --> 00:17:18,600 Speaker 1: business flourished as others shut down. By the end of 310 00:17:18,640 --> 00:17:21,040 Speaker 1: the year, he was shipping gold to New York once again, 311 00:17:21,080 --> 00:17:23,480 Speaker 1: and he had expanded to have offices in the city 312 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:26,680 Speaker 1: that were actually separate from his warehouse. He was also 313 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,440 Speaker 1: taking shipments of raw materials from suppliers outside the family, 314 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,679 Speaker 1: which he then leveraged in deals that got him discounts 315 00:17:33,720 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: on the goods that were made from those raw materials. 316 00:17:36,640 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 1: As the country found itself in the grip of the 317 00:17:39,000 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: Civil War, San Francisco's citizens realized they could eventually be 318 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,080 Speaker 1: impacted by it. California had entered the Union as a 319 00:17:47,119 --> 00:17:50,159 Speaker 1: free state, as outlined in the Compromise of eighteen fifty, 320 00:17:50,160 --> 00:17:53,119 Speaker 1: but while most of the city was loyal to the Union, 321 00:17:53,359 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: there were some concerns about some government officials wanting to 322 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,840 Speaker 1: ally with the Confederacy. After a pro Union rally in 323 00:18:00,880 --> 00:18:04,000 Speaker 1: the city on May sixty one at the junction of 324 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:08,680 Speaker 1: Montgomery Market and Post Streets, a resolution was put forth 325 00:18:08,760 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 1: that formed a Union Committee of thirty four. This is 326 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,360 Speaker 1: a committee of respected men who would uphold the ideals 327 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,719 Speaker 1: of the Union, phil vacant government posts, and keep an 328 00:18:18,720 --> 00:18:21,560 Speaker 1: eye out for treason. Levi Strauss was one of the 329 00:18:21,600 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: men named as a member of this group, and one 330 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:27,280 Speaker 1: of only three Jewish men included. Yeah, they were very 331 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:30,680 Speaker 1: worried that there were people that were infiltrating California who 332 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:34,440 Speaker 1: were pro slavery, and that it was gonna completely cause 333 00:18:34,480 --> 00:18:37,720 Speaker 1: an upheaval of everything going on in the state, and 334 00:18:37,760 --> 00:18:40,440 Speaker 1: particularly in a large city like San Francisco. So they 335 00:18:40,480 --> 00:18:43,560 Speaker 1: really wanted to try to keep an eye out and 336 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: prevent such a problem. And when the troops that were 337 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,800 Speaker 1: stationed at the Presidio were sent east to fight It 338 00:18:49,880 --> 00:18:52,240 Speaker 1: really left the people of San Francisco a little bit 339 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:56,480 Speaker 1: uneasy and they were fearful without protection, and a volunteer 340 00:18:56,520 --> 00:18:59,240 Speaker 1: group known as the Home Guard was founded that consisted 341 00:18:59,280 --> 00:19:01,239 Speaker 1: of three thousand men, and it sort of served as 342 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:04,800 Speaker 1: a makeshift military force. The Home Guard and the Union 343 00:19:04,840 --> 00:19:08,280 Speaker 1: Committee of thirty four actually disbanded though, when Leland Stanford 344 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:12,639 Speaker 1: was elected California Governor. Stanford was a pro Union Republican 345 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:16,560 Speaker 1: who was very well respected, successful and powerful, so the 346 00:19:16,640 --> 00:19:20,159 Speaker 1: concerns of some sort of pro Confederacy uprising that had 347 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:22,359 Speaker 1: led to the formation of those two groups were pretty 348 00:19:22,359 --> 00:19:26,800 Speaker 1: diminished under his leadership. Strauss and his California business continued 349 00:19:26,840 --> 00:19:29,280 Speaker 1: to do well through all of this, and the prosperity 350 00:19:29,320 --> 00:19:32,520 Speaker 1: of California's merchants helped keep the country afloats through the 351 00:19:32,520 --> 00:19:36,520 Speaker 1: Civil War. Strauss had recognized the value of real estate 352 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:40,320 Speaker 1: fairly early on and had invested in a number of 353 00:19:40,359 --> 00:19:43,080 Speaker 1: properties throughout the city, which he often sold as a 354 00:19:43,119 --> 00:19:46,639 Speaker 1: profit after holding them for some time. Levi Strauss and 355 00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:49,400 Speaker 1: Company also moved into a new space that he purchased 356 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,240 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty seven. This was a four story building 357 00:19:52,280 --> 00:19:55,919 Speaker 1: on Battery Street that clearly showed the company's success. The 358 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: company was known for its excellent and speedy service and 359 00:19:59,080 --> 00:20:02,520 Speaker 1: the ability of its employees to satisfy client needs with 360 00:20:02,560 --> 00:20:05,399 Speaker 1: even the largest orders. Yeah, there was a write up 361 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:10,399 Speaker 1: where they actually used the word empowered to describe the 362 00:20:10,600 --> 00:20:14,840 Speaker 1: salespeople and clerks at Levi Strouse as being able, like 363 00:20:14,920 --> 00:20:17,639 Speaker 1: they were empowered to meet the needs and agree to 364 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:19,880 Speaker 1: deals with clients. Which is sort of a weird word 365 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,560 Speaker 1: to be using in the eighteen sixties, but there it was. Unfortunately, 366 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:27,400 Speaker 1: the late eighteen sixties also came with family loss, as 367 00:20:27,480 --> 00:20:31,119 Speaker 1: Levi's half sister Mary died in eighteen sixty six and 368 00:20:31,200 --> 00:20:35,160 Speaker 1: his mother, Rebecca passed three years later. After Rebecca's death, 369 00:20:35,240 --> 00:20:37,360 Speaker 1: Levi traveled back to New York and he stayed there 370 00:20:37,359 --> 00:20:39,840 Speaker 1: for a month, presumably to help settle accounts and get 371 00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:43,040 Speaker 1: her affairs in order. There was also an embezzlement scandal 372 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 1: at Levi, Strouse and Company in October of eighteen sixty six, 373 00:20:46,960 --> 00:20:50,160 Speaker 1: when news broke that a bookkeeper had taken five hundred 374 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,760 Speaker 1: thousand dollars and left the country. While the company, not 375 00:20:53,880 --> 00:20:56,399 Speaker 1: wanting to scare away business partners, said that there was 376 00:20:56,440 --> 00:20:59,640 Speaker 1: no money missing, it also made a statement in an 377 00:20:59,640 --> 00:21:03,159 Speaker 1: adver tisement that the man in question, G. S. Goodman, 378 00:21:03,280 --> 00:21:06,280 Speaker 1: was no longer with the company and was not authorized 379 00:21:06,320 --> 00:21:09,680 Speaker 1: to conduct business on behalf of Levi, Strouse and Company. 380 00:21:09,880 --> 00:21:13,440 Speaker 1: This mix of messages seemed to blow over. While Mr. 381 00:21:13,480 --> 00:21:16,159 Speaker 1: Goodman never saw any retribution of the fact that he 382 00:21:16,200 --> 00:21:18,919 Speaker 1: had taken money from his employer, quite a lot of 383 00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:22,600 Speaker 1: money from his employer, neither the company nor Levi strousse 384 00:21:22,680 --> 00:21:26,960 Speaker 1: personally seemed to suffer any negative fallout from it. Either. Yeah, 385 00:21:27,000 --> 00:21:30,360 Speaker 1: that's one of those stories where it's like they completely 386 00:21:30,840 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 1: claimed that it had not happened, so there is no 387 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,280 Speaker 1: record of it happening. But then the fact that they're 388 00:21:35,280 --> 00:21:36,800 Speaker 1: also like, but also if you talk to that guy, 389 00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,760 Speaker 1: he doesn't work for us anymore. Um, you know, it 390 00:21:41,119 --> 00:21:43,359 Speaker 1: does seem like it's a little bit of a weird 391 00:21:43,400 --> 00:21:45,800 Speaker 1: combination of things to put out in the press. The 392 00:21:45,840 --> 00:21:49,920 Speaker 1: company continued explosive growth right into the eighteen seventies as Levi, 393 00:21:50,119 --> 00:21:54,359 Speaker 1: who obviously had an impressive business instinct, realized that he 394 00:21:54,400 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: needed to expand into international markets. At that point, his 395 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,560 Speaker 1: business had expanded to supply merchants all along the Western 396 00:22:01,600 --> 00:22:05,680 Speaker 1: seaboard and into Oregon and Montana, but he was also 397 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,000 Speaker 1: expanding farther into the American Southwest, and then he started 398 00:22:09,040 --> 00:22:12,639 Speaker 1: to reach out to potential clients in Canada, Mexico, and Hawaii. 399 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:15,679 Speaker 1: Coming up, we're going to dive into the thing that 400 00:22:15,720 --> 00:22:19,040 Speaker 1: the Levi Strouss name is most closely associated with today, 401 00:22:19,160 --> 00:22:22,320 Speaker 1: which is blue jeans. First, we're gonna have a quick 402 00:22:22,320 --> 00:22:35,840 Speaker 1: sponsor break. Jacob Davis, who presumably started at his yakub 403 00:22:35,880 --> 00:22:39,359 Speaker 1: and americanized his name when he got here, was also 404 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:41,760 Speaker 1: a Jewish immigrant, and he had moved to the United 405 00:22:41,800 --> 00:22:45,120 Speaker 1: States from Russia as a young man. He, like Levi, 406 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:48,320 Speaker 1: also worked in dry goods as a cutter and a tailor, 407 00:22:48,400 --> 00:22:50,800 Speaker 1: although he had also dabbled in the brewery business and 408 00:22:50,880 --> 00:22:54,560 Speaker 1: some other enterprises. He was also an inventor. He had 409 00:22:54,560 --> 00:22:57,960 Speaker 1: developed a screw based clothing fastener, an ironing board that 410 00:22:58,000 --> 00:23:01,200 Speaker 1: could also stretch clothes, and a full press, and those 411 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:04,360 Speaker 1: last two items were granted patents, but that fastener was not. 412 00:23:05,200 --> 00:23:08,600 Speaker 1: Jacob had also expanded his tailoring work to make tents 413 00:23:08,760 --> 00:23:11,840 Speaker 1: and wagon covers to capitalize on a need for those 414 00:23:11,880 --> 00:23:15,360 Speaker 1: kinds of goods in mining towns in Nevada, where he lived. 415 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:20,440 Speaker 1: He started making very sturdy, long lasting trousers for laborers 416 00:23:20,440 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 1: out of Duck and Denham. Duck is like a very 417 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,919 Speaker 1: densely woven cloth, and he eventually, on the suggestion of 418 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: a relative, started buying his Duck yardage from Levi Stroussing Company. Yeah, 419 00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,600 Speaker 1: Duck is usually compared to like a very densely woven canvas. 420 00:23:38,640 --> 00:23:42,840 Speaker 1: Almost it's a It's one of those things that people 421 00:23:42,880 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 1: still make work clothes out of. Sometimes I don't love it. 422 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:48,200 Speaker 1: It's a little stiff for my taste. It's very sturdy, 423 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:52,320 Speaker 1: it will last you a long time. And to please 424 00:23:52,359 --> 00:23:54,800 Speaker 1: one of his tailoring customers who came in to order 425 00:23:54,800 --> 00:23:57,640 Speaker 1: work pants for her husband, who apparently wore through them 426 00:23:57,640 --> 00:24:00,440 Speaker 1: at a pretty good clip, Davis used of it's to 427 00:24:00,560 --> 00:24:03,040 Speaker 1: reinforce the pockets. The story goes that the wife came 428 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:05,160 Speaker 1: in because she said, my husband is worn out all 429 00:24:05,200 --> 00:24:07,560 Speaker 1: his pants and cannot leave the house. I have to 430 00:24:07,600 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 1: come to place this order. Um. So she had to 431 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:12,960 Speaker 1: go back with a piece of string and mark like 432 00:24:13,040 --> 00:24:15,160 Speaker 1: his waistline and other measurements and then bring it back 433 00:24:15,160 --> 00:24:18,040 Speaker 1: to the shop, and she was delighted. It appeared her 434 00:24:18,080 --> 00:24:21,399 Speaker 1: husband was delighted. Jacob later saw her husband around town 435 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:23,960 Speaker 1: wearing these pants, so it seemed like everything was going great. 436 00:24:24,600 --> 00:24:28,320 Speaker 1: And he included that detail those riveted pockets on a 437 00:24:28,400 --> 00:24:30,639 Speaker 1: number of other pairs of pants because people started to 438 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,280 Speaker 1: see these pants in town and asked where they came 439 00:24:33,280 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 1: from and could they also get the same ones, And 440 00:24:35,800 --> 00:24:38,480 Speaker 1: so he started making these pants with duck canvas and 441 00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:41,800 Speaker 1: riveted pockets for more and more people. As the riveted 442 00:24:41,840 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: pants pocket became popular with his customers, Davis decided he 443 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:49,240 Speaker 1: should patent them, but that was a really expensive process, 444 00:24:49,240 --> 00:24:51,239 Speaker 1: and the story goes that his wife didn't want him 445 00:24:51,280 --> 00:24:53,920 Speaker 1: to spend money that they didn't have trying to do it. 446 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:57,159 Speaker 1: So along with a payment on an invoice that he 447 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:00,200 Speaker 1: sent to Levi strauss In company, he also sent two 448 00:25:00,200 --> 00:25:03,760 Speaker 1: pairs of pants with the proposition that the company apply 449 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:06,800 Speaker 1: for the patent in his name and in return, he 450 00:25:06,840 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 1: would give the company half the rights to sell the pants. 451 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,120 Speaker 1: This is like the most trusting move I can possibly 452 00:25:13,160 --> 00:25:17,080 Speaker 1: imagine someone doing. I know, here's this thing I invented. 453 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,240 Speaker 1: I would like you to help me patent. By the way, 454 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:22,879 Speaker 1: it's not patented yet, but here it is yet. Especially 455 00:25:22,920 --> 00:25:26,000 Speaker 1: having been working on this day in history class, and 456 00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:32,040 Speaker 1: recently recording episodes on people like Filo Farnsworth and Nicola Tesla, Like, 457 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:35,239 Speaker 1: there are so many stories about a big business that's like, 458 00:25:35,359 --> 00:25:38,919 Speaker 1: I'm gonna take this patent from you for no money 459 00:25:38,960 --> 00:25:42,760 Speaker 1: and exploit it. Um. In a lecture that I was 460 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 1: watching online of Levi Strouss, biographer whose book I used 461 00:25:47,080 --> 00:25:49,080 Speaker 1: for a lot of this, she was saying, like, to her, 462 00:25:49,240 --> 00:25:53,879 Speaker 1: this really indicates how trustworthy Levi Strouss was perceived to 463 00:25:53,920 --> 00:25:57,119 Speaker 1: be by people that I just knew his name, Like, 464 00:25:57,240 --> 00:25:59,480 Speaker 1: he just had this reputation for being a really honest 465 00:25:59,480 --> 00:26:02,320 Speaker 1: and good and and so this person completely trusted him 466 00:26:02,359 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: with his invention. And there it went, and Strauss was 467 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:09,840 Speaker 1: no fool. He went for the idea really quickly. Uh. 468 00:26:09,880 --> 00:26:12,440 Speaker 1: He wrote up an agreement that gave the company Levi 469 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,320 Speaker 1: Strauss and Company exclusive rights to sell the pants on 470 00:26:15,359 --> 00:26:18,520 Speaker 1: the West Coast and that quote rights outside of the 471 00:26:18,560 --> 00:26:22,440 Speaker 1: Pacific Coast and territory shall be equally divided between ourselves 472 00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:26,439 Speaker 1: and Davis. Davis agreed to these terms and made it 473 00:26:26,600 --> 00:26:29,679 Speaker 1: very clear that this was not just about the rivets, 474 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:33,359 Speaker 1: it was also about the cut and construction. He offered 475 00:26:33,359 --> 00:26:36,040 Speaker 1: to oversee the manufacture of the pants, either in New 476 00:26:36,119 --> 00:26:40,240 Speaker 1: York or in San Francisco, whichever Strouss preferred, and the 477 00:26:40,280 --> 00:26:44,640 Speaker 1: first patent application filed on behalf of Davis was rejected 478 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:47,200 Speaker 1: on the basis that the military had been using rivets 479 00:26:47,200 --> 00:26:49,800 Speaker 1: in the construction of shoes already and so that just 480 00:26:49,920 --> 00:26:53,840 Speaker 1: using them on pockets was really not an innovation. Strauss 481 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:56,879 Speaker 1: did not accept this. He hired lawyers who specialized in 482 00:26:56,960 --> 00:26:59,920 Speaker 1: patent law to appeal the case, but it was once 483 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:04,320 Speaker 1: again rejected. In early eighteen seventy three, Strauss and Davis 484 00:27:04,320 --> 00:27:08,240 Speaker 1: were preparing another go at a patent for these riveted pants. 485 00:27:08,800 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: Jacob Davis and his family moved to San Francisco and 486 00:27:12,800 --> 00:27:16,640 Speaker 1: May a revised version of their application was submitted, this 487 00:27:16,720 --> 00:27:20,040 Speaker 1: time with more detail about the distinction between the riveting 488 00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:22,199 Speaker 1: that they were using on clothes and the way that 489 00:27:22,280 --> 00:27:25,840 Speaker 1: rivets had been used on shoes. Just a few weeks later, 490 00:27:25,920 --> 00:27:29,920 Speaker 1: on May eighteen seventy three, the patent was issued. Strauss 491 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:33,080 Speaker 1: paid Davis for the value of his home and store 492 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:36,000 Speaker 1: in Reno, Nevada, and the Davis has made their move 493 00:27:36,040 --> 00:27:39,800 Speaker 1: to San Francisco permanent so that Jacobs could oversee production 494 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:44,280 Speaker 1: of this new line of riveted trousers. Strouss later sold 495 00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,040 Speaker 1: this back to Davis for a dollar and he flipped it. Yeah, 496 00:27:48,080 --> 00:27:50,160 Speaker 1: it was a couple of years later that Davis bought 497 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:54,399 Speaker 1: back his house and shopping reno, and I think it 498 00:27:54,480 --> 00:27:56,280 Speaker 1: was only like three months after that that he sold it. 499 00:27:57,320 --> 00:28:00,639 Speaker 1: And at the time, they marketed these new pants as overalls, 500 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:02,760 Speaker 1: and that word did not have the connotation of bib 501 00:28:02,760 --> 00:28:06,119 Speaker 1: overalls that it would have today. Uh, they were sometimes 502 00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,040 Speaker 1: called waste overalls. Like basically part of that was because 503 00:28:09,040 --> 00:28:12,200 Speaker 1: you could wear them over other pants, um, but people 504 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,560 Speaker 1: wore them without pants underneath it as well. The first 505 00:28:15,640 --> 00:28:18,520 Speaker 1: batches went out in June of eighteen seventy three, so 506 00:28:18,560 --> 00:28:20,640 Speaker 1: that was just a month after the patent was approved. 507 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:25,040 Speaker 1: At nineteen fifty per dozen pair, so nineteen dollars fifty 508 00:28:25,040 --> 00:28:27,960 Speaker 1: cents for a dozen of them. This was a substantial 509 00:28:28,040 --> 00:28:31,880 Speaker 1: increase over previous market prices for similar garments, more than 510 00:28:31,920 --> 00:28:36,080 Speaker 1: a dollar more than individual purchasers were used to seeing. 511 00:28:36,240 --> 00:28:39,720 Speaker 1: So for a merchant that was the middleman, to have 512 00:28:39,840 --> 00:28:43,880 Speaker 1: to pay that much per pant, it was significant. They 513 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:46,360 Speaker 1: really had to like explain, no, these are gonna last 514 00:28:46,360 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 1: you so long. They are way stronger and better than 515 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:52,520 Speaker 1: other pants. Strauss opened up a new factory location so 516 00:28:52,560 --> 00:28:56,480 Speaker 1: they could start more serious production. The following month placed 517 00:28:56,480 --> 00:29:00,840 Speaker 1: an ad for first class female sewing machine operator. These 518 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:04,120 Speaker 1: operators had to bring their own sewing machines that were 519 00:29:04,120 --> 00:29:07,800 Speaker 1: suitable for heavy work. Yeah he even uh. In the 520 00:29:07,880 --> 00:29:10,880 Speaker 1: advertisement they laid out which sewing machine models would be 521 00:29:10,880 --> 00:29:12,880 Speaker 1: acceptable and if you didn't have one of those, don't 522 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:16,480 Speaker 1: apply for the job. Uh. Soon Levi Stroussing Company also 523 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,960 Speaker 1: started selling riveted duck coats for hunting, and by the 524 00:29:20,040 --> 00:29:22,520 Speaker 1: end of eighteen seventy three they had sold an estimated 525 00:29:22,600 --> 00:29:25,959 Speaker 1: twenty thousand garments. The pants that they were making at 526 00:29:25,960 --> 00:29:28,880 Speaker 1: the beginning bore pretty much all the characteristics we see 527 00:29:28,920 --> 00:29:31,480 Speaker 1: on Levi's today, although they have shifted in style a 528 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:33,880 Speaker 1: little bit so they had copper rivets, they had that 529 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:37,720 Speaker 1: mustard orange thread for stitching, and the curvy shallow V 530 00:29:37,840 --> 00:29:40,760 Speaker 1: stitching on the back pocket. The year after Levi and 531 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 1: Jacob's riveted overalls hit the market, Levi was named by 532 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:48,160 Speaker 1: the New York Times as one of San Francisco's millionaires. 533 00:29:48,680 --> 00:29:51,080 Speaker 1: He had also set up the company, which was basically 534 00:29:51,120 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: functioning on its own as a separate entity from J. 535 00:29:54,640 --> 00:29:58,080 Speaker 1: Strouss brother in company. It's a co partnership with his 536 00:29:58,240 --> 00:30:00,720 Speaker 1: brothers so that they would have power or of attorney 537 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:03,560 Speaker 1: and be able to make decisions about the business. And 538 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:06,080 Speaker 1: the event that he was not able to, Yeah, he 539 00:30:06,160 --> 00:30:09,040 Speaker 1: kind of realized this has grown massive and I can't 540 00:30:09,040 --> 00:30:12,800 Speaker 1: be the only one who makes decisions if something goes awry. 541 00:30:13,080 --> 00:30:16,360 Speaker 1: And that same year, Levi Strauss also sued a competitor 542 00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,560 Speaker 1: who started using rivets in the construction of their pants. 543 00:30:20,200 --> 00:30:23,720 Speaker 1: That other manufacturer, A B. L. Felt In Company, pulled 544 00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,040 Speaker 1: all the product that they had made from shelves once 545 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,640 Speaker 1: that suit was filed, but Strauss continued the legal action 546 00:30:29,680 --> 00:30:33,200 Speaker 1: anyway in order to deter others from infringing on the patent. 547 00:30:33,920 --> 00:30:36,360 Speaker 1: Just a couple of years later, Levi Strauss and his 548 00:30:36,440 --> 00:30:39,800 Speaker 1: brothers set up an East Coast factory under Jacob Davis's 549 00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: supervision to make riveted goods, But in late eighteen seventy six, 550 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:47,720 Speaker 1: another manufacturer, H. W. King and Company started making riveted 551 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:51,800 Speaker 1: goods as well. Levi Strauss saw his company's numbers drop 552 00:30:51,840 --> 00:30:56,160 Speaker 1: even as they brought an infringement suit against this other company. 553 00:30:56,200 --> 00:30:59,680 Speaker 1: After a four year legal battle, the case was decided 554 00:30:59,720 --> 00:31:02,480 Speaker 1: in favor of Levi Strauss and company. Yeah, that's a 555 00:31:02,480 --> 00:31:04,640 Speaker 1: long time for that to drag out, but they were like, nope, 556 00:31:04,680 --> 00:31:08,720 Speaker 1: we're going to do it eventually. They did start as 557 00:31:08,760 --> 00:31:11,120 Speaker 1: their you know, patents did not last forever, and they 558 00:31:11,120 --> 00:31:13,400 Speaker 1: started realizing that they had to do branding so that 559 00:31:13,440 --> 00:31:17,680 Speaker 1: their genes were completely recognizable from others and people could 560 00:31:17,680 --> 00:31:20,520 Speaker 1: ask for them by look. That's how they developed their logo. 561 00:31:21,160 --> 00:31:23,320 Speaker 1: They kind of knew they couldn't stave off other people 562 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: using rivets forever. Uh, so they've got very savvy about 563 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,200 Speaker 1: how they presented their clothes. There were also two more 564 00:31:30,240 --> 00:31:33,800 Speaker 1: deaths in the Strousse family in eighteen seventy four. Levi's 565 00:31:33,800 --> 00:31:36,160 Speaker 1: brother in law and senior partner, David Stern, died in 566 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,160 Speaker 1: January and in August, one of David's sons, who was 567 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:42,080 Speaker 1: just eighteen, died for reasons that have been lost to 568 00:31:42,200 --> 00:31:45,760 Speaker 1: the historical record. And even as there were losses, the 569 00:31:45,880 --> 00:31:49,480 Speaker 1: family also continued to grow through marriage and children, and 570 00:31:49,480 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: it reached a point where fourteen people were all living 571 00:31:52,080 --> 00:31:55,080 Speaker 1: in Strauss's house, including himself, so they moved to a 572 00:31:55,200 --> 00:31:59,920 Speaker 1: larger home on Leavenworth Street in the eighteen seventies, Chinese 573 00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: immigrants in California were being viewed with increasing hostility as 574 00:32:04,680 --> 00:32:07,800 Speaker 1: they competed for jobs with white labors in the same 575 00:32:07,840 --> 00:32:12,440 Speaker 1: market with fewer and fewer opportunities. In eighteen seventies six, 576 00:32:12,600 --> 00:32:15,240 Speaker 1: Strauss was named in an expose that appeared in the 577 00:32:15,320 --> 00:32:19,280 Speaker 1: Daily Morning Call. The claim was that Strauss was employing 578 00:32:19,400 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 1: five hundred Chinese workers. A rebuttal appeared in the San 579 00:32:23,800 --> 00:32:27,920 Speaker 1: Francisco Chronicle the following day, saying that the company employed 580 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:31,120 Speaker 1: exactly one Chinese person and that that person was in 581 00:32:31,160 --> 00:32:34,760 Speaker 1: a position that white laborers had quote again and again 582 00:32:34,880 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 1: tried and failed to do. That position was cutting the 583 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:42,520 Speaker 1: dense fabrics that were used to make these overalls. Generally, Levi, 584 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:45,480 Speaker 1: Strauss and Company, like a lot of manufacturers at the time, 585 00:32:45,800 --> 00:32:49,400 Speaker 1: really stressed in their advertising that their goods were made 586 00:32:49,400 --> 00:32:52,640 Speaker 1: by white labor. Yeah, this was a whole problematic thing. 587 00:32:52,640 --> 00:32:54,240 Speaker 1: We're going to talk about it a little more in 588 00:32:54,280 --> 00:32:57,080 Speaker 1: a moment, But we have talked before also on the 589 00:32:57,080 --> 00:33:02,480 Speaker 1: show about the races m that became rampant, particularly on 590 00:33:02,520 --> 00:33:04,840 Speaker 1: the West Coast of the United States during this time, 591 00:33:04,880 --> 00:33:09,040 Speaker 1: towards Asian immigrants. Uh and he continued to do business 592 00:33:09,240 --> 00:33:12,479 Speaker 1: with Chinese merchants. He did not seem to have an 593 00:33:12,480 --> 00:33:15,680 Speaker 1: aversion to them at all or be racist towards them 594 00:33:15,720 --> 00:33:17,960 Speaker 1: in terms of business partnerships. But he kind of knew 595 00:33:18,360 --> 00:33:20,680 Speaker 1: that if he was like, yes, I hired Chinese labors, 596 00:33:20,680 --> 00:33:22,760 Speaker 1: that it would tank the company because people would not 597 00:33:22,760 --> 00:33:27,560 Speaker 1: trust him anymore. So he was complicit in this whole system. 598 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:33,160 Speaker 1: But that doesn't seem to reflect like a personal outward racism, 599 00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:37,280 Speaker 1: you know. Uh. And in eighteen eighty he worked on 600 00:33:37,320 --> 00:33:40,400 Speaker 1: the committee that arranged the San Francisco visit of President 601 00:33:40,480 --> 00:33:43,320 Speaker 1: Rutherford B. Hayes. And this was kind of funny because 602 00:33:43,360 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 1: it was reported that Mr. And Mrs Levi Strauss attended 603 00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,800 Speaker 1: a dinner in the president's honor, but Levi never got married, 604 00:33:49,840 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: so it is unclear if he had taken a female 605 00:33:52,080 --> 00:33:55,000 Speaker 1: relative to this event or an acquaintance, or if the 606 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:58,600 Speaker 1: paper simply got the facts wrong. In January of eighteen 607 00:33:58,640 --> 00:34:01,240 Speaker 1: eighty one, the San Francis Scope bullet And published the 608 00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:05,800 Speaker 1: details of Levi Strauss's funeral. There's one problem. He was 609 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:09,880 Speaker 1: very much alive at this point. Initially this sounds like 610 00:34:09,920 --> 00:34:11,960 Speaker 1: a really funny mix up, but it was actually a 611 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,759 Speaker 1: really sad moment. Levi's brother Louis had been the one 612 00:34:15,760 --> 00:34:18,160 Speaker 1: who had died, and the paper had to publish a 613 00:34:18,200 --> 00:34:22,960 Speaker 1: correction the next day. Three years later, the Strouss's sister, Fanny, 614 00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,520 Speaker 1: who had been very close to Levi, also died, and 615 00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:30,320 Speaker 1: the oldest sibling and founder of the family business, Jonahs Strauss, 616 00:34:30,400 --> 00:34:34,759 Speaker 1: died in five. Like Levi, his siblings had also been 617 00:34:34,800 --> 00:34:38,239 Speaker 1: really involved in philanthropic work. Yeah, we're going to talk 618 00:34:38,239 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: about his philanthropy in just a moment, but all of 619 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,239 Speaker 1: their obituaries talk about all of the places that they 620 00:34:44,320 --> 00:34:47,799 Speaker 1: donated both money and time, all of the causes they supported. 621 00:34:48,080 --> 00:34:50,719 Speaker 1: It definitely was a family affair in terms of like 622 00:34:50,840 --> 00:34:54,719 Speaker 1: wanting a better community and a better future for the 623 00:34:54,800 --> 00:34:58,000 Speaker 1: children that would come after. Another devastating loss came in 624 00:34:58,040 --> 00:35:01,240 Speaker 1: eine three, when Levi's nephew Nathan, who had been running 625 00:35:01,239 --> 00:35:04,239 Speaker 1: the New York offices for the firm, shot himself in 626 00:35:04,360 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 1: his office bathroom, and while it eventually came out that 627 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:09,200 Speaker 1: he had lost a good bit of money, it was 628 00:35:09,320 --> 00:35:12,240 Speaker 1: never discovered exactly how that had happened. There were certainly 629 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:14,560 Speaker 1: lots of rumors about how it might have happened, but 630 00:35:14,640 --> 00:35:16,920 Speaker 1: there is no clear evidence as to actually what had 631 00:35:16,960 --> 00:35:20,440 Speaker 1: led him to that moment. In nine hundred, Levi Strauss 632 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:23,799 Speaker 1: and Company printed its first catalog. The business seemed to 633 00:35:23,840 --> 00:35:26,759 Speaker 1: have no limit to its potential. At this point. He 634 00:35:27,040 --> 00:35:29,880 Speaker 1: weathered a labor strike that took place throughout the city 635 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,640 Speaker 1: that year. In nineteen o two, he also joined with 636 00:35:32,680 --> 00:35:36,160 Speaker 1: other community leaders to speak out against making the provisions 637 00:35:36,280 --> 00:35:40,600 Speaker 1: of the two Geary Act permanent. The Geary Act had 638 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:45,360 Speaker 1: extended the provisions of the eighteen eighty two Chinese Exclusion Act, 639 00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,600 Speaker 1: and we've talked about the Chinese Exclusion Act on the 640 00:35:48,640 --> 00:35:53,360 Speaker 1: show before. Uh the telegram that was sent by Strauss 641 00:35:53,360 --> 00:35:56,360 Speaker 1: and his colleagues to Washington d C. Stated that barring 642 00:35:56,560 --> 00:36:00,880 Speaker 1: legitimate Chinese merchants was an injustice. This plea did not 643 00:36:01,040 --> 00:36:04,160 Speaker 1: have the desired effect, though the extension of the Geary 644 00:36:04,239 --> 00:36:08,000 Speaker 1: Act came through. Yeah, and there's discussion of just how 645 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:12,120 Speaker 1: much this was like an activist moment versus you're stupid 646 00:36:12,160 --> 00:36:14,960 Speaker 1: to turn away business that's going to help our country 647 00:36:15,000 --> 00:36:18,680 Speaker 1: and particularly our community grow. But he did speak out 648 00:36:18,680 --> 00:36:21,719 Speaker 1: against it, even though that did not play out the 649 00:36:21,719 --> 00:36:24,399 Speaker 1: way they had hoped. In September of nineteen o two, 650 00:36:24,520 --> 00:36:27,360 Speaker 1: Levi Strouse was diagnosed after feeling a little unwell for 651 00:36:27,400 --> 00:36:30,600 Speaker 1: a bit with a slight congestion of the liver, and 652 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:32,480 Speaker 1: it was believed that he was going to recover, and 653 00:36:32,560 --> 00:36:35,120 Speaker 1: he did start to feel better, and two days after 654 00:36:35,160 --> 00:36:38,520 Speaker 1: a doctor had visited and given him this diagnosis, Levi 655 00:36:38,640 --> 00:36:41,399 Speaker 1: Strouss died after eating dinner with his family and then 656 00:36:41,440 --> 00:36:45,000 Speaker 1: returning to bed. He was interred at the family mausoleum 657 00:36:45,160 --> 00:36:48,200 Speaker 1: at the Home of Peace Cemetery after a funeral at 658 00:36:48,239 --> 00:36:51,920 Speaker 1: his home, and his four surviving nephews inherited the business 659 00:36:52,000 --> 00:36:55,720 Speaker 1: and his fortune. His nieces each received a significant sum 660 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,600 Speaker 1: to be given directly to them and not to their 661 00:36:58,640 --> 00:37:01,839 Speaker 1: spouses or other male relatives for management. That was something 662 00:37:01,840 --> 00:37:04,160 Speaker 1: that one of his brothers had done as well, and 663 00:37:04,200 --> 00:37:06,960 Speaker 1: he also left money to all of the various charities 664 00:37:07,000 --> 00:37:09,839 Speaker 1: that he had worked with over the years. So I 665 00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,279 Speaker 1: will tell you, and if you have listened to this 666 00:37:12,280 --> 00:37:15,080 Speaker 1: podcast for any period of time, you can understand why. 667 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,080 Speaker 1: As I researched this episode, I kept waiting for the 668 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:22,000 Speaker 1: other shoe to drop, because we have so many instances 669 00:37:22,040 --> 00:37:24,960 Speaker 1: of really interesting seeming people that then in the course 670 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:27,600 Speaker 1: of actually digging into their biography, we find out some 671 00:37:28,080 --> 00:37:30,440 Speaker 1: horrifying thing that they did or we're a part of. 672 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:33,960 Speaker 1: Here's the secret evil. I didn't think I was signing 673 00:37:34,040 --> 00:37:36,839 Speaker 1: up for with the right right. Oh, I thought this 674 00:37:36,880 --> 00:37:40,600 Speaker 1: was like, no, they're horrible. Um. And while Levi Strauss 675 00:37:40,719 --> 00:37:44,359 Speaker 1: was certainly a shrewd businessman who did look after the 676 00:37:44,360 --> 00:37:47,439 Speaker 1: interests of his company, he also seems to have been 677 00:37:47,840 --> 00:37:52,239 Speaker 1: a genuinely nice and pretty good human being. Surely not faultless. 678 00:37:52,320 --> 00:37:55,839 Speaker 1: But I kept expecting some horrific thing to appear and 679 00:37:56,000 --> 00:37:59,560 Speaker 1: it didn't. Yeah, we've got plenty of things that, like 680 00:37:59,600 --> 00:38:03,120 Speaker 1: we said, problematic, like being like, oh no, we only 681 00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:07,960 Speaker 1: employ white people. That, yeah, that that's not great. But 682 00:38:08,400 --> 00:38:11,480 Speaker 1: also it was not a case of like, let me 683 00:38:11,520 --> 00:38:17,520 Speaker 1: literally enslave people in the basement, which seems like that's 684 00:38:17,640 --> 00:38:22,280 Speaker 1: more often than not the story we accidentally wind up telling. Um. 685 00:38:22,320 --> 00:38:27,279 Speaker 1: In his prosperity, Levi Strauss upheld the Jewish ideology of benevolence. 686 00:38:27,440 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: He donated money to worthy causes in the San Francisco community, 687 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:35,480 Speaker 1: both those run by various iterations of Jewish benevolent associations 688 00:38:35,520 --> 00:38:38,800 Speaker 1: and non Jewish charities as well. Yeah, he actually started 689 00:38:38,840 --> 00:38:41,359 Speaker 1: donating money almost as soon as he started making money 690 00:38:41,400 --> 00:38:44,680 Speaker 1: after he moved to California. UM It seemed to have 691 00:38:44,760 --> 00:38:47,200 Speaker 1: been just something that was deeply important to him, and 692 00:38:47,239 --> 00:38:49,440 Speaker 1: in the eighteen sixties he donated to the U. S. 693 00:38:49,440 --> 00:38:53,160 Speaker 1: Sanitary Commission to help clean up union camps to minimize 694 00:38:53,160 --> 00:38:57,279 Speaker 1: the rampant disease there. He advocated for and participated in 695 00:38:57,320 --> 00:39:00,320 Speaker 1: a shutdown of businesses in San Francisco on a election 696 00:39:00,440 --> 00:39:03,480 Speaker 1: day on November eight, eighteen sixty four. That was the 697 00:39:03,520 --> 00:39:06,080 Speaker 1: election that Lincoln won for what would have been his 698 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:08,719 Speaker 1: second term. He was also one of the founders of 699 00:39:08,760 --> 00:39:12,919 Speaker 1: the Concordia Society, which began in January of eighteen sixty five, 700 00:39:13,000 --> 00:39:15,440 Speaker 1: which was a place where Jewish leaders and professionals could 701 00:39:15,480 --> 00:39:18,960 Speaker 1: gather for social and educational events. Strauss was the club's 702 00:39:19,000 --> 00:39:21,879 Speaker 1: first vice president. Yeah, that was another one of those 703 00:39:21,920 --> 00:39:25,719 Speaker 1: institutions that was really forward facing in terms of like 704 00:39:25,760 --> 00:39:28,040 Speaker 1: looking to the future. They also wanted to make sure 705 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:31,640 Speaker 1: that young Jewish professionals could come in and learn from 706 00:39:31,640 --> 00:39:35,120 Speaker 1: mentors and get a support system to help them succeed, 707 00:39:35,840 --> 00:39:39,120 Speaker 1: and he became increasingly involved in community government and politics 708 00:39:39,120 --> 00:39:40,600 Speaker 1: over the years. He seemed to think it was his 709 00:39:40,640 --> 00:39:44,920 Speaker 1: responsibility as a successful person. He was a vocal supporter 710 00:39:45,040 --> 00:39:48,239 Speaker 1: of the Hawaiian Reciprocity Treaty of eighteen seventy five, which 711 00:39:48,280 --> 00:39:51,520 Speaker 1: removed tariffs on goods traded between the Kingdom of Hawaii 712 00:39:51,640 --> 00:39:55,120 Speaker 1: and the US, and he also advocated for building regulations 713 00:39:55,200 --> 00:39:57,440 Speaker 1: that would reduce the risk of fire spreading in the 714 00:39:57,480 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 1: increasingly tightly packed city. He had had some fires himself 715 00:40:01,280 --> 00:40:04,760 Speaker 1: that impacted his properties, and so of course those efforts 716 00:40:05,600 --> 00:40:08,279 Speaker 1: had benefit to other people, but they also benefited his 717 00:40:08,320 --> 00:40:11,800 Speaker 1: personal business. He also drummed up donations for the Garfield 718 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:15,839 Speaker 1: Monument Fund Association, donated to orphanages, and helped set up 719 00:40:15,840 --> 00:40:18,560 Speaker 1: the Labor Exchange, which was a group that was intended 720 00:40:18,600 --> 00:40:21,120 Speaker 1: to help the unemployed men of the city make connections 721 00:40:21,160 --> 00:40:24,760 Speaker 1: to find temporary and parliamanent work. He also became heavily 722 00:40:24,800 --> 00:40:27,800 Speaker 1: involved in the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 723 00:40:27,960 --> 00:40:30,960 Speaker 1: which was incorporated in eighteen seventy six. He served in 724 00:40:31,040 --> 00:40:33,560 Speaker 1: one leadership role or another with the organization for the 725 00:40:33,560 --> 00:40:36,600 Speaker 1: rest of his life. That was a particularly important one 726 00:40:36,640 --> 00:40:39,520 Speaker 1: to him, and as the eighteen nineties had moved on, 727 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:42,080 Speaker 1: Strauss had stayed busy, even though he was going through 728 00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:44,680 Speaker 1: a lot of family tragedy at the time. He was 729 00:40:44,719 --> 00:40:48,880 Speaker 1: working with other merchants and civic leaders to actualize infrastructure projects, 730 00:40:48,920 --> 00:40:52,279 Speaker 1: including a railroad to compete with the Southern Pacific. He 731 00:40:52,360 --> 00:40:54,760 Speaker 1: knew that a city that was appealing to new residents 732 00:40:54,760 --> 00:40:57,879 Speaker 1: would mean sustained growth for the businesses there, so he 733 00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:01,480 Speaker 1: was constantly donating both his personal money and on behalf 734 00:41:01,520 --> 00:41:04,840 Speaker 1: of Levi Strauss and Company to the creation of things 735 00:41:04,880 --> 00:41:08,279 Speaker 1: like parks or the improvement of public spaces, and he 736 00:41:08,360 --> 00:41:11,799 Speaker 1: supported efforts like the Pioneer Kindergarten Society because he knew 737 00:41:11,800 --> 00:41:14,400 Speaker 1: that educating children was a vital part of making a 738 00:41:14,440 --> 00:41:17,040 Speaker 1: future for the city. He was not only interested in 739 00:41:17,120 --> 00:41:21,040 Speaker 1: early childhood education, though, He also donated to the University 740 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:23,719 Speaker 1: of California, Berkeley so they could keep their library open 741 00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:26,880 Speaker 1: longer hours, and he created a scholarship fund at that 742 00:41:26,920 --> 00:41:31,200 Speaker 1: school that Levi Strouss Scholarship continues to this day. One 743 00:41:31,200 --> 00:41:34,640 Speaker 1: of Strouss's employees, named Henry Richmond, later wrote of him, 744 00:41:35,040 --> 00:41:40,879 Speaker 1: quote Mr. Strouss was very quiet, affable, always immaculately dressed. Yeah, 745 00:41:40,880 --> 00:41:44,280 Speaker 1: and he apparently uh did not like to be called Mr. Strauss. 746 00:41:44,280 --> 00:41:46,720 Speaker 1: He wanted everybody to just call him Levi. He seems 747 00:41:46,719 --> 00:41:49,600 Speaker 1: like a lovely, lovely gentleman. And I also wanted to 748 00:41:49,640 --> 00:41:53,120 Speaker 1: include as our final note a point of trivia related 749 00:41:53,120 --> 00:41:55,759 Speaker 1: to one of our previous episodes, because Levi Strauss was 750 00:41:55,800 --> 00:41:58,800 Speaker 1: a founding member of the Pacific Coast Auxiliary of the 751 00:41:58,880 --> 00:42:02,480 Speaker 1: Jewish Publications Idea of America, and another member of that 752 00:42:02,560 --> 00:42:06,200 Speaker 1: group was Ferdinand to Kalis, father of Alice B. Tokalis. 753 00:42:06,480 --> 00:42:08,120 Speaker 1: It's one of those moments where you just see all 754 00:42:08,120 --> 00:42:12,399 Speaker 1: the history puzzle pieces starting to click together. It's all connected, yes, 755 00:42:12,480 --> 00:42:15,520 Speaker 1: and Leavi strous is so connected in many ways like 756 00:42:15,640 --> 00:42:19,600 Speaker 1: that to California history because you know, he was on 757 00:42:19,920 --> 00:42:23,000 Speaker 1: all sorts of like public works committees and efforts with 758 00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,920 Speaker 1: you know, people like Stanford and other other famed people 759 00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:30,160 Speaker 1: that really formed a lot of the foundation of California 760 00:42:30,200 --> 00:42:38,359 Speaker 1: as we know it today. Yeah, thank you so much 761 00:42:38,400 --> 00:42:41,000 Speaker 1: for joining us today for this classic. If you have 762 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:43,600 Speaker 1: heard any kind of email address or maybe a Facebook 763 00:42:43,640 --> 00:42:45,520 Speaker 1: you are l during the course of the episode, that 764 00:42:45,600 --> 00:42:48,319 Speaker 1: might be obsolete. It might be doubly obsolete because we 765 00:42:48,360 --> 00:42:51,560 Speaker 1: have changed our email address again. You can now reach 766 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:55,040 Speaker 1: us at History Podcast at i heart radio dot com 767 00:42:55,080 --> 00:42:57,920 Speaker 1: and we're all over social media at missed in History 768 00:42:58,080 --> 00:43:01,080 Speaker 1: and you can subscribe to our show on Apple podcasts, 769 00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:04,319 Speaker 1: Google podcasts, the I heart radio app, and wherever else 770 00:43:04,360 --> 00:43:10,320 Speaker 1: you listen to podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History Class 771 00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,440 Speaker 1: is a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts 772 00:43:13,480 --> 00:43:17,000 Speaker 1: from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart radio app, Apple podcasts, 773 00:43:17,120 --> 00:43:19,160 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.