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