Wartime Catalyst and Postwar Reaction: The Making of the U.S. Synthetic Organic Chemicals Industry

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Prior to World War 1, the United States possessed virtually no synthetic organic chemicals industry. Instead, it relied almost exclusively on imports of such chemicals from Germany, the world leader in this area. During and following World War I, American industrialists and government officials, with support from universities, promoted the organic chemistry industry through policies that included tariffs and embargoes, military procurement contracts, and confiscation of German chemical property. By the end of the 1920's, the American chemical industry was firmly established as a world competitor capable of producing such notable products as aspirin, plastics, and dyestuffs. Under a previous grant to support her doctoral dissertation research, Dr. Steen examined the development of the American synthetic organic chemical industry from 1910 to 1933. Under this grant, she is extending her American study to gain a greater understanding of the complex relationship between the German chemical companies and their American importing agents during years of wartime stress and rampant xenophobia. She is also extending her previous study to include the area of pharmaceuticals. In order to carry out this extended study, Dr. Steen is examining German archives of the Bayer Company, and the B.A.S.F. company , the archives at the Deutches Museum in Munich, and the Charles H. Herty papers at Emory University.