Phil Chase

pchase@usc.edu, sssmad@hotmail.com

MAJOR FIELD: American--Political,Cultural, Intellectual,Gilded Age and Progressive Era

ADVISER: Philip Ethington

STATUS: ABD

I am working on a biography of William Gibbs McAdoo, a key figure in the transition of American institutions from the Gilded Age to the Progressive Era. Some historians of the Progressive Era have reacted to the contemporary emphasis on social history by trying to "bring the state back in." Through an examination of William McAdoo, a lawyer, subway builder, political entrepreneur, Secretary of the Treasury, national railroad czar, two-time presidential candidate, and key figure in the Democratic Party and national politics for thirty years, I hope to "bring the individual back in" to a discussion of that period.

I hope to finish my dissertation this school year (6th year in program). I have taught History for 22 years in Los Angeles high schools, and am presently a lecturer at Pepperdine U.