Lewis F. Powell Jr. was sworn in as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court on January 7, 1972, after being nominated by President Nixon and confirmed by the Senate with an overwhelming 89-1 vote. A corporate lawyer with board memberships in 11 major corporations, Powell’s appointment …
Lewis F. Powell Jr.Richard NixonSupreme CourtU.S. Senatepowell-supreme-courtjudicial-capturecorporate-interestsconstitutional-interpretationnixon-administration
On June 29, 1956, President Eisenhower signed the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, creating the Interstate Highway System—the largest public works project in American history. While celebrated as an engineering triumph, the $25 billion program (equivalent to over $300 billion today) systematically …
Dwight D. EisenhowerU.S. CongressBureau of Public RoadsGeneral MotorsAmerican Petroleum Institute+2 moreinfrastructureinstitutional-racismurban-renewalcorporate-interestsautomotive-industry
On August 2, 1954, President Eisenhower signed the Housing Act of 1954, dramatically expanding the urban renewal program that had begun with the 1949 Housing Act. The law introduced the “workable program” requirement for federal funds, mandated comprehensive planning, and provided new …
Dwight D. EisenhowerU.S. CongressUrban Renewal AdministrationReal estate industryRobert Mosesinstitutional-racismurban-renewalhousing-policydisplacementcorporate-interests
On June 27, 1954, democratically elected Guatemalan President Jacobo Arbenz resigned under pressure from a CIA-orchestrated coup known as Operation PBSUCCESS. The intervention, designed primarily to protect United Fruit Company’s vast landholdings, inaugurated decades of military dictatorship, …
Central Intelligence AgencyAllen DullesJohn Foster DullesUnited Fruit CompanyJacobo Arbenz+3 moreintelligence-overreachforeign-interventioncorporate-interestsbanana-republiccold-war+1 more
On February 26, 1954, the United States Senate rejected the Bricker Amendment, a proposed constitutional amendment that would have severely limited the President’s treaty-making power. The amendment, backed by conservative Republicans and corporate groups including the American Bar Association …
John BrickerDwight D. EisenhowerAmerican Bar AssociationU.S. SenateAmerican Medical Association+1 moreisolationismcongressional-actionconstitutional-amendmentcold-warcorporate-interests
On August 19, 1953, the CIA executed Operation Ajax (known to the British as Operation Boot), a covert action that overthrew Iran’s democratically elected Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh and restored authoritarian power to Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The coup marked the first time the CIA …
Central Intelligence AgencyKermit Roosevelt Jr.Allen DullesJohn Foster DullesMohammad Mosaddegh+4 moreintelligence-overreachforeign-interventionoil-industrycorporate-interestsauthoritarian-support+1 more