Episode 7: President Cortelyou?
PRESIDENT’S CABINET ROOM, WHITE HOUSE
Cortelyou takes the last seat at the cabinet table: Secretary of the Treasury (his forth Cabinet position) – more smiles and nods from the other members.
The date is 1907. Wall Street is buckling. Reckless speculation triggers a banking panic. There is no Federal Reserve, no deposit insurance for investors at the time - just fear. With President Roosevelt out of town, Cortelyou travels to New York. In smoke-filled rooms with J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and James Stillman, he negotiates calmly, strategically. He instructs the Treasury to inject millions of dollars into key banks to restore public confidence. The move helps stop the bleeding. It is bold, decisive - and it works. Roosevelt cables congratulations to Cortelyou and the “patriotic financiers” who helped save the markets. For a moment, Cortelyou is the man of the hour.
Then tragedy. Cortelyou’s daughter, Helen, dies at age 10. The series’ most personal moment plays in near silence. He sits at the piano, playing the same melody from Episode 1. This time, it falters.
INT. PRIVATE DINING ROOM – MANHATTAN CLUB – NIGHT
In a richly appointed room, J.P. Morgan, towering and magnetic, makes his move. In a private back room, paneled wood, thick drapes, George B. Cortelyou, composed, reserved and J.P. Morgan, looming in presence, voice, and cigar smoke - one of the richest men in the world offers to back him in the next presidential election.
“You’re a man I can work with, George. Let me help you take the next step. You could be President with my help.”
Cortelyou, dignified but unreadable, receives the offer. He doesn’t commit. But the idea takes hold. Newspapers begin floating his name. Allies test the waters in key states. Taft looks hard to beat, however.
In a private moment, the White House Chief Stewart pulls Cortelyou aside, “If anyone deserves to live here, you do.” You must
In a Cabinet meeting later that week, Roosevelt unexpectedly endorses Howard Taft for President. Cortelyou is disappointed, but only privately. Lilly sits next to him while he plays the piano - moody at first, but then, a tune of optimism.
INT. GEORGE B. CORTELYOU’S OFFICE – NIGHT – NEW YORK CITY – 1909
The walls are lined with framed government letters, a modest photographs of President Lincoln and President McKinley, a note from Roosevelt, and a single framed drawing from his late daughter, Helen. Cortelyou, now 47, quietly packs a few personal items into a leather satchel.
At his desk, he takes out a page from his personal notebook. it reads:
“The success of our great experiment in self-government rests not on the brilliance of its design, but on the character of its citizens. The Constitution is but a piece of paper - it is the people who breathe life into it through vigilance, virtue, and willingness to serve. Democracy is not inherited; it must be earned by each generation. We are each, in our own way, custodians of this fragile experiment. And when history calls, we must answer - not for glory, but because it is our turn."
He closes the book gently.
Cortelyou picks up a newspaper announcing his appointment as president of the Consolidated Gas Company of New York (the largest utility in the United States at the time). A secretary enters to inform him that Mr. Edison is ready for him.
CORTELYOU
"Excellent. Let’s get to work”