James Wilson, Harvey Wiley, and the Bureau of Chemistry: Examining the “Political” Dimensions of the Administration and Enforcement of the Pure Food and Drugs Act, 1906-1912

Abstract

While much attention has focused on the individuals and events responsible for and leading to the passage of the historic Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906, considerably less attention has focused on the implementation, administration, and enforcement of the law in the years directly following its enactment. It is this topic that will be the focus of this paper, specifically the politics surrounding the implementation of the landmark legislation. It is easy to forget that those within the Bureau of Chemistry charged with administrating the historic food and drug law were ultimately political actors operating against a political backdrop. This paper will seek to put this political dimension of the law into sharp focus, specifically examining and analyzing the bureaucratic politics, personal politics, partisan politics, and electoral politics surrounding the Bureau of Chemistry in its attempts to administer, implement, and enforce the landmark Pure Food and Drugs Act of 1906.