ABSTRACT
Who originally was responsible for the idea of the Rockefeller Foundation it is now impossible to determine. It was probably Mr. Frederick T. Gates. Gates was always troubled by what he called "the destiny of Mr. John D. Rockefeller's vast fortune." The younger Rockefeller expressed a concern "whether it would be possible to get together a single group of men who could be expected to have knowledge and interest along so many different lines." In March, 1910, a bill was introduced in the United States Senate to incorporate The Rockefeller Foundation. During the three-year period that this bill was before Congress, it was the center of violent public controversy, and Mr. Rockefeller was maligned as he seldom had been even in his earlier years. The Rockefeller Foundation was launched in an atmosphere unhappily streaked by misgiving and distrust. The United States Commission remained skeptical of the new organization that bore the Rockefeller name.
