Leonidas Merritt

Title: Response by Merritt to the Pamphlet
Type: Document
Date: 1912
Source: Minnesota Historical Society

Description: Leonidas Merritt wrote this paper to express his family's side of the court case and to respond to Gate's accusations.
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Activities:

1. What reasons does Merritt give for signing the agreement with Rockefeller?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: He and his family were being "worn down" in court by Rockefeller's expensive lawyersand constant appeals. The financial cost was weakening them (they couldn't pay their lawyers), and Merritt seemed to worry that the trials would continue indefinitely if they did not settle.
2. What outcome did Merritt think further trials would have?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Merritt didn't think that any more trials would get them a better outcome, because the trials they had already been through had simply caused more trials. The Rockefellers would appeal any decision that was made against them, and they had the money to appeal as long as possible until they got the ruling they wanted.
3. What argument does Merritt give for why Gates' copy of the agreement (Document 2) is false?
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Merritt says that the agreement his family signed does not say that their witnesses testified falsely. The fact that Gates putthe telegram in Appendix A right above the agreement (Appendix B) that they did sign makes it look like they signed an agreement saying that their witnesses lied in the courtroom.
4. Why do you think Merritt would feel so strongly about Gates that he would say he has "rat-like cunning?"
   
   
   
   
   Answer: Gates supported Rockefeller in this case, and his booklet makes some strong accusations against the character and honesty of the Merritt family. Merritt probably was very angry with the way his family was portrayed in the pamphlet and wrote this response to set the record straight.