King of the Lobby

A biography of the “influential and engaging character” who courted Congress with food, wine, and gifts in the post-Civil War era (The Washington Post Book World).

King of the Lobby tells the story of how one man harnessed delicious food, fine wine, and good conversation to become the most influential lobbyist of the Gilded Age.

Scion of an old and honorable family, best friend of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and charming man-about-town, Sam Ward held his own in an era crowded with larger-than-life personalities. Living by the motto that the shortest route between a pending bill and a congressman’s “aye” was through his stomach, Ward elegantly entertained political elites in return for their votes.

At a time when waves of scandal washed over Washington, the popular press railed against the wickedness of the lobby, and self-righteous politicians predicted that special interests would cause the downfall of democratic government, Sam Ward still reigned supreme. By the early 1870s, he had earned the title “King of the Lobby,” cultivating an extraordinary network of prominent figures and a style that survives today in the form of expensive golf outings, extravagant dinners, and luxurious vacations. Kathryn Allamong Jacob’s account shows how the king earned his crown, and how this son of wealth and privilege helped to create a questionable profession in a city that then, as now, rested on power and influence.

“Her extensive research is reflected in her recounting of Ward’s life, successfully putting it into the context of the history of lobbying…will appeal to American history buffs.” —Publishers Weekly