Conclusion: Institutions, Entrepreneurs, and American History

Farmers’ activities in the courts trailed off dramatically after the war tax cases. The company was involved in only sixteen federal appeals court cases between 1910 and 1929, when it merged with National City Bank. The decline in court activity was not a sign of decline in the company’s overall health or its innovativeness. In 1916, the company increased its capital stock from $1,000,000 to $5,000,000.1 Nine years later the company increased the capital stock again from $5,000,000 to $10,000,000.2 Between 1921 and 1925 the total resources of the company increased from $142,405,417 to $211,723,803. In 1926, it appointed Elisa Lawson as assistant cashier, which the New York times described as “one of the few cases in which a woman has held a titled position with a Wall Street bank.”3 And it developed new forms of investment trusts for smaller investors.4