Editing Frederick Cook (section)

== Reputation ==
Cook's reputation never recovered from the attacks on his claim. While Peary's North Pole claim was widely accepted for most of the 20th century, it has since been discredited by a variety of reviewers, including the [[National Geographic Society]], which long supported him. Cook spent the next few years defending his claim and threatening to sue writers who said that he had faked the trip. 

Researching the complicated story of the conflicting claims, the writer Robert Bryce began to assess how the men's personalities and goals were in contrast, and evaluated them against the period of the [[Gilded Age]].<ref name="ringle"/> He believes that Cook, as a physician and [[ethnographer]], cared about the people on his expedition and admired the [[Inuit]]. Bryce writes that Cook "genuinely loved and hungered for the real meat of exploration—mapping new routes and shorelines, learning and adapting to the survival techniques of the [[Eskimos]], advancing his own knowledge—and that of the world—for its own sake."<ref name="ringle">[http://www.surveyhistory.org/the_polar_controversy_resolved1.htm Ken Ringle, review: "''Cook & Peary - The Polar Controversy Resolved''"], ''Backsights'', 1997, published by Surveyors Historical Society, accessed October 3, 2013.</ref> But, he could not find supporters to help finance the expeditions without a goal that was more flashy. There was tremendous pressure on each man to be the first to reach the Pole, in order to gain financial support for continued expeditions.

=== Fraud trial ===
In 1919, Cook started promoting startup oil companies in [[Fort Worth, Texas|Fort Worth]]. In April 1923, Cook and 24 other Fort Worth oil promoters were indicted in a federal crackdown on fraudulent oil company promotions. Three of Cook's employees pleaded guilty, but Cook insisted on his innocence and went to trial. Also tried was his head advertising copywriter, S. E. J. Cox, who had been previously convicted of mail fraud in connection with his own oil company promotions.

Among other deceptive practices, Cook was charged with paying dividends from stock sales, rather than from profits. Cook's attorney was former politician [[Joseph Weldon Bailey]], who clashed frequently with the judge. The jury found Cook guilty on 14 counts of fraud. In November 1923, Judge Killits sentenced Cook and 13 other oil company promoters to prison terms. Cook drew the longest sentence, 14 years 9 months. His attorney appealed the verdict, but the conviction was upheld.<ref>Olien, R. (1989). "Doctor Frederick A. Cook and the Petroleum Producers' Association", ''Journal of the West''. '''28''' (4). pp. 33–36.</ref><ref>{{cite court |litigants=Cook v. United States |vol= 4|reporter=F.2d |opinion=517 |pinpoint= |court=5th Cir.|date=February 3, 1925 |url= https://cite.case.law/f2d/4/517 }}</ref>