The Root of Evil is a 1911 novel by Thomas Dixon, Jr. James Stuart, a Southerner, becomes a successful attorney in New York City.

[2] Meanwhile, Nan Primrose, his childhood lover marries his college friend, John C. Calhoun Bivens, now a millionnaire lawyer.

[2] At the same time, Dr Henry Woodman takes care of the poor in New York, and opposes the takeover of a drug company by Bivens.

[2] When Woodman steals some jewelry from Bivens, he goes through a trial but is acquitted by the judges thanks to his good deeds.

[2] Biographer Anthony Slide viewed the book as an 'attack on capitalism.