Henry D. Hatfield

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Henry D. Hatfield

Henry Drury Hatfield (born September 15, 1875 in Logan County , West Virginia , †  October 23, 1962 in Huntington , West Virginia) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) and from 1913 to 1917 the 14th  governor of West Virginia. He also represented this state in the US Senate .

Early years and political advancement

Henry Hatfield visited the Franklin College in New Athens ( Ohio ). He then studied medicine at various universities. He later became a doctor with the Norfolk and Western Railroad , then head of the Mingo County Commissioner of Health ; He also took care of the establishment of a hospital for miners in Welch and was its director. After the turn of the century Hatfield also turned to politics. Between 1900 and 1905 he served as the chief of the McDowell County Roads Department . Here he was responsible for the district roads. Between 1908 and 1912 he was a member of the West Virginia Senate ; in 1911 he was its president. During this time he was still working as a doctor for the railway company.

West Virginia Governor

In 1912, Hatfield won the election for governor of West Virginia as a Republican candidate against the Democrat W. R. Thompson. He began his four-year term on March 4, 1913. As governor, he supported the rights of workers and trade unions. One of his first acts was to end a strike in Kanawha County , leaving the parties with no choice but to accept his arbitration ruling. As a result of a mine accident with 180 deaths, on the one hand, the safety precautions and regulations in the mining industry were improved and, on the social side, laws were passed to protect and compensate the victims, which were exemplary nationwide at the time. Given his medical background, it is not surprising that he of all people started a health department in West Virginia. Other projects Hatfield initiated were the creation of a state labor exchange, electoral reform and an increase in taxes on industry. In 1914, West Virginia passed the Prohibition Act, which banned the sale and trade of alcoholic beverages in the state. This happened against the background of a nationwide debate about the introduction of such a law. In 1919 a corresponding law was introduced nationwide by constitutional amendment and repealed in 1933 because of its practical impracticability.

US Senator

Since the constitution of West Virginia did not allow two contiguous terms, Hatfield had to leave office on March 4, 1917. When the United States entered World War I in April 1917, a few weeks after his tenure ended , Hatfield decided to make his medical knowledge available to the Army. He became the director of a military hospital in Detroit . After the war he became a lieutenant colonel in the medical service of the military reserve. Between March 4, 1929 and January 3, 1935, he represented his home state in the US Senate in Washington . When trying to re-elect, he failed because of the Democrat Rush D. Holt , who achieved a clear majority with 55.1 percent of the vote.

After leaving Congress , he continued his medical career and became head of a hospital. He had also acquired several farms that he now looked after. Henry Hatfield died very old in 1962.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 1, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.
  • Carlyn Karr: A Political Biography of Henry Hatfield. In: West Virginia History. 28. (October 1966), pp. 35-64, 28 (January 1967): pp. 137-170.
  • Neil Shay Penn: Henry D. Hatfield and Reform Politics: A Study of West Virginia Politics from 1908-1917. Ph.D. Dissertation, Emory University, 1973.

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personal data
SURNAME Hatfield, Henry D.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hatfield, Henry Drury
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH September 15, 1875
PLACE OF BIRTH Logan County , West Virginia
DATE OF DEATH October 23, 1962
Place of death Huntington , West Virginia