Robert P. Bass

Robert P. Bass

Robert Perkins Bass (born September 1, 1873 in Chicago , Illinois , † July 29, 1960 in Peterborough , New Hampshire ) was an American politician and governor of the state of New Hampshire from 1911 to 1913 .

Early years and political advancement

In 1882, nine-year-old Robert Bass came to Peterborough, New Hampshire, with his parents. There the family bought a farm on which the young Robert grew up. Until 1896 he studied at Harvard University . After that, he devoted himself to agriculture and forestry for some time, testing scientific methods.

Bass was a member of the Republican Party . Between 1905 and 1909 he was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives . Afterwards he was a member of the State Senate from 1909 to 1910 . Between 1906 and 1910 he was also the chairman of his state's forestry commission. In 1910 he was elected the new governor. He took up this office on January 5, 1911.

New Hampshire Governor

During his two-year tenure as governor, child labor was reorganized. At that time, the Bureau of Labor was a forerunner of an employment office and a service commission. In addition, a law was prepared to regulate accident compensation and severance payments ( Workmens Compensation Bill ). In the presidential election of 1912, Bass did not support President William Howard Taft , his party's candidate, but former President Theodore Roosevelt , who ran for the Progressive Party . By splitting the Republican vote among these two candidates, Woodrow Wilson , the Democratic candidate , was elected as the new president. These events also had consequences for New Hampshire and its governor. For one thing, Bass fell out of favor in his party for supporting Roosevelt. As in the Bund, the party itself was split into two camps, which meant that the next gubernatorial elections could be won by the Democrats. In 1912, Samuel D. Felker was elected to the highest office of the state for the first time since 1874.

Another résumé

In the years that followed, the Republican Party remained reserved to hostile towards Bass. In both 1913 and 1926, she denied him a nomination for a seat in the US Senate . In 1923 he was re-elected to the House of Representatives of his state. During the First World War he was employed by the federal government as director of the marine laboratory and he headed a special commission of the federal government called the National Adjustment Commission . Robert Bass lived until July 1960. He had five children with his wife Edith Harland Bird. Both his son Perkins Bass and his grandson Charles Foster Bass would later become members of the US Congress .

literature

• Robert Sobel, John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 3, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

• Robert Bass in the National Governors Association (English)
• Biography of New Hampshire (English)
• Robert P. Bass in the database of Find a Grave (English)