Schuyler Merritt

Schuyler Merritt

Schuyler Merritt (born December 16, 1853 in New York City , †  April 1, 1953 in Stamford , Connecticut ) was an American politician . Between 1917 and 1931 and again from 1933 to 1937 he represented the state of Connecticut in the US House of Representatives .

Career

In 1855 Schuyler Merritt came to Stamford, Connecticut with his parents. There he attended private schools. He then studied until 1873 at Yale College and until 1876 at Columbia University in New York law. But he does not seem to have practiced as a lawyer. In the following years he worked in the trade in the manufacture of keys and locks. Between 1877 and 1917 he was also involved in the banking industry.

Politically, Merritt was a member of the Republican Party . In 1904 he was a member of a commission to revise the Connecticut state constitution. Between 1910 and 1916 he was a member of his state's education committee and in 1916 he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Chicago . After the death of Congressman Ebenezer J. Hill , Merritt was elected to the House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the necessary by-election in Connecticut's fourth constituency in 1917 . After he was confirmed in his mandate in the following six regular congressional elections, he was initially able to remain in Congress between November 6, 1917 and March 3, 1931. During this time, the First World War , the nationwide introduction of women's suffrage , the prohibition law and the start of the global economic crisis in October 1929.

In the 1930 election, Merritt was defeated by Democrat William L. Tierney . Two years later, in 1932, Merritt managed to beat Tierney in the election and regain his old seat in Congress . This election victory was against the then federal trend in favor of the Democrats. After a re-election in 1934, he was able to spend two more legislative terms in Congress between March 4, 1933 and January 3, 1937. These were shaped by the economic crisis at the time. It was also during this period that many of the New Deal laws passed by the government of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt . Merritt's Republican Party was in opposition to the President's policies. In the 1936 congressional elections, Merritt lost to Alfred N. Phillips .

After his tenure in the US House of Representatives, Merritt returned to business. He was involved in both Yale & Towne Manufacturing Co. and Stamford National Bank . Schuyler Merritt died on April 1, 1953 at the age of 99 in Stamford; he was buried there.

Web links

• Schuyler Merritt in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Schuyler Merritt in the database of Find a Grave (English)