Robert Perkins Bass (September 1, 1873July 29, 1960) was an American farmer,

forestry Forestry is the science and craft of creating, managing, planting, using, conserving and repairing forests, woodlands, and associated resources for human and environmental benefits. Forestry is practiced in plantations and natural stands. ...

expert, and

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

politician from

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until ...

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

. He served in both houses of the

New Hampshire Legislature The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 memb ...

and as chairman of the state's Forestry Commission before serving as the 53rd

governor of New Hampshire The governor of New Hampshire is the head of government of New Hampshire. The governor is elected during the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Verm ...

from 1911 to 1913. He started one of the state's political dynasties. Both his son,

Perkins Bass Perkins Bass (October 6, 1912 – October 25, 2011) was an American elected official from the state of New Hampshire, including four terms as a U.S. representative from 1955 to 1963. Biography Bass was born on October 6, 1912, in East Walpole, ...

, and grandson, Charles F. Bass, were elected to the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

. His wife, Edith Harland Bird, was the daughter of Massachusetts businessman

Charles Sumner Bird Charles Sumner Bird (August 15, 1855 – October 9, 1927) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A progressive Republican, Bird served as the Progressive Party's gubernatorial candidate in the 1912 and 1913 Massachusetts gubernatorial ...

. His daughter, Joanne, was the first wife of

Marshall Field IV Marshall Field IV (June 15, 1916September 18, 1965) was the owner of the ''Chicago Daily News'' from 1956 to 1965. Early life and education Marshall Field IV was born in New York City on June 15, 1916, to Evelyn (née Marshall) Field and Marsha ...

, heir to the

Marshall Field's Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...

fortune and publishing mogul.

Early life

The son of Perkins Bass and Clara (Foster) Bass, he was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

, but his family moved to Peterborough when he was nine. He grew up on a family farm that is still owned by his descendants. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1896. Gertrude Bass Warner (May 14, 1863 – July 29, 1951), an art collector with particular interests in Asian art, was his sister.

Career

He was elected to the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 1905 and 1909 and the

New Hampshire Senate The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court, alongside the lower New Hampshire House of Representatives. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on populatio ...

in 1910. He was the state's governor from 1911 to 1913. His status was hurt, however, after 1912. That year, he had supported

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

for president, in the breakaway

Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to: Active parties * Progressive Party, Brazil * Progressive Party (Chile) * Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus * Dominica Progressive Party * Progressive Party (Iceland) * Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...

, against the Republican incumbent,

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...

. The move threw the state Republicans into disarray and led to a Democratic governor and a Democratic legislature. In retaliation, the party rejected Bass when he sought a

US Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

seat in 1913 and 1926. Bass is remembered today for his stint as chairman of the New Hampshire Forestry Commission when popular concern with forests' well-being was intense because of extreme

overlogging Overlogging is a form of overexploitation caused by legal or illegal logging activities that lead to unsustainable or irrecoverable deforestation and permanent habitat destruction for forest wildlife. Causes The use of poor logging practices a ...

in the White Mountains. Also notable is his sponsorship of legislation that led to the first

direct primary Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the ...

law east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it fl ...

. In 1945, Bass, along with retired Supreme Court Associate Justice Owen J. Roberts, convened the assembly that produced the

Dublin Declaration A United Nations Parliamentary Assembly (UNPA) is a proposed addition to the United Nations System that would allow for greater participation and voice for members of parliament. The idea was raised at the founding of the League of Nations in ...

, which proposed the transformation of the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...

into a world legislature with "limited but definite and adequate power for the prevention of war."S.Doc.107-3 AUTHORITY AND RULES OF SENATE COMMITTEES, 2001-2002
/ref>

References

External links

The Papers of Robert P. Bass
at Dartmouth College Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Bass, Robert P. 1873 births 1960 deaths Politicians from Chicago People from Peterborough, New Hampshire Harvard College alumni Republican Party governors of New Hampshire Republican Party members of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Republican Party New Hampshire state senators New Hampshire Progressives (1912)