Howard Ross Ake (September 22, 1878 – February 11, 1954) was a

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 and banker from the

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Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He was elected to the Ohio State Senate, appointed as

Ohio State Treasurer The treasurer of the U.S. state of Ohio is responsible for collecting and safeguarding taxes and fees, as well as managing state investments. The Treasury was located in the Ohio Statehouse from 1861 to 1974, when it was moved to the Rhodes Stat ...

, and ran unsuccessfully for

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Biography

H. Ross Ake was born September 22, 1878, on a farm in Osnaburg Township, Stark County,

. His parents, John Ake, and Cora Shearer Ake were both born in Stark County. He attended the country schools and

Mount Union College The University of Mount Union is a private university in Alliance, Ohio. Founded in 1846, the university was affiliated with the Methodist Church until the spring of 2019. In the fall of 2020, Mount Union had an enrollment of 1,958 undergraduate ...

. He was a banker in Canton, Ohio, and was secretary-treasurer and manager of the Canton, Ohio,

Morris Plan Bank Morris Plan Banks were part of a historic banking system in the United States created to assist the middle class in obtaining loans that were often difficult to obtain at traditional banks. They were established by Arthur J. Morris (1881–1973), ...

from its founding in 1916. He also was on the Board of Governors of the National Association of Morris Plan Bankers. Ake served two terms as County Treasurer of Stark County, before being elected to the Ohio State Senate in 1918. He served during 1919 and 1920. This was during the period of anti-German sentiment by the war with

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. The legislature passed the Ake Law, which in 1919 outlawed the teaching of the

German language German ( ) is a West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken and official or co-official language in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and the Italian province of South Tyrol. It is als ...

below the eighth grade in all schools, both public and private. The

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, in ''

Meyer v. Nebraska ''Meyer v. Nebraska'', 262 U.S. 390 (1923), was a U.S. Supreme Court case that held that a 1919 Nebraska law restricting foreign-language education violated the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. ...

'' (1923), determined the law and ones like it to be unconstitutional, as the state did not have the authority to ban German in private schools."Ake Law", Ohio History Central, July 1, 2005

Ohio Historical Society Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connect ...

Ake also was favorable toward labor in the legislature.Massillon Evening Independent, May 9, 1938 page three
/ref> In February 1929,

Bert B. Buckley was convicted of bribery, and forced to resign rather than be impeached.Kokomo Daily Tribune, Feb. 6, 1929
/ref> His two-year term had just started, and would not expire until January 1931. Ohio Governor Myers Y. Cooper appointed Ake to finish the term. He resigned in November, 1930. H. Ross Ake was the Republican nominee for

Ohio's 16th congressional district The 16th congressional district of Ohio is represented by Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R). It is located in the northeast of the state, covering Wayne County and with arms extending north into the suburbs of Cleveland, and east into Grea ...

in 1936. He ran as an isolationist, and lost to incumbent Democrat William R. Thom. Ake was married to Hannah Roxaine Dager in 1904. They had three children. Ake was a member of the Masons, the Knights of Pythias, the

Loyal Order of Moose The Loyal Order of Moose is a fraternal and service organization founded in 1888 and headquartered in Mooseheart, Illinois. Moose International supports the operation of Mooseheart Child City & School, a community for children and teen ...

, and the Jr. O.U.A.M. H. Ross Ake died February 11, 1954, in

East Canton, Ohio East Canton is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Stark County, Ohio, Stark County in the U.S. state of Ohio. The population was 1,591 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the ''Canton-Massillon metropolitan area, C ...

. He is buried at the cemetery in

Mapleton, Ohio Mapleton is an unincorporated community in Stark County, in the U.S. state of Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United S ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ake, Howard Ross 1878 births 1954 deaths Republican Party Ohio state senators State treasurers of Ohio Politicians from Canton, Ohio University of Mount Union alumni