Robert Porter Patterson Sr. (February 12, 1891 – January 22, 1952) was an American judge who served as Under Secretary of War under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and U.S. Secretary of War under President Harry S. Truman. He was a US circuit judge of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (in case citations, 2d Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. Its territory comprises the states of Connecticut, New York and Vermont. The court has appellate ju ...

after he had been a district judge of the

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (in case citations, S.D.N.Y.) is a federal trial court whose geographic jurisdiction encompasses eight counties of New York State. Two of these are in New York City: New ...

Education and career

Born on February 12, 1891, in

Glens Falls Glens Falls is a city in Warren County, New York, United States and is the central city of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 14,700 at the 2010 census. The name was given by Colonel Johannes Glen, the falls ref ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, the son of Lodice Edna (née Porter) and Charles Robert Patterson, Patterson received an

Artium Baccalaureus Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1912 from

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

in 1915 from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each c ...

. He entered private practice in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 1915 to 1916, with what today is the law firm of

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, founded in 1919, is a law firm headquartered in New York City. Notable alumni *Former Attorney General of the United States and federal judge Michael B. Mukasey was a partner at the firm before his accession ...

, also serving with that firm in subsequent periods of private practice. He served in the

New York Army National Guard The New York Army National Guard is a component of the New York National Guard and the Army National Guard. Nationwide, the Army National Guard comprises approximately one half of the United States Army's available combat forces and approxim ...

from 1916 to 1917. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

from 1917 to 1919, attaining the rank of

Major Major ( commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicato ...

. He received the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

for heroism in France. Patterson served in the 306th Infantry Regiment which was assigned to the

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: * 77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany * 77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran * 77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 77th Division (People's Republic of China) * 77th Division ( ...

. He returned to private practice in New York City from 1919 to 1930.

Federal judicial service

Patterson was nominated by President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

on April 24, 1930, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Thomas D. Thacher. He was confirmed by the

United States 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 ...

on May 13, 1930, and received his commission the same day. His service terminated on March 22, 1939, due to his elevation to the Second Circuit. Patterson was nominated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on February 9, 1939, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge

Martin Thomas Manton Martin Thomas Manton (August 2, 1880 – November 17, 1946) was a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and previously was a United States District Judge of the United States District Court for th ...

. He was confirmed by the Senate on March 20, 1939, and received his commission on March 21, 1939. His service terminated on July 30, 1940, due to his resignation.

War Department service

Patterson served as a

United States Assistant Secretary of War The United States Assistant Secretary of War was the second–ranking official within the American Department of War from 1861 to 1867, from 1882 to 1883, and from 1890 to 1940. According to thMilitary Laws of the United States "The act of August ...

in 1940. He served as United States Under Secretary of War from 1940 to 1945 under Secretary

Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, lawyer, and Republican Party politician. Over his long career, he emerged as a leading figure in U.S. foreign policy by serving in both Republican and ...

. He was instrumental in the mobilization of the armed forces preparatory to and during World War II. President Harry S. Truman appointed Patterson as

United States Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

in 1945. Truman initially was set to offer Patterson a seat on 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 ...

which was left vacant by Justice Owen J. Roberts, however, with the resignation of

, Patterson instead became the Secretary of War. Patterson advocated unifying the armed services (army and navy) and having a single chief of staff. Steps to this effect were begun by the

National Security Act of 1947 The National Security Act of 1947 ( Pub.L.br>80-253 61 Stat.br>495 enacted July 26, 1947) was a law enacting major restructuring of the United States government's military and intelligence agencies following World War II. The majority of the pro ...

and revised several times, finally by the Goldwater-Nichols Act of 1986. Patterson worked to promote more black participation and promotion with in the military, specifically during the late stages of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was instrumental in creating an African-American fighter group, known now as the

Tuskegee airmen The Tuskegee Airmen were a group of primarily African American military pilots (fighter and bomber) and airmen who fought in World War II. They formed the 332d Fighter Group and the 477th Fighter Group, 477th Bombardment Group (Medium) of the ...

. While sympathetic to black grievances, aspirations, and recommendations he was concerned that radical change would impede military preparedness during war. After the war the "Board for Utilization of Negro Manpower" (or Gillem Board). released a report, "Utilization of Negro Manpower in the Postwar Army Policy", in April 1946. that was signed off by Patterson: it recommended the retention of segregation, as that was a policy external to the military, but that the military introduce equal opportunity, as that would be the best use of military manpower. Patterson served until 1947.

Later career

After declining an offer by President Truman to be reappointed to his former judgeship, Patterson returned to private practice in New York City from 1947 to 1952, Later he became the President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and the President of the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is a nonprofit organization that is independent and nonpartisan. CFR is based in New York Ci ...

Personal life

On January 3, 1920, Patterson married Margaret Tarleton Winchester (March 12, 1897 - March 28, 1988); they had four children: Robert P. Patterson, Jr., Aileen W. Patterson, Susan H. Patterson and Virginia D. Patterson.

Robert P. Patterson Jr. Robert Porter Patterson Jr. (July 11, 1923 – April 21, 2015) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Early life and career Born in New York City, New York on July 11, 1923, ...

was a federal judge in the Southern District of New York, until his death in 2015. Patterson housed

William L. Marbury Jr. William Luke Marbury Jr. (September 12, 1901 – March 5, 1988) was a prominent 20th-century American lawyer who practiced with his family's law firm of Marbury, Miller & Evans (later Piper & Marbury, Piper Marbury Rudnick & Wolfe, Piper Rudnick ...

, at his Georgetown home. After the war, he recommended Marbury to succeed him at the United Nations; upon advice from

Alger Hiss Alger Hiss (November 11, 1904 – November 15, 1996) was an American government official accused in 1948 of having spied for the Soviet Union in the 1930s. Statutes of limitations had expired for espionage, but he was convicted of perjury in co ...

, Marbury declined. (Marbury soon thereafter represented Hiss in his slander case against

Whittaker Chambers Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Workers Party of America, Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet Union, Soviet spy (1932–1938), defe ...

Death

Patterson died on January 22, 1952, returning from meeting a client, onboard American Airlines Flight 6780 which crashed on the approach to

Newark Airport Newark Liberty International Airport , originally Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport straddling the boundary between the cities of Newark in Essex County and Elizabeth in Union Co ...

in Elizabeth,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

; he was age 60.

Works

In 2012, the University of Tennessee Press published ''The World War I Memoirs of Robert P. Patterson: A Captain in the Great War,'' edited by J. Garry Clifford. In 2014, the University of Tennessee Press published his previously unpublished 1947 memoir ''Arming the Nation for War'', with a foreword by

Robert M. Morgenthau Robert Morris Morgenthau ( ; July 31, 1919July 21, 2019) was an American lawyer. From 1975 until his retirement in 2009, he was the District Attorney for New York County (the borough of Manhattan), having previously served as United States Attorn ...

, former Manhattan district attorney, and edited by Brian Waddell, associate professor at the University of Connecticut. * ''The World War I Memoirs of Robert P. Patterson: A Captain in the Great War'' (2012) * ''Arming the Nation for War: Mobilization, Supply, and the American War Effort in World War II'' (2014)

References

Sources

*Eiler, Keith. (1997) ''Mobilizing America: Robert P. Patterson and the War Effort, 1940-1945''. Cornell University Press.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Robert P. 1891 births 1952 deaths People from Glens Falls, New York Lawyers from New York City Military personnel from New York (state) United States Army personnel of World War I Union College (New York) alumni Harvard Law School alumni Judges of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York United States district court judges appointed by Herbert Hoover Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit United States court of appeals judges appointed by Franklin D. Roosevelt 20th-century American judges United States Secretaries of War Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) United States Army officers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1952 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in New Jersey Presidents of the New York City Bar Association Truman administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians United States Assistant Secretaries of War Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler people