Harry Emerson Rowbottom (November 3, 1884 – March 22, 1934) was an American businessman 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. He was elected to the

United States 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 ...

from

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...

and served three terms from 1925 to 1931. He was defeated for re-election in

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...

and subsequently convicted of accepting bribes, abruptly terminating his political career.

Biography

Rowbottom was born in

Aurora, Indiana Aurora is a city in Center Township, Dearborn County, Indiana, United States. The population was 3,750 at the 2010 census. Geography Aurora is located at (39.058551, -84.906351). According to the 2010 census, Aurora has a total area of , of wh ...

and moved with his parents to Ludlow, Kentucky in 1885. In

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

he attended the common schools, graduated from Ludlow High School in 1901, and subsequently attended Kentucky State College at Lexington from 1902 to 1904. From 1904 to 1907 Rowbottom worked selling lubricating oils. He graduated from the Cincinnati Business College in 1907, where he studied accountancy. Following graduation, Rowbottom found work as an auditor in Cincinnati from 1907 to 1910 and Chicago from 1910 to 1912. He moved to

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

in 1913 and was employed as chief clerk for the Indiana Refining Company from 1913 to 1918.

Politics

Rowbottom was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives in 1918, serving two consecutive terms from 1919 to 1923. His legislative service coincided with the end of

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 ...

and the

Red Summer of 1919 Red Summer was a period in mid-1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots occurred in more than three dozen cities across the United States, and in one rural county in Arkansas. The term "Red Summer" was coined by civil ...

, which witnessed the rise of the second Ku Klux Klan. Like many prominent Indiana Republicans, Rowbottom sought out the Klan's electoral support and proudly boasted of his membership in the organization. With the Klan's endorsement he was elected to the

in 1924, defeating Democratic incumbent William E. Wilson in

Indiana's 1st congressional district Indiana's 1st congressional district is an electoral district for the U.S. Congress in Northwestern Indiana. The district is based in Gary and its surrounding suburbs and exurbs. It consists of all of Lake and Porter counties, as well as most of ...

. Klan-backed candidates won up and down the ballot in 1924, with local Klan leader D. C. Stephenson widely believed to have orchestrated the nomination of the incoming Republican governor, Edward L. Jackson. Rowbottom's victory in traditionally Democratic southern Indiana, coming despite Wilson's eminent public stature and Rowbottom's comparatively poor reputation, was considered as major upset. Rowbottom was re-elected in 1926 and 1928, serving from 1925 to 1931. He was defeated for re-election to the 72nd Congress in 1930 following the onset of the Great Depression, which was blamed on the Republican Party and the administration of Herbert Hoover. During his final term in office, Rowbottom was indicted for accepting bribes in exchange for appointments to jobs with the

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the U ...

. He was found guilty in 1931 and incarcerated at

Leavenworth prison The United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth (USP Leavenworth) is a medium security U.S. penitentiary with an adjacent minimum security satellite camp in northeast Kansas. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the Unite ...

Death

He died in Evansville on March 22, 1934 and is interred in Locust Hill Cemetery.

References

;Notes ;Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowbottom, Harry Emerson 1884 births 1934 deaths 20th-century American politicians American accountants Indiana politicians convicted of crimes Republican Party members of the Indiana House of Representatives People from Aurora, Indiana People from Kenton County, Kentucky United States federal public corruption crime Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana

Biography

Politics

Death

See also

References

External links