Daniel Calhoun Roper (April 1, 1867April 11, 1943) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the seventh

United States secretary of commerce The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...

under President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

, and was the fifth

United States ambassador to Canada This is a list of ambassadors of the United States to Canada.U.S. ...

from May 19, 1939, until August 20, 1939.

Biography

Daniel Calhoun Roper was born near

Bennettsville, South Carolina Bennettsville is a city located in the U.S. state of South Carolina on the Great Pee Dee River. As the county seat of Marlboro County, Bennettsville is noted for its historic homes and buildings from the 19th and early 20th centuries—includin ...

to John Wesley Roper who was the leader of the 18th Regiment of North Carolina troops in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

. After two years at

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

Roper attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

(then called "Trinity College") and received an A.B. in 1888, and he received his bachelor of laws degree from

National University A national university is mainly a university created or managed by a government, but which may also at the same time operate autonomously without direct control by the state. In the United States, the term "national university" connotes the highe ...

in 1901. On December 25, 1889, Roper married Lou McKenzie. They had seven children: Margaret May, James Hunter, Daniel Calhoun Jr., Grace Henrietta, John Wesley Roper II (future Vice admiral), Harry McKenzie (future Major general) and Richard Frederick Roper. Roper taught school for four years and then, in 1892 at the age of 25, was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

where he served for two years. He moved to Washington and worked as a clerk for the U.S. Senate Committee on Interstate Commerce. From 1900 to 1910, he worked for the

Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, and then served as the clerk of the Committee on Ways and Means in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from 1911 to 1913. Immediately following and through 1916, he served as first assistant postmaster general, and was chairman of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was the 28th president of the United States, serving from 1913 to 1921. He was the only History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democrat to serve as president during the Prog ...

's reelection campaign in 1916. He was the chairman of the 1917 U.S. Tariff Commission and served as

commissioner of Internal Revenue The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury. The office of Commissioner was created by United States Congress, Congress as part of the Reven ...

from 1917 to 1920. He was a member of the District of Columbia Board of Education in 1931–32.

Secretary of Commerce

Roper was the U.S. secretary of commerce from 1933 until 1938, during which time he played a major role in the rollout of the New Deal. The National Recovery Administration (NRA) was a part of his portfolio until it was struck down by the Supreme Court in 1935.

Later career

In may 1939, Roper was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (Canada). Roper's

Letter of Credence A letter of credence (, ) is a formal Diplomatic correspondence, diplomatic letter that designates a diplomat as ambassador to another sovereign state. Commonly known as diplomatic credentials, the letter is addressed from one head of state to an ...

was accepted personally by

George VI George VI (Albert Frederick Arthur George; 14 December 1895 – 6 February 1952) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 until Death and state funeral of George VI, his death in 1952 ...

King of Canada The monarchy of Canada is Canada's Government#Forms, form of government embodied by the Canadian sovereign and head of state. It is one of the key components of Canadian sovereignty and sits at the core of Canadian federalism, Canada's cons ...

, at La Citadelle in

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, on May 17, 1939. It was the King's first official duty as King of Canada on Canadian soil. Roper resigned effective August 20, 1939; the Roosevelt administration explained that his appointment was intended to be temporary, and had been made to ensure that the U.S. would have an ambassador in Canada when the king visited. In 1941, Roper published his autobiography, ''Fifty Years of Public Life.'' Roper died on April 11, 1943, at his home in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, at the age of 76 from leukemia. Roper was interred at the Rock Creek Cemetery in

In 1966, the District of Columbia Public School system named a middle school in Deanwood for him, but in 1997 they renamed it for Ronald Brown, who was also a Commerce Secretary. That school was closed in 2013 but reopened as Ron Brown College Preparatory High School in 2016.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roper, Daniel C. 1867 births 1943 deaths United States secretaries of commerce Ambassadors of the United States to Canada Clerks Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni People from Bennettsville, South Carolina Franklin D. Roosevelt administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians National University School of Law alumni Wofford College alumni