Robert Nelson Stanfield Jr (July 9, 1877April 13, 1945) was an American Republican politician and rancher from the state of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idah ...

who served in the

Oregon House of Representatives The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of t ...

(1912–18) including as Speaker (1917–18) and was later elected

United States Senator 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 p ...

for

(1921–27).

Early life

Robert Nelson Stanfield Jr was born near the city of Umatilla, in

Eastern Oregon Eastern Oregon is the eastern part of the U.S. state of Oregon. It is not an officially recognized geographic entity; thus, the boundaries of the region vary according to context. It is sometimes understood to include only the eight easternmos ...

on July 9, 1877, the first son of Harriet Thankful Townsend and Robert N. Stanfield Sr, the owner of a livery stable and freighting company. He lived in Umatilla until 1882 when his family moved to Pendleton, where his father ran a freight forwarding business. In 1885, the family moved to the former Buel Atwood place on Butter Creek, near Echo, Oregon. After the family moved to Butter Creek, he attended school at the Thomson School and then at the Butter Creek School built on land his father donated to the school district. In the fall of 1895, he enrolled in the state

normal school A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

at neighboring

Weston Weston may refer to: Places Australia * Weston, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Weston, New South Wales * Weston Creek, a residential district of Canberra * Weston Park, Canberra, a park Canada * Weston, Nova Scotia * ...

. His education was interrupted by the death of his father, Robert N. Stanfield Sr, on April 15, 1896. He left school in 1897, after completing two years, and took over management of the Stanfield ranch on Butter Creek from his mother. From the original ranch on Butter Creek, he and his brothers built up a large livestock operation with multiple ranches. He was also involved in banking in

Echo In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound that arrives at the listener with a delay after the direct sound. The delay is directly proportional to the distance of the reflecting surface from the source and the li ...

and

Baker A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grains ...

. He started with cattle and then switched mainly to sheep.Neal, Steve (1985). McNary of Oregon: A Political Biography. Portland, Oregon: Western Imprints, pp. 40–46. During World War I his flocks were estimated to include 350,000 head of sheep, making him the world's largest sheep rancher.

Political career

In 1912, Stanfield was elected to the

as a Republican representing District 22 which included

Morrow Morrow is a word meaning "the next day" in literary English. It also means "morning" in archaic English Morrow may also refer to: Places in the United States and Canada United States * Morrow, Arkansas *Morrow, Georgia *Morrow, Louisiana *Morro ...

and Umatilla counties. He continued in the state house through 1917, serving as Speaker during the 1917 session. The next year, he ran against Charles L. McNary for the Republican nomination to the U.S. Senate, losing in the May primary.

In 1920, Stanfield was elected as a Republican to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1921, to March 3, 1927. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee to Examine Branches of the Civil Service (Sixty-eighth Congress) and a member of the Committee on Public Lands and Surveys (Sixty-ninth Congress). During his time in Congress, he took hearings about public land use to the western states for the first time. He considered his greatest success the construction of the

Owyhee Dam Owyhee Dam (National ID # OR00582) is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Owyhee River in Eastern Oregon near Adrian, Oregon, United States. Completed in 1932 during the Great Depression, the dam generates electricity and provides irrigation water ...

and irrigation projects in Malheur County, one of the first desert land reclamation projects. His reputation was rough and ready. In the midst of prohibition, he was arrested following a drunken bar fight in Baker, Oregon. When he ran for re-election, his major opponents were the WCTU and the KKK. His admiring cowboy constituency could not elect him.

Later years

He ran for the Republican nomination in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos (general), Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Kingdom of Hejaz, Hejaz. ** Bảo Đại, Crown Prince Nguyễn P ...

. He lost in the May primary election to

Frederick Steiwer Frederick Steiwer (October 13, 1883February 3, 1939) was an American politician and lawyer in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he was county district attorney and member of the Oregon State Senate from eastern Oregon and a veteran ...

. He then earned a position on the general election ballot as an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

candidate. He lost to Steiwer a second time. He ran in the 1928 primary to be a candidate for Representative and was defeated again.G.E. Stanfield After Congress he returned to Oregon and resumed his former business pursuits, and in 1945 died in

Weiser Weiser may refer to: Places * Weiser, Idaho Weiser ( ) is a city in the rural western part of the U.S. state of Idaho and the county seat of Washington County. With its mild climate, the city supports farm, orchard, and livestock endeavors in th ...

, Idaho. Robert Stanfield was buried in Hillcrest Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Inez Hill and one daughter, Barbara.

References

External links

*
American Legislative Leaders in the West, 1911–1994
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanfield, Robert 1877 births 1945 deaths Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives People from Umatilla, Oregon Republican Party United States senators from Oregon Ranchers from Oregon

Early life

Political career

Later years

See also

References

External links