Roscoe Conkling Patterson (September 15, 1876October 22, 1954) was an American lawyer from Missouri. He was most notable for his service as a

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

(1921–1923) and a U.S. Senator (1929–1935).

Early life

Patterson was born in Springfield, Missouri on September 15, 1876. He attended public and private schools, Drury College, (Springfield) and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

in Columbia. He graduated from Washington University School of Law in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

in 1897, was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

later that year, and commenced practice in Springfield.

Start of career

From 1903 to 1907, Patterson served as

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

of Greene County. In 1912, Patterson was appointed to the Missouri Republican State Committee, and he served until 1920. Patterson was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1920 and served in the 67th Congress, March 4, 1921 to March 3, 1923. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1922 and resumed the practice of law in Springfield. He was a

presidential elector In the United States, the Electoral College is the group of presidential electors that is formed every four years for the sole purpose of voting for the president and vice president in the presidential election. This process is described in ...

in 1924. From 1925 to 1929, Patterson resided in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City, Missouri, abbreviated KC or KCMO, is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri by List of cities in Missouri, population and area. The city lies within Jackson County, Missouri, Jackson, Clay County, Missouri, Clay, and Pl ...

and was

United States district attorney United States attorneys are officials of the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 United States federal judicial district, U.S. federal judici ...

for the western district of Missouri. He resigned in February 1929 in preparation to assume the seat in the United States Senate to which he was elected in November 1928.

U.S. Senate

Patterson won the general election in November 1928. He took his Senate seat the following year and served one term, March 4, 1929, to January 3, 1935. While in the Senate, he was chairman of the Committee on Mines and Mining ( 72nd Congress). His chief legislative accomplishment was sponsorship of the Lindbergh Law, which enabled federal authorities to investigate kidnappings if the victims were transported across state lines. Patterson served during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, which was largely blamed on Republican economic policies. He consistently opposed the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

remedies of 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 ...

, which made him unpopular in Missouri. As a result, Patterson was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in the 1934 election, losing the general election to the Democratic nominee,

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

Later career

After leaving the Senate, Patterson resumed the practice of law in Springfield. For several years, Patterson was a member of the Missouri Appellate Judicial Commission.

Death and burial

Patterson suffered a stroke in July 1954. His health deteriorated and he died in Springfield on October 22, 1954. He was buried at Maple Park Cemetery in Springfield.

Family

Patterson was married to Ada Holman of Springfield (1877–1957). They were the parents of two children, Paul (1902–1924) and Hadley (1908–1958).

References

Sources

Books

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Newspapers

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External links

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Gallery of Past U.S. Attorneys for the Western District of Missouri
at
United States Attorneys Office for the Western District of Missouri
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Roscoe 1876 births 1954 deaths 1924 United States presidential electors Politicians from Springfield, Missouri Washington University School of Law alumni University of Missouri alumni United States attorneys for the Western District of Missouri Republican Party United States senators from Missouri Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives