Theodore Arlington Bell (July 25, 1872 – September 4, 1922) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served one term as a Democratic Congressman from

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

from 1903 to 1905.

Biography

Born in

Vallejo, California Vallejo ( ; ) is a city in Solano County, California, United States, and the second largest city in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area. Located on the shores of San Pablo Bay, the ci ...

on July 25, 1872 to Charles E. Bell and Catherine J. Bell (née Mills), he and his family moved to St. Helena, California in 1876 where he attended primary school at the Crystal Spring school. At 18, he received a certificate to teach, doing so for a year and a half in northern Napa County, during which time he continued to study law.

Early political career

After his

admission 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 ...

on July 25, 1893 (his 25th birthday), he began his political career as

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Napa County, California Napa County () is a County (United States), county north of San Pablo Bay located in the Northern California, northern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 138,019. The county seat i ...

from 1895 to 1903. During this time, he was married to his wife, Anna Marie Muller, with whom he had one daughter, Maurine.

Congress

With the backing of former San Francisco mayor and future U.S. Senator

James D. Phelan James Duval Phelan (April 20, 1861 – August 7, 1930) was an American politician, civic leader, and banker. He served as nonpartisan mayor of San Francisco from 1897 to 1902. As mayor he advocated municipally run utilities and tried to protect ...

, Bell was elected to the 58th Congress (1903-1905) representing California's 2nd district. While serving, he was a member of the House Irrigation of Arid Lands Committee. In the 1904 election, he was defeated by Republican Duncan E. McKinlay.

Later career

He went on to run for

Governor of California The governor of California is the head of government of the U.S. state of California. The Governor (United States), governor is the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard and the California State Guard. Established in the Constit ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1910 Events January * January 6 – Abé people in the French West Africa colony of Côte d'Ivoire rise against the colonial administration; the rebellion is brutally suppressed by the military. * January 8 – By the Treaty of Punakha, t ...

and

1918 The ceasefire that effectively ended the World War I, First World War took place on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month of this year. Also in this year, the Spanish flu pandemic killed 50–100 million people wor ...

, losing twice as a Democrat with around 38% and 40% of the vote and once as an Independent with 36%. In his closest election in 1906 he was only 2.6% behind Republican

James Gillett James Norris Gillett (September 20, 1860 – April 20, 1937) was an American lawyer and politician. A Republican involved in federal and state politics, Gillett was elected both a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California fr ...

. He was the Democratic candidate for

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

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

, but lost to Republican Frank P. Flint. He was a delegate to the

1908 Democratic National Convention The 1908 Democratic National Convention took place from July 7 to July 10, 1908, at Denver Auditorium Arena in Denver, Colorado. The event is widely considered a significant part of Denver's political and social history. The convention The 1 ...

, where he gave

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator, and politician. He was a dominant force in the History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, running three times as the party' ...

's nomination speech, and the

1912 Democratic National Convention The 1912 Democratic National Convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory off North Howard Street in Baltimore from June 25 to July 2, 1912. The Convention The convention was held at the Fifth Regiment Armory in Baltimore from June 25 t ...

before later switching parties to become a Republican in 1921. Though Bell himself, representing California wine country, was not a prohibitionist, his mentor Phelan was a strong

teetotaler Teetotalism is the practice of voluntarily abstaining from the consumption of alcohol, specifically in alcoholic drinks. A person who practices (and possibly advocates) teetotalism is called a teetotaler (US) or teetotaller (UK), or said to be ...

. To accommodate both sides, he lobbied for a tax increase on wines with sugar, which came from out of state. In doing so, he made a move to regulate the consumption of alcohol, which would not harm local vintners but would increase tax revenue and decrease the likelihood of prohibition.

Death and burial

On September 4, 1922, he was killed in a car crash in

Marin County, California Marin County ( ) is a County (United States), county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat a ...

. He is interred at Odd Fellows Cemetery in St. Helena.

Electoral history

References

External links

* , - , - , - 1872 births 1922 deaths District attorneys in California Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California Road incident deaths in California Politicians from Vallejo, California 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{California-Representative-stub