William Kent (American politician): Difference between revisions
Jhlaughlin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
Jhlaughlin (talk | contribs) No edit summary |
||
Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
==Early life == |
==Early life == |
||
Kent was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] on March 29, 1864.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England: Some Descendants of the Immigrants, Captain John Sherman, Reverend John Sherman, Edmund Sherman and Samuel Sherman, and the Descendents of Honorable Roger Sherman and Honorable Charles R. Sherman|last = Sherman|first = Thomas Townsend|publisher = T. A. Wright|year = 1920|isbn = |location = New York, NY|pages = 365|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=papRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA365 }}</ref> His parents, Adaline Elizabeth Dutton and Albert Emmett Kent (A.E. Kent)<ref name=":0" /> moved the family to |
Kent was born in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]] on March 29, 1864.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title = Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England: Some Descendants of the Immigrants, Captain John Sherman, Reverend John Sherman, Edmund Sherman and Samuel Sherman, and the Descendents of Honorable Roger Sherman and Honorable Charles R. Sherman|last = Sherman|first = Thomas Townsend|publisher = T. A. Wright|year = 1920|isbn = |location = New York, NY|pages = 365|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=papRAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA365 }}</ref> His parents, Adaline Elizabeth Dutton and Albert Emmett Kent (A.E. Kent)<ref name=":0" /> moved the family to Marin County in California in 1871. His father, Albert Emmett Kent, had bought 800 acres of valley land that would later become the town [[Kentfield, California]].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.realtyofmarin.com/marin-communities/54-greenbrae-aamp-kentfield-overview.html|title = Greenbrae and Kentfield - Overview|date = |accessdate = November 6, 2014|website = Realty Of Marin|publisher = |last = |first = }}</ref> |
||
He graduated from [[Yale University]] in 1887, where he was a member of [[Skull and Bones]].<ref name="Yaleobit192728">{{cite web | url=http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1925_1952/1927-28.pdf | title=Obituary Record of Yale Graduates 1927-1928 | accessdate=March 26, 2011 | date=15 September 1928 | publisher=Yale University|page = 103}}</ref> |
He graduated from [[Yale University]] in 1887, where he was a member of [[Skull and Bones]].<ref name="Yaleobit192728">{{cite web | url=http://mssa.library.yale.edu/obituary_record/1925_1952/1927-28.pdf | title=Obituary Record of Yale Graduates 1927-1928 | accessdate=March 26, 2011 | date=15 September 1928 | publisher=Yale University|page = 103}}</ref> |
||
Upon graduation, Kent returned to Chicago and entered the [[real estate]] and [[livestock]] businesses. He also became involved in politics, becoming a member of the [[city council]] and president of the Municipal Voter's League of Chicago.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://drs.library.yale.edu/HLTransformer/HLTransServlet?stylename=yul.ead2002.xhtml.xsl&pid=mssa:ms.0309&clear-stylesheet-cache=yes|title=Guide to the William Kent Family Papers|last=|first=|date=1961|website=Yale University Library|publisher=Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library|accessdate=November 6, 2014}}</ref> |
Upon graduation, Kent returned to Chicago and entered the [[real estate]] and [[livestock]] businesses. He also became involved in politics, becoming a member of the [[Chicago City Council|city council]] and president of the Municipal Voter's League of Chicago.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://drs.library.yale.edu/HLTransformer/HLTransServlet?stylename=yul.ead2002.xhtml.xsl&pid=mssa:ms.0309&clear-stylesheet-cache=yes|title=Guide to the William Kent Family Papers|last=|first=|date=1961|website=Yale University Library|publisher=Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library|accessdate=November 6, 2014}}</ref> |
||
==U.S. House of Representatives== |
==U.S. House of Representatives== |
||
Line 42: | Line 42: | ||
Kent was a vocal proponent of anti-Asian and exclusionary immigration policies throughout his political career.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/williamkent.htm|title=William Kent: Conservationist and Anti-Immigrant Politician (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-11-10}}</ref> Campaigning in 1910, Kent told the [[Asiatic Exclusion League]] that "I have made a large part of my campaign on the Asiatic Exclusion idea, comparing it with the racial troubles brought on by the needless importation of negroes."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrVFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA243|title=Proceedings of the Asiatic Exclusion League|last=League|first=Asiatic Exclusion|date=1908|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> In Congress, Kent pushed legislation barring Asian immigrants from owning land, becoming U.S. citizens, and entering the United States altogether.<ref name=":3" /> Kent also supported legislation instituting a literacy test for prospective immigrants, explaining he would "rather have a test of blood and race, and confine our immigration to northern Europe, but failing that, the literacy test."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/31/refugees-or-threat-how-we-see-migrants-reveals-our-competing-visions-america/|title=Refugees or threat? How we see migrants reveals our competing visions for America.|last=Petit|first=Jeanne|last2=|first2=|date=|website=Washington Post|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-11-10|last3=|first3=|last4=|last5=|first5=}}</ref> |
Kent was a vocal proponent of anti-Asian and exclusionary immigration policies throughout his political career.<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/williamkent.htm|title=William Kent: Conservationist and Anti-Immigrant Politician (U.S. National Park Service)|website=www.nps.gov|language=en|access-date=2019-11-10}}</ref> Campaigning in 1910, Kent told the [[Asiatic Exclusion League]] that "I have made a large part of my campaign on the Asiatic Exclusion idea, comparing it with the racial troubles brought on by the needless importation of negroes."<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WrVFAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA243|title=Proceedings of the Asiatic Exclusion League|last=League|first=Asiatic Exclusion|date=1908|publisher=|year=|isbn=|location=|pages=|language=en}}</ref> In Congress, Kent pushed legislation barring Asian immigrants from owning land, becoming U.S. citizens, and entering the United States altogether.<ref name=":3" /> Kent also supported legislation instituting a literacy test for prospective immigrants, explaining he would "rather have a test of blood and race, and confine our immigration to northern Europe, but failing that, the literacy test."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2018/10/31/refugees-or-threat-how-we-see-migrants-reveals-our-competing-visions-america/|title=Refugees or threat? How we see migrants reveals our competing visions for America.|last=Petit|first=Jeanne|last2=|first2=|date=|website=Washington Post|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2019-11-10|last3=|first3=|last4=|last5=|first5=}}</ref> |
||
== |
== Conservationist == |
||
In 1916, Kent was the lead sponsor of legislation in the House of Representatives establishing the [[National Park Service]], with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by [[Reed Smoot]]. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on July 1, 1916, passed the Senate on August 5, and was signed by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] on August 25, 1916.<ref>{{Cite journal |
In 1916, Kent was the lead sponsor of legislation in the House of Representatives establishing the [[National Park Service]], with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by [[Reed Smoot]]. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on July 1, 1916, passed the Senate on August 5, and was signed by President [[Woodrow Wilson]] on August 25, 1916.<ref>{{Cite journal |
||
| last = Swain |
| last = Swain |
||
Line 66: | Line 66: | ||
Beyond Muir Woods, Kent's efforts to preserve land on Marin County's [[Mount Tamalpais]] led to the creation of the [[Marin Municipal Water District]] in 1912, which utilized land donated by Kent for its watershed.<ref name=":5" /> |
Beyond Muir Woods, Kent's efforts to preserve land on Marin County's [[Mount Tamalpais]] led to the creation of the [[Marin Municipal Water District]] in 1912, which utilized land donated by Kent for its watershed.<ref name=":5" /> |
||
Kent's efforts as a conservationist were not exclusive of development and growth. The establishment of Muir Woods as a national monument coincided with the development of the [[Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway]] as a popular tourist attraction, a business in which both Kent and his father had an interest in.<ref name=":5" /> In Congress, Kent was a key proponent of 1913 legislation creating the [[Hetch Hetchy|Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir]], a stance that ultimately cost him his personal friendship with John Muir, who Kent would call "a man entirely without social sense."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hyde|first=Anne F.|date=1994|title=William Kent: The Puzzle of Progressive Conservationists|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_NleGtjKXoC&lpg=PA34&ots=QfXb4C0ItQ&dq=william%20kent%20the%20puzzle%20of%20progressive%20conservationists&pg=PA34#v=onepage&q&f=false|journal=California Progressivism Revisited|volume=|pages=35-53|via=}}</ref> |
|||
Kent's efforts as a conservationist were not exclusive of development and growth. He backed early efforts for a Golden Gate Bridge and was a supporter of the [[Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway]], which was partially funded by his father, Albert Emmett Kent. |
|||
== Later Career == |
== Later Career == |
Revision as of 05:39, 13 November 2019
This article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
William Kent | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 1st district | |
In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1917 | |
Preceded by | John E. Raker |
Succeeded by | Clarence F. Lea |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 2nd district | |
In office March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1913 | |
Preceded by | Duncan E. McKinlay |
Succeeded by | John E. Raker |
Personal details | |
Born | William Kent 29 April 1868 |
Died | 13 April 1928 Kentfield, California, U.S. | (aged 59)
Political party | Progressive Republican; Independent |
Spouse | Elizabeth Thacher Kent |
Alma mater | Yale University |
William Kent (March 29, 1864 – March 13, 1928) was an American politician, conservationist and philanthropist from Marin County, California. He served as a U.S. Representative from Northern California between 1913 and 1917, and was instrumental in the creation of Muir Woods National Monument.
Early life
Kent was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 29, 1864.[1] His parents, Adaline Elizabeth Dutton and Albert Emmett Kent (A.E. Kent)[1] moved the family to Marin County in California in 1871. His father, Albert Emmett Kent, had bought 800 acres of valley land that would later become the town Kentfield, California.[2]
He graduated from Yale University in 1887, where he was a member of Skull and Bones.[3]
Upon graduation, Kent returned to Chicago and entered the real estate and livestock businesses. He also became involved in politics, becoming a member of the city council and president of the Municipal Voter's League of Chicago.[4]
U.S. House of Representatives
In 1907, Kent returned to California from Chicago and entered federal politics by winning election in 1910 as a progressive Republican to the 62nd United States Congress. For the 63rd and 64th Congresses, Kent was re-elected as an Independent. In total, Kent served in Congress from March 4, 1911 to March 4, 1917.[5]
Kent was a vocal proponent of anti-Asian and exclusionary immigration policies throughout his political career.[6] Campaigning in 1910, Kent told the Asiatic Exclusion League that "I have made a large part of my campaign on the Asiatic Exclusion idea, comparing it with the racial troubles brought on by the needless importation of negroes."[7] In Congress, Kent pushed legislation barring Asian immigrants from owning land, becoming U.S. citizens, and entering the United States altogether.[6] Kent also supported legislation instituting a literacy test for prospective immigrants, explaining he would "rather have a test of blood and race, and confine our immigration to northern Europe, but failing that, the literacy test."[8]
Conservationist
In 1916, Kent was the lead sponsor of legislation in the House of Representatives establishing the National Park Service, with companion legislation in the Senate sponsored by Reed Smoot. The legislation passed the House of Representatives on July 1, 1916, passed the Senate on August 5, and was signed by President Woodrow Wilson on August 25, 1916.[9]
Kent was also responsible for the establishment of Muir Woods National Monument on 611 acres of land along Redwood Creek that Kent and his wife Elizabeth Tacher Kent had originally purchased in 1905 for $45,000 in an effort to preserve the property's groves of old-growth redwoods.[10] After a local water company began condemnation proceedings in 1907 in an effort to create a reservoir on the site, Kent quickly deeded 295 acres of the property to the U.S. Department of the Interior for the establishment of a national monument under the recently-passed Antiquities Act.[11][12] Established as a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt on January 6, 1908, Kent asked the site be named in honor of conservationist John Muir.[10]
Beyond Muir Woods, Kent's efforts to preserve land on Marin County's Mount Tamalpais led to the creation of the Marin Municipal Water District in 1912, which utilized land donated by Kent for its watershed.[11]
Kent's efforts as a conservationist were not exclusive of development and growth. The establishment of Muir Woods as a national monument coincided with the development of the Mt. Tamalpais & Muir Woods Railway as a popular tourist attraction, a business in which both Kent and his father had an interest in.[11] In Congress, Kent was a key proponent of 1913 legislation creating the Hetch-Hetchy Reservoir, a stance that ultimately cost him his personal friendship with John Muir, who Kent would call "a man entirely without social sense."[13]
Later Career
After leaving Congress, Kent was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson to the United States Tariff Commission in 1917. In lobbying the Wilson administration for his appointment, Kent alluded to a possible run for governor of California, writing Wilson ally Norman Hapgood that "I probably could secure the governorship here if I wanted it, but I do not like the idea of getting down to state matters when my view has been directed at national affairs."[14] Kent served on the Tariff Commission until his resignation in 1920 to make an unsuccessful run for the U.S. Senate.[5][6]
Personal Life and Death
Kent was married to Elizabeth Sherman Thacher on February 26, 1890.[1] Elizabeth Thacher Kent was the daughter of Yale professor and administrator Thomas Anthony Thacher. Together they had seven children including sons Sherman Kent (Yale professor and alumni of the US Central Intelligence Agency) and Roger Kent (US politician). His daughter was prominent artist, Adaline Kent.[1] Sherman Day Thacher was his brother-in-law.
Kent died on March 13, 1928 in Kentfield, California from pneumonia.[4] His remains were cremated in Oakland, California. He was survived by wife, five sons, two daughters, and ten grandchildren.[4]
References
- ^ a b c d Sherman, Thomas Townsend (1920). Sherman Genealogy Including Families of Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, England: Some Descendants of the Immigrants, Captain John Sherman, Reverend John Sherman, Edmund Sherman and Samuel Sherman, and the Descendents of Honorable Roger Sherman and Honorable Charles R. Sherman. New York, NY: T. A. Wright. p. 365.
- ^ "Greenbrae and Kentfield - Overview". Realty Of Marin. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ^ "Obituary Record of Yale Graduates 1927-1928" (PDF). Yale University. 15 September 1928. p. 103. Retrieved March 26, 2011.
- ^ a b c "Guide to the William Kent Family Papers". Yale University Library. Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library. 1961. Retrieved November 6, 2014.
- ^ a b "KENT, William - Biographical Information". bioguide.congress.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ a b c "William Kent: Conservationist and Anti-Immigrant Politician (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
- ^ League, Asiatic Exclusion (1908). Proceedings of the Asiatic Exclusion League.
- ^ Petit, Jeanne. "Refugees or threat? How we see migrants reveals our competing visions for America". Washington Post. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ Swain, Donald C. (September 1969). "The Founding of the National Park Service". The American West. VI (5). Palo Alto, CA: American West Publishing Company: 6–9.
{{cite journal}}
: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=
(help) - ^ a b Niekerken, Bill Van (2018-07-25). "How one couple saved Muir Woods from becoming a dammed reservoir". SFChronicle.com. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
- ^ a b c Auwaerter, John Eric; Sears, John F. (2006). Historic Resource Study for Muir Woods National Monument: Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Olmsted Center for Landscape Preservation, National Park Service.
- ^ Valley, Mailing Address: Muir Woods National Monument 1 Muir Woods Rd Mill; Us, CA 94941 Phone:561-2850 Contact. "Stories - Muir Woods National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Hyde, Anne F. (1994). "William Kent: The Puzzle of Progressive Conservationists". California Progressivism Revisited: 35–53.
- ^ A Centennial History of the USITC (PDF). United States International Trade Commission. November 2017. p. 114.
External links
- Sherman-Hoar family at Political Graveyard
- Baldwin-Greene-Gager family of Connecticut at Political Graveyard
- "The Legacy of John Muir and William Kent". Cultural History of Muir Woods National Monument. Retrieved June 10, 2005.
- "KENT, William - Biographical Information". Biographal Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved June 10, 2005.
- 1864 births
- 1928 deaths
- Kent family of California
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from California
- Yale University alumni
- Politicians from Chicago
- People from Kentfield, California
- Chicago City Council members
- California Republicans
- California Independents
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Independent members of the United States House of Representatives
- California Progressives (1912)
- Progressive Party (1912) members of the United States House of Representatives
- 20th-century American politicians