Charles W. Tobey
Encyclopedia
Charles William Tobey was an American politician, who was a Governor of New Hampshire
and a United States senator
, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts
, the son of William Tobey, an accountant, and Ellen Hall Parker Tobey. His father had moved to Massachusetts from Maine
in the 1860s. Charles Tobey had relatively little formal education. He attended the Roxbury Latin School
for four years (being part of the Class of 1897), but was forced to withdraw before graduation because of family financial difficulties. He had a thorough knowledge of the Bible
, however, which he gained from his mother, an ardent Baptist
. As a result Tobey's speeches were always marked by a generous sprinkling of biblical quotations and classical allusions.
On June 4, 1902, Tobey married Francelia Lovett. A year later they began to spend summers in Temple, New Hampshire
, on an old farm that they had purchased. For several years Tobey commuted during the summers to Boston, where he worked as a clerk for various insurance and banking firms. In 1911, however, he decided to move to Temple and become a full-time farmer. He was a good poultryman and considered himself a farmer for the remainder of his life, although in 1916 he moved to Manchester, New Hampshire
, to resume a career as a bond salesman. His four children were born in Temple, which Tobey always maintained as his legal residence.
Tobey served on the Temple school board and the board of selectmen. In 1914 he was elected to the state legislature
as a candidate of the Progressive Party
. He was a friend and disciple of the progressive Republican Robert P. Bass
, a former governor. New Hampshire progressivism was characterized by an effort to democratize the processes and make equitable the administration of government and to challenge powerful economic interests such as the Boston and Maine Railroad
. Tobey's hard-working manner, wit, and commonsense intelligence led to his political success. He served three non-consecutive terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives
and was speaker in 1919-1920, winning an important victory over the old-guard candidate. Tobey had returned to the Republican Party
after the 1914 election.
Tobey's experience in the bonding business as well as his general reputation and political contacts led to his selection as New Hampshire Liberty Loan
chairman during World War I
. Later, as a member of the New Hampshire Food Administration, he came to know Herbert Hoover
, who, together with Bass and Charles Evans Hughes
, greatly influenced Tobey's political beliefs.
In 1924 Tobey was elected to the New Hampshire Senate
, and he served as president of that body during the administration of progressive governor John Gilbert Winant
. In 1928, despite opposition in the primary from the old guard, led by George Moses, Tobey won the governorship. During the first two years of the Great Depression
, he retained a progressive approach to government operation and continued the state road-building program. But Tobey resembled President Hoover in his budget-tightening approach to economic disaster.
Tobey did not run for re-election in 1930, in part because of personal financial problems. In 1932, however, he won a seat in the United States House of Representatives
and was re-elected in 1934 and 1936. Tobey supported early New Deal
relief measures, but became an increasingly outspoken foe of Franklin D. Roosevelt
. He opposed efforts to restructure the economy, and he expressed great concern over the growth of executive power. In 1938 he joined Styles Bridges
, another Bass protégé and the manager of Tobey's 1928 gubernatorial victory, in the United States Senate
.
Tobey joined with the isolationist
bloc in the Senate in opposition to the Roosevelt administration's policies on neutrality and preparedness. He blamed producers of war materials for American entry into World War I. He allied himself with Gerald Nye
, Charles Lindbergh
, and the America First Committee
, and his statements occasionally contained elements of anti-Semitism
. Bass and other internationalists among his old allies broke with Tobey on this issue, and the junior senator was further isolated when Styles Bridges became the champion of preparedness.
After the Attack on Pearl Harbor
, Tobey supported the war, but his enthusiasm was limited. However, political as well as philosophical considerations led him to a more internationalist position by 1944. Facing an election challenge from the Bass wing of the party as well as from the followers of Bridges and Frank Knox
, Tobey sought and received an appointment as delegate to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
; he also defended the International Monetary Fund
, but he still rejected the "one-worlders," as he described the Wendell Willkie
wing of his party.
Tobey joined with Wayne Morse
and George Aiken
in opposing Robert A. Taft's leadership of the Senate Republicans and supporting President Harry S. Truman
on several important votes during the 80th Congress
. The illness and death of his wife in 1947 restricted his role in the Marshall Plan
debate, but by then he had clearly become an advocate of interdependence. On May 26, 1948, Tobey married Loretta Capell Rabenhorst. After his second wife's death, he married Lillian Crompton in 1952.
The same year Tobey supported the presidential election of Dwight D. Eisenhower
. An early opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy
, Tobey was re-elected despite a Bridges-led challenge that accused him of being soft on Communism
. Further national recognition came to him through his role in the nationally-televised hearings on organized crime, the Kefauver hearings
. Tobey was at the peak of his career when he died suddenly in Bethesda, Maryland
from a coronary thrombosis
at the Bethesda Naval Hospital
. He is buried at the Miller Cemetery in Temple, New Hampshire.
Tobey's politics were variously described as liberal, conservative, and progressive. None of these terms is quite adequate. A quiet, non-aggressive nationalism and an unwavering belief in the dignity of the individual capped his values. But his views altered with changing contexts, new definitions of governmental responsibility, and new understanding of the international role of the United States. He was not always on the side of the majority. A New York Times
obituary noted that his "independence and sharp tongue made him one of the more colorful figures in American public life."
Governor of New Hampshire
The Governor of the State of New Hampshire is the supreme executive magistrate of the U.S. state of New Hampshire.The governor is elected at the biennial state general election in November of even-numbered years. New Hampshire is one of only two states, along with bordering Vermont, to hold...
and a United States senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, was born in Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury, Massachusetts
Roxbury is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It was one of the first towns founded in the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1630, and became a city in 1846 until annexed to Boston on January 5, 1868...
, the son of William Tobey, an accountant, and Ellen Hall Parker Tobey. His father had moved to Massachusetts from Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
in the 1860s. Charles Tobey had relatively little formal education. He attended the Roxbury Latin School
Roxbury Latin School
The Roxbury Latin School is the oldest school in continuous operation in North America. The school was founded in Roxbury, Massachusetts by the Rev. John Eliot under a charter received from King Charles I of England. Since its founding in 1645, it has educated boys on a continuous basis.Located...
for four years (being part of the Class of 1897), but was forced to withdraw before graduation because of family financial difficulties. He had a thorough knowledge of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, however, which he gained from his mother, an ardent Baptist
Baptist
Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...
. As a result Tobey's speeches were always marked by a generous sprinkling of biblical quotations and classical allusions.
On June 4, 1902, Tobey married Francelia Lovett. A year later they began to spend summers in Temple, New Hampshire
Temple, New Hampshire
Temple is a town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 1,366 at the 2010 census.- History :Incorporated in 1768, Temple takes its name from colonial governor John Wentworth's lieutenant governor, John Temple.- Geography :...
, on an old farm that they had purchased. For several years Tobey commuted during the summers to Boston, where he worked as a clerk for various insurance and banking firms. In 1911, however, he decided to move to Temple and become a full-time farmer. He was a good poultryman and considered himself a farmer for the remainder of his life, although in 1916 he moved to Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester, New Hampshire
Manchester is the largest city in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, the tenth largest city in New England, and the largest city in northern New England, an area comprising the states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont. It is in Hillsborough County along the banks of the Merrimack River, which...
, to resume a career as a bond salesman. His four children were born in Temple, which Tobey always maintained as his legal residence.
Tobey served on the Temple school board and the board of selectmen. In 1914 he was elected to the state legislature
New Hampshire General Court
The General Court of New Hampshire is the bicameral state legislature of the U.S. state of New Hampshire. The lower house is the New Hampshire House of Representatives with 400 members. The upper house is the New Hampshire Senate with 24 members...
as a candidate of the Progressive Party
Progressive Party (United States, 1912)
The Progressive Party of 1912 was an American political party. It was formed after a split in the Republican Party between President William Howard Taft and former President Theodore Roosevelt....
. He was a friend and disciple of the progressive Republican Robert P. Bass
Robert P. Bass
Robert Perkins Bass was an American farmer, forestry expert, and Republican politician from Peterborough, New Hampshire. He served in both houses of the New Hampshire Legislature and as chairman of the state's Forestry Commission before being elected governor of New Hampshire in 1910...
, a former governor. New Hampshire progressivism was characterized by an effort to democratize the processes and make equitable the administration of government and to challenge powerful economic interests such as the Boston and Maine Railroad
Boston and Maine Railroad
The Boston and Maine Corporation , known as the Boston and Maine Railroad until 1964, was the dominant railroad of the northern New England region of the United States for a century...
. Tobey's hard-working manner, wit, and commonsense intelligence led to his political success. He served three non-consecutive terms in the New Hampshire House of Representatives
New Hampshire House of Representatives
The New Hampshire House of Representatives is the lower house in the New Hampshire General Court. The House of Representatives consists of 400 members coming from 103 districts across the state, created from divisions of the state's counties. On average, each legislator represents about 3,300...
and was speaker in 1919-1920, winning an important victory over the old-guard candidate. Tobey had returned to the Republican Party
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
after the 1914 election.
Tobey's experience in the bonding business as well as his general reputation and political contacts led to his selection as New Hampshire Liberty Loan
Liberty bond
A Liberty Bond was a war bond that was sold in the United States to support the allied cause in World War I. Subscribing to the bonds became a symbol of patriotic duty in the United States and introduced the idea of financial securities to many citizens for the first time. The Act of Congress which...
chairman during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Later, as a member of the New Hampshire Food Administration, he came to know Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
, who, together with Bass and Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes
Charles Evans Hughes, Sr. was an American statesman, lawyer and Republican politician from New York. He served as the 36th Governor of New York , Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States , United States Secretary of State , a judge on the Court of International Justice , and...
, greatly influenced Tobey's political beliefs.
In 1924 Tobey was elected to the New Hampshire Senate
New Hampshire Senate
The New Hampshire Senate has been meeting since 1784. It is the upper house of the New Hampshire General Court. It consists of 24 members representing Senate districts based on population...
, and he served as president of that body during the administration of progressive governor John Gilbert Winant
John Gilbert Winant
John Gilbert Winant OM was an American politician with the Republican party after a brief career as a teacher in Concord, New Hampshire. Born in New York City, Winant held positions in New Hampshire, national, and international politics...
. In 1928, despite opposition in the primary from the old guard, led by George Moses, Tobey won the governorship. During the first two years of the Great Depression
Great Depression in the United States
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement...
, he retained a progressive approach to government operation and continued the state road-building program. But Tobey resembled President Hoover in his budget-tightening approach to economic disaster.
Tobey did not run for re-election in 1930, in part because of personal financial problems. In 1932, however, he won a seat in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
and was re-elected in 1934 and 1936. Tobey supported early New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
relief measures, but became an increasingly outspoken foe of Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
. He opposed efforts to restructure the economy, and he expressed great concern over the growth of executive power. In 1938 he joined Styles Bridges
Styles Bridges
Henry Styles Bridges was an American teacher, editor, and Republican Party politician from Concord, New Hampshire. He served one term as 63rd Governor of New Hampshire before a twenty-four year career in the United States Senate.Bridges was born in West Pembroke, Maine. He attended the public...
, another Bass protégé and the manager of Tobey's 1928 gubernatorial victory, in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
.
Tobey joined with the isolationist
United States non-interventionism
Non-interventionism, the diplomatic policy whereby a nation seeks to avoid alliances with other nations in order to avoid being drawn into wars not related to direct territorial self-defense, has had a long history in the United States...
bloc in the Senate in opposition to the Roosevelt administration's policies on neutrality and preparedness. He blamed producers of war materials for American entry into World War I. He allied himself with Gerald Nye
Gerald Nye
Gerald Prentice Nye was a United States politician, representing North Dakota in the U.S. Senate from 1925-45...
, Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, and the America First Committee
America First Committee
The America First Committee was the foremost non-interventionist pressure group against the American entry into World War II. Peaking at 800,000 members, it was likely the largest anti-war organization in American history. Started in 1940, it became defunct after the attack on Pearl Harbor in...
, and his statements occasionally contained elements of anti-Semitism
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
. Bass and other internationalists among his old allies broke with Tobey on this issue, and the junior senator was further isolated when Styles Bridges became the champion of preparedness.
After the Attack on Pearl Harbor
Attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike conducted by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of December 7, 1941...
, Tobey supported the war, but his enthusiasm was limited. However, political as well as philosophical considerations led him to a more internationalist position by 1944. Facing an election challenge from the Bass wing of the party as well as from the followers of Bridges and Frank Knox
Frank Knox
-External links:...
, Tobey sought and received an appointment as delegate to the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference
The United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference, commonly known as the Bretton Woods conference, was a gathering of 730 delegates from all 44 Allied nations at the Mount Washington Hotel, situated in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, to regulate the international monetary and financial order after...
at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods, New Hampshire
Bretton Woods is an area within the town of Carroll, New Hampshire, USA, whose principal points of interest are three leisure and recreation facilities...
; he also defended the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
, but he still rejected the "one-worlders," as he described the Wendell Willkie
Wendell Willkie
Wendell Lewis Willkie was a corporate lawyer in the United States and a dark horse who became the Republican Party nominee for the president in 1940. A member of the liberal wing of the GOP, he crusaded against those domestic policies of the New Deal that he thought were inefficient and...
wing of his party.
Tobey joined with Wayne Morse
Wayne Morse
Wayne Lyman Morse was a politician and attorney from Oregon, United States, known for his proclivity for opposing his parties' leadership, and specifically for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds....
and George Aiken
George Aiken
George David Aiken was an American politician from Vermont. A Republican, he served as the 64th Governor of Vermont from 1937 to 1941 and as a U.S. Senator from 1941 to 1975...
in opposing Robert A. Taft's leadership of the Senate Republicans and supporting President Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
on several important votes during the 80th Congress
80th United States Congress
The Eightieth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, during the third and fourth...
. The illness and death of his wife in 1947 restricted his role in the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
debate, but by then he had clearly become an advocate of interdependence. On May 26, 1948, Tobey married Loretta Capell Rabenhorst. After his second wife's death, he married Lillian Crompton in 1952.
The same year Tobey supported the presidential election of Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
. An early opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy
Joseph McCarthy
Joseph Raymond "Joe" McCarthy was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957...
, Tobey was re-elected despite a Bridges-led challenge that accused him of being soft on Communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
. Further national recognition came to him through his role in the nationally-televised hearings on organized crime, the Kefauver hearings
Kefauver hearings
The United States Senate Special Committee to Investigate Crime in Interstate Commerce was a special committee of the United States Senate which existed from 1950 to 1951 and which investigated organized crime which crossed state borders in the United States...
. Tobey was at the peak of his career when he died suddenly in Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda, Maryland
Bethesda is a census designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House , which in turn took its name from Jerusalem's Pool of Bethesda...
from a coronary thrombosis
Thrombosis
Thrombosis is the formation of a blood clot inside a blood vessel, obstructing the flow of blood through the circulatory system. When a blood vessel is injured, the body uses platelets and fibrin to form a blood clot to prevent blood loss...
at the Bethesda Naval Hospital
National Naval Medical Center
The National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, USA — commonly known as the Bethesda Naval Hospital — was for decades the flagship of the United States Navy's system of medical centers. A federal institution, it conducted medical and dental research as well as providing health care for...
. He is buried at the Miller Cemetery in Temple, New Hampshire.
Tobey's politics were variously described as liberal, conservative, and progressive. None of these terms is quite adequate. A quiet, non-aggressive nationalism and an unwavering belief in the dignity of the individual capped his values. But his views altered with changing contexts, new definitions of governmental responsibility, and new understanding of the international role of the United States. He was not always on the side of the majority. A New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
obituary noted that his "independence and sharp tongue made him one of the more colorful figures in American public life."