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Amos Pinchot | |
|---|---|
 Pinchot,c. 1910–1915 | |
| Born | (1873-12-06)December 6, 1873 |
| Died | February 18, 1944(1944-02-18) (aged 70) |
| Resting place | Milford Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Yale University Columbia University New York Law School |
| Occupation(s) | Lawyer, reformist |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4, includingRosamond Pinchot,Mary Pinchot Meyer,Antoinette Pinchot Bradlee |
| Relatives | Gifford Pinchot (brother) |
Amos Richards Eno Pinchot (December 6, 1873 – February 18, 1944) was an American lawyer andreformist. He never held public office but managed to exert considerable influence in reformist circles and did much to keepprogressive andGeorgist ideas alive in the 1920s.
Pinchot was born in Paris, to American parents,James Wallace Pinchot (1831–1908), a successful New York City wallpaper merchant and supporter of theconservation movement and Mary Jane Pinchot(née Eno, 1838–1914), daughter of one of New York City's wealthiest real estate developers,Amos Eno. His siblings were the conservation leaderGifford Pinchot, and Antoinette E. Pinchot who later marriedAlan Johnstone. The Pinchots were Episcopalians.[1]
Pinchot was educated at St. Paul's, and atYale where he was a member of the secret societySkull and Bones,[2]: 88–9 He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1897. In 1898, Pinchot enrolled atColumbia University to study law. Later that same year, he left school to fight in theSpanish–American War. Pinchot enlisted in the 1st New York Volunteer Cavalry and served inPuerto Rico. After the war ended, he enrolled inNew York Law School in 1899 and was admitted to thebar association in New York in 1900.[3][4]
Shortly after being admitted to the bar, Pinchot was appointed deputy assistantdistrict attorney forNew York County. He left the position in 1901.[3][4]
In 1905, Pinchot served a year's political apprenticeship as alobbyist for PresidentTheodore Roosevelt and returned to Washington again in 1909 to live and work with his brother Gifford during thePinchot–Ballinger controversy, which pitted his brother (recently fired as the US Forest Service chief) against PresidentWilliam Howard Taft'sSecretary of the Interior. Taft had fired Gifford for insubordination, which inflamed the insurgent wing of theRepublican Party allied to Roosevelt.
Though a member of Roosevelt's inner circle during theBull Moose campaign of 1912, Pinchot exasperated the former president with his moralistic criticism of the role of big business in the party, including his criticism of the party chairman,George Walbridge Perkins, who was a leadingindustrialist and sat on the board ofU.S. Steel. Pinchot ultimately joined theDemocratic Party, defended the rights of workers, and became acquainted with leftist intellectuals.
In1924, he supportedRobert M. La Follette's presidential bid and wrote a history of theProgressive Party which is an important primary historical document, an eye-witness account and analysis by a major insider activist in Progressive politics for twenty years. His opposition to preparedness before World War I, insistence that wartime profits be heavily taxed, stronganticommunism in his later years, and involvement in theAmerica First Committee alienated many political allies and made his last days difficult. In 1937, he was a founding member of theNational Committee to Uphold Constitutional Government.
On November 14, 1900, Pinchot married Gertrude Minturn atSt. George's Episcopal Church in New York City. Minturn was the eldest daughter of shipping magnateRobert Bowne Minturn Jr. and his wife Sarah Susannah Minturn (née Shaw).[5] They had two children,Rosamond and Gifford Pinchot. The couple divorced in 1918.[6]
In August 1919, Pinchot married magazine writerRuth Pickering.[7] With Pickering, Pinchot would have two more children:Mary Eno (later Mary Pinchot Meyer) andAntoinette "Tony" Pinchot (later Bradlee).[8]
On January 24, 1938, Pinchot's eldest daughter Rosamond committed suicide at the age of 33.[9] Rosamond's death sent Pinchot into a deep depression and, in August 1942, he attempted suicide by slashing his wrists. He lost a considerable amount of blood during the attempt and would never regain his health.[10] He was confined to hospitals and sanatoriums for the remainder of his life.[11]
Pinchot died ofbronchial pneumonia on February 18, 1944, in aBronx sanatorium.[10][12] His funeral was held at the Brick Presbyterian Church in New York City.[13] Amos Pinchot is buried in the Pinchot family plot in Milford Cemetery inMilford, Pennsylvania.[4]Helene Maxwell Hooker assembled some of Pinchot's unfinished drafts for the bookHistory of the Progressive Party, 1912-1916, and it was released in 1958.[14]
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