Robert Bruce Chiperfield | |
|---|---|
.jpg) From 1959'sPocket Congressional Directory of the Eighty-sixth Congress | |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois | |
| In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Lewis L. Boyer |
| Succeeded by | Robert T. McLoskey |
| Constituency | 15th district (1939-1949) 19th district (1949-1963) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1899-11-20)November 20, 1899 Canton, Illinois, US |
| Died | April 9, 1971(1971-04-09) (aged 71) Canton, Illinois, US |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery, Canton |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine "Kitty" Newbern Eunice K. Anderson |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Harvard College Boston University |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Rank | Private |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Robert Bruce Chiperfield (November 20, 1899 - April 9, 1971), son ofUnited StatesCongressmanBurnett Mitchell Chiperfield, was anIllinoislawyer and 12-termU.S. Representative from Illinois. He served as chairman of theHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs during the early years of theEisenhower administration.
Born on November 20, 1899, inCanton, Illinois, Robert B. Chiperfield was the second of three children and the older of the two sons of Burnett M. Chiperfield and Clara Louise Ross.[1] Robert Chiperfield's father served as aRepublican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representingIllinois' at-large congressional district from 1915 to 1917 andIllinois's 15th congressional district from 1930 to 1933. Robert's mother was a granddaughter ofOssian M. Ross, who was a prominent Illinois pioneer and the founder ofLewistown, Illinois.[2] Robert's younger brother, Claude Burnett Chiperfield, served as a U.S.consul inAthens,Greece in 1938.[3]
Robert Chiperfield received his early education in the public schools of Canton, Illinois, and also inWashington, D.C., during the years that his father served in Congress. Robert attendedPhillips Exeter Academy inExeter, New Hampshire from 1916 to 1918. He served as aprivate in theU.S. Army duringWorld War I. Chiperfield attendedKnox College inGalesburg, Illinois for one year,[1] before transferring toHarvard College inCambridge, Massachusetts, where he received aBachelor's degree in 1922. He attended HarvardLaw School for two years, and then received hislaw degree fromBoston University in 1925.[1] In the fall of 1941, Chiperfield returned briefly to the classroom, enrolling in a freshman-level public speaking course atGeorge Washington University.[4]
On July 1, 1930, Robert Chiperfield married Katherine "Kitty" Alice Newbern, age 25. The couple had two children: Robert Newbern Chiperfield (1934 – 2015) and Virginia Chiperfield (1942 – 2016).[2] Kitty Chiperfield died of cancer on April 22, 1955, at a treatment center inBerkeley, California.[5]
Chiperfield married his second wife, Eunice Kathryn Anderson, age 54, an employee of theU.S. Department of Agriculture, on March 21, 1963, inChevy Chase, Maryland.[6]
Chiperfield wasadmitted to the bar of Illinois in 1925. He commenced the practice of law in Canton, Illinois, joining the law firm of Chiperfield and Chiperfield, which was founded by his father and his uncle, Judge Claude E. Chiperfield.[7] Clients included the Chicago, Quincy & Burlington Railroad and theInternational Harvester Company.[1]
Chiperfield also served as the city attorney of Canton in 1926. He was a member of theAmerican Legion,Forty and Eight,Phi Delta Theta andPhi Delta Phi fraternities,Freemasons,Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks,Fraternal Order of Eagles, andLoyal Order of Moose.[8]
In 1938, Robert Chiperfield was elected as a Republican to theSeventy-sixth Congress, representing Illinois' 15th congressional district, a seat that his father had held previously. Robert Chiperfield was then reelected to the eleven succeeding Congresses, serving continuously from January 3, 1939, to January 3, 1963. In 1949, the congressional districts of Illinois were reorganized, and Chiperfield represented the19th district after that date. In 1962, he decided not to run for reelection, stating that he wanted to "get rid of the heavy responsibilities of Congress" and "lead a normal happy life."[9]
Chiperfield was appointed to the House Committee on Foreign Affairs in 1939.[1] He served as committee chairman from 1953 to 1955 (Eighty-third Congress), having won the chairmanship position in a coin toss between himself and another Republican who had entered Congress at the same time, RepresentativeJohn M. Vorys ofOhio.[10] Chiperfield lost the chairmanship when theDemocrats organized theEighty-fourth Congress in 1955. Chiperfield voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1957 and the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[11][12] but did not vote on theCivil Rights Act of 1960.[13] However, he remained the ranking Republican member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee until his retirement from Congress.
During theKennedy administration, Chiperfield remained active in foreign affairs. Several photographs of Congressman Robert Chiperfield attending official events during the presidency of John F. Kennedy are contained in the digital archives of theJohn F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum.[14] These events include a dinner in honor of thepresident ofPakistan in 1961; congressional coffee hours withPresident Kennedy in 1961; a visit withVice PresidentLyndon B. Johnson following Johnson's return fromSoutheast Asia in 1962; and signings of theForeign Assistance Act and thePhilippines War Damage Bill by President Kennedy in 1962. On September 4, 1962, Chiperfield was one of seven congressmen who attended a meeting with congressional leadership onCuba, in which President Kennedy and other government officials discussed strategies to deal with the deployment ofSoviet missiles in Cuba prior to theCuban Missile Crisis.[15]
Chiperfield generally opposed foreign involvement by the U.S. and favored limited spending for U.S. military defense.[1] He voted against theLend-lease bill of 1941 and was critical of PresidentTruman's foreign policy and foreign spending.[16] He was against the establishment of a naval base atGuam (February 1939), voted against the Greek-Turkish aid bill (1947) opposed the granting of economic aid toKorea (February 1950), and was against universal military training and extension of the draft (April 1951).[1] A confidential analysis of the House Foreign Affairs Committee prepared for the BritishForeign Office in 1943 described Robert Chiperfield as:[17]
An out-and-out pre-Pearl HarbourIsolationist. One of the four Republican members who constitute the real Opposition in the committee. Suspicious of the President and of the executive's alleged attempts to bypass and undermine Congressional authority. A sour and intransigent figure. In close relations with theChicago Tribune. A Congregationalist; age 44.Nationalist.
— Isaiah Berlin, Dispatch No. 292,British Embassy, Washington, D.C. to the London Foreign Office, April 19, 1943.
In an article published inThe Reader's Digest in 1951, Chiperfield presented evidence for his belief that the U.S. had been "the principal source of supply forIron Curtain armament," through the Lend-lease program and theUnited Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, and indirectly through funds allocated to Europe under theMarshall Plan. He contended that public opinion was "aroused and indignant" at this state of affairs, and that Congress should effectively declare: "Not one dollar for any country which supplies, directly or indirectly, an iota of military potential to theKremlin's arsenal of aggression."[18]
In 1953, Chiperfield published his perspective as committee chairman on the history, composition, and role of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs.[19] In this article, he emphasized the increasing role of Congress in foreign relations during the period followingWorld War II, which he pointed out was inevitable given Congress' "constitutional power over 'the purse.'" He also stressed the "need for closer Executive-Congressional collaboration and participation in basic decisions affecting foreign policy."
Following his years of service as a U.S. congressman, Robert Chiperfield returned to Canton, Illinois, where he resided with his second wife until his death from a heart attack on April 9, 1971. He was interred in the Chiperfield plot in Greenwood Cemetery in Canton. His memorial reads in part: "Lawyer-Statesman-U.S. Congress 1938-1962."
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 15th congressional district 1939-1949 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 19th congressional district 1949-1963 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
