William Roth

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William Victor Roth Jr. (July 22, 1921 – December 13, 2003) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He was a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party. He served from 1967 to 1970 as the lone U.S. Representative from Delaware and from 1971 to 2001 as a U.S. Senator from Delaware.<ref name=rothbio>Template:Cite web</ref> He is the last Republican to serve as and/or be elected a U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Roth was a sponsor of legislation creating the Roth IRA, an individual retirement plan that can be set up with post-tax dollars, offering tax-free withdrawals.

Early life and family

Roth was born in Great Falls, Montana, the son of Clara (née Nelson) and William Victor Roth, who ran a brewery.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His paternal grandparents were German and his maternal grandparents were Swedish.<ref> Template:Citation</ref> He attended public schools in Helena, Montana, graduating from Helena High School. Roth started college at Montana State University before moving on to graduate from the University of Oregon in 1943, Harvard Business School in 1947, and Harvard Law School in 1949. During World War II he served in a United States Army intelligence unit from 1943 until 1946.

After being admitted to the California Bar in 1950, he moved permanently to Delaware in 1954, and began his work as an attorney for the Hercules Corporation. He married Jane Richards in 1965 and they had two children, William III and Katharine. Jane Richards Roth was U.S. District Court judge for the District of Delaware from 1985 until 1991 and then a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. They were members of the Episcopal Church.

Roth became active in politics as a Republican, and served as secretary of the Delaware Republican Party and a vice president of the Active Young Republicans of New Castle County.<ref name="Morning">Template:Cite news</ref> In addition, Roth served as a member of Delaware's "Little Hoover Commission", which studied state government and made recommendations for modernizing and reforming it.<ref name="Morning"/>

Professional and political career

Roth with President George H. W. Bush in 1990

Roth speaks on the floor of the Senate, Template:Circa 2000

After losing the election for Lieutenant Governor of Delaware in 1960, Roth was named chair of the Delaware Republican Party on April 10, 1961.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He replaced incumbent Ellwood S. Leach.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He served until May 13, 1964, when he lost his reelection bid to Clayton S. Harrison Jr. by a 32–24 vote.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Roth remembered">Template:Cite web</ref> In 1966, he defeated incumbent U.S. Representative Harris McDowell, and went on to serve two terms in the United States House of Representatives from January 3, 1967, until December 31, 1970. Roth voted in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1968.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

He then began his five terms in the United States Senate, succeeding the retiring incumbent senator John J. Williams. He served in the U.S. Senate from January 1, 1971, having been appointed when Williams left office two days early, until January 3, 2001, having been defeated in the 2000 election by the Democratic candidate, Governor Tom Carper. Many consider Roth's defeat due to his age and health, as he collapsed twice during the campaign, once in the middle of a television interview and once during a campaign event.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Roth was known for fiscal conservatism. Critics blamed him for national deficits during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Senate Committee on Finance, serving as chairman from September 12, 1995, through January 3, 2001. He was best remembered as a strong advocate of tax cuts, and he co-authored the Economic Recovery Tax Act of 1981, also known as the Kemp-Roth Tax Cut with Jack Kemp. Roth was also the legislative sponsor of the individual retirement account plan that bears his name, the Roth IRA. It is a popular individual retirement account that has existed since 1998.Template:Citation needed The Roth 401(k), which did not become available until 2006, is also named after Roth.<ref name=Woodard>Template:Cite web</ref> He was also one of the few Republicans to vote for the Brady Bill and the ban on semi-automatic weapons. Roth strongly supported environmental protections. Roth was also very engaged in international affairs and policy. He served as the president of NATO's parliament, the North Atlantic Assembly, from 1996 to 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1977, Roth was one of nine senators to vote against the Senate adopting a stringent code of ethics intended to assist with the restoration of public confidence in Congress.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On December 2, 1981, Roth was one of four senators to vote against<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> an amendment to President Reagan's MX missiles proposal that would divert the silo system by $334 million as well as earmark further research for other methods that would allow giant missiles to be based. The vote was seen as a rebuff of the Reagan administration.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Roth voted in favor of the bill establishing Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday and the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987 (as well to override President Reagan's veto).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Roth voted in favor of the nominations of Robert Bork and Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court.

During the 1999 impeachment of Bill Clinton Roth voted to convict the President on both charges of impeachment. However Clinton was acquitted on both charges.

Roth was a witty man but not a natural campaigner. To help himself, he would ease himself into public appearances by bringing along a Saint Bernard dog. His succession of St. Bernards through his 34-year political career became a trademark of sorts.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Death

On December 12, 2003, Roth fell ill while visiting his daughter in Washington, and was admitted to George Washington University Hospital, where he died from heart failure the following day.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The Chesapeake & Delaware Canal Bridge carrying Delaware Route 1 was dedicated as the Senator William V. Roth Jr. Bridge, and a celebration was held on July 9, 2007. The bridge is a cable-stayed bridge and notable landmark in northern Delaware. Roth helped secure its funding.

Electoral history

Public offices
Office	Type	Location	Began office	Ended office	Notes
U.S. Representative	Legislature	Washington	January 3, 1967	January 3, 1969
			January 3, 1969	December 31, 1970
U.S. Senator			January 1, 1971	January 3, 1977
			January 3, 1977	January 3, 1983
			January 3, 1983	January 3, 1989
			January 3, 1989	January 3, 1995
			January 3, 1995	January 3, 2001

United States Congressional service
Dates	Congress	Chamber	Majority	President	Committees	Class/District
1967–1969	90th	U.S. House	Democratic	Lyndon B. Johnson		at-large
1969–1971	91st			rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Republican |Richard Nixon
1971–1973	92nd	U.S. Senate	Democratic	Governmental Affairs Finance	class 1
1973–1975	93rd					Template:Party shading/Republican |Richard Nixon Gerald R. Ford
1975–1977	94th					Template:Party shading/Republican |Gerald Ford
1977–1979	95th					Jimmy Carter
1979–1981	96th
1981–1983	97th	U.S. Senate	Republican	Ronald Reagan		Governmental Affairs, Chair Finance
1983–1985	98th
1985–1987	99th
1987–1989	100th	U.S. Senate	Democratic			Governmental Affairs Finance
1989–1991	101st			rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Republican |George H. W. Bush
1991–1993	102nd
1993–1995	103rd			Bill Clinton
1995–1997	104th	U.S. Senate	Republican			Governmental Affairs, Chair Finance, Chair
1997–1999	105th
1999–2001	106th

Election results
Year	Office	Election		Republican	Votes	%		Democrat	Votes	%
1960	Lt. Governor	General		rowspan=9 Template:Party shading/Republican |William V. Roth Jr.	Template:Party shading/Republican |96,671	Template:Party shading/Republican |50%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Eugene Lammot	Template:Party shading/Democratic |97,826	Template:Party shading/Democratic |50%
1966	U.S. Representative			Template:Party shading/Republican |90,961	Template:Party shading/Republican |56%		rowspan=2 Template:Party shading/Democratic |Harris B. McDowell Jr.	Template:Party shading/Democratic |72,142	Template:Party shading/Democratic |44%
1968				Template:Party shading/Republican |117,827	Template:Party shading/Republican |59%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |82,993	Template:Party shading/Democratic |41%
1970	U.S. Senator			Template:Party shading/Republican |94,979	Template:Party shading/Republican |59%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Jacob W. Zimmerman	Template:Party shading/Democratic |64,740	Template:Party shading/Democratic |40%
1976				Template:Party shading/Republican |125,454	Template:Party shading/Republican |56%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Thomas C. Maloney	Template:Party shading/Democratic |98,042	Template:Party shading/Democratic |44%
1982				Template:Party shading/Republican |105,357	Template:Party shading/Republican |55%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |David N. Levinson	Template:Party shading/Democratic |84,413	Template:Party shading/Democratic |44%
1988				Template:Party shading/Republican |151,115	Template:Party shading/Republican |62%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Shien Biau Woo	Template:Party shading/Democratic |92,378	Template:Party shading/Democratic |38%
1994				Template:Party shading/Republican |111,074	Template:Party shading/Republican |56%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Charles M. Oberly III	Template:Party shading/Democratic |84,540	Template:Party shading/Democratic |42%
2000				Template:Party shading/Republican |142,891	Template:Party shading/Republican |44%		Template:Party shading/Democratic |Thomas R. Carper	Template:Party shading/Democratic |181,566	Template:Party shading/Democratic |56%

Works

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References

Template:Reflist Other sources

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External links

• Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• U.S. Senator William V. Roth, Jr. home page (archived from December 2000)
• Template:C-SPAN

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