Who is richard ballinger

Kennedy Lyndon B. Bush Bill Clinton George W. Help inform the discussion Support the Miller Center. University of Virginia Miller Center. Richard A. Ballinger — Breadcrumb U. Taft sided with Ballinger and when Pinchot forced a showdown, President Taft had to dismiss him. A Congressional investigation also cleared Ballinger of all charges, but conservationists and progressives tended to support Pinchot.

Roosevelt, for example, felt that Taft had repudiated his conservation policy both by appointing Ballinger and by removing Pinchot. Eventually, in March , Ballinger resigned and returned to his law practice.

The affair had little effect on conservation policy in the long run, but it was a major reason for the breakup of the Republican Party in , when Theodore Roosevelt ran as a Progressive. It also effectively ended Ballinger's public career.

Looking for a job? Back to Profile. Photos Works. Main Photo. Ballinger pursued the profession; after graduating from Williams College in , he was admitted to the bar two years later and established himself as an expert in public land law. In , Ballinger settled in the then Washington territory. He served as may or of Seattle from to Garfield asked Ballinger to become the commissioner of the disreputable General Land Office in March The Office was responsible for enforcing land laws and selling public lands.

It was also badly in need of reform, a task that Ballinger undertook vigorously and immediately. Ballinger, however, disagreed with the efforts of Garfield, Gifford Pinchot , and other conservation advocates in the Roosevelt administration on the transfer of vast tracts from private to public control.

Soon he left his appointment as Commissioner of Lands and returned to private practice, claiming that he had improved the efficiency of the General Land Office. However, Ballinger was once again summoned by the U.