Jonathan W.F.R. Northrup

From Usgovsimulation

Jonathan W.F.R. Northrup
Democratic Party
Congressman
Began Present Office: 1987
Electoral District	8th
State	Massachusetts
Region and Superregion	New England, Northeast
Previous Offices	Member of the Massachusetts General Court
Born	17 July, 1942 Brunswick, Maine
Spouse	Rosaline Eleanor Smythe-Northrup
Religion	United Methodist
Residence	Cambridge, MA
Occupation	Professor Emeritus, Harvard University
Education	Allegheny College, class of 1964, Ph.D, in Political Science

Jonathan William Franklin Roosevelt Northrup, known professionally as Dr. Northrup is a member of the United States House of Representatives. He was a tenured member of the staff of the John F. Kennedy School of Government until he retired, in 1987, at the age of 45, to enter into national politics.

Contents 1 Biographical 2 Past Election Results 2.1 House of Representatives 3 1987-Present, United States House of Representatives 3.1 Key Positions 3.2 Key Votes 3.3 Committee assignments 3.4 Sponsored legislation

Biographical

Dr. Northrup getting ready to address the Harvard Class of 1993 at their Commencement.

Dr. Northrup was born into a family of academics that has taught at well-respected institutions of higher learning since 1803, when his Great-Great-Great-Grandfather was hired by the newly renamed 'Washington College,' now Washington and Lee University. His father, Dr. William Joshua Northrup, was the Professor of Rhetoric and College Composition at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine; the same chair once held by Civil War general Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, for whom his father was named. Dr. William Northrup was also the Chairman of the Maine branch of the 1932 Presidential Campaign of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, becoming a speech writer for the 32nd President in 1936, at the height of FDR's Second Presidential Campaign.

Jonathan Northrup was born on the 17th of July, 1942, shortly after his father had been granted a commission as a Colonel of Recruits for the United States Army in the Second World War. Raised by his elderly grandfather, Joshua Lawrence Northrup (1867-1961), who had been a Professor at the Virginia Military Institute for years, Jonathan thrived on stories of battles during the Spanish-American War (which his Grandfather had been a part of, as an aide to General Joseph Wheeler) and the Great War, which his Grandfather had played an administrative role in as a part of the Quartermaster's Department.

Young Jonathan met his namesake once, in 1944, at a party thrown at President Roosevelt's Hyde Park, New York home. Naturally, being only two, Dr. Northrup remembers nothing of the meeting, but still owns a letter written to him by FDR. The text reads as follows: My dear young Jonathan, If you dare to listen to an old man, keep your nose in your books, and keep your mind out of politics. FDR.

Northrup attended Groton as his source of Secondary Schooling, chiefly because his father was an old classmate of the Headmaster. He graduated with consistently good marks, in 1960. He then launched himself into his first political venture that summer, becoming a volunteer for John F. Kennedy's 1960 Election, canvassing Western Pennsylvania, where he was headed for College, for the Massachusetts Senator. He was enrolled at Allegheny College that fall, to double major in Political Science and History, and Minor in Public Relations. He graduated Suma Cum Laude in 1964, and immediately entered Graduate School, still at Allegheny. His Doctoral Certificate arrived in 1970, and his doctoral thesis, An analysis of the political History of the Kennedy Family earned him a Senior Position at Harvard University's newly renamed John F. Kennedy School of Government, where he began teaching that fall.

Northrup educated some of the brightest minds in the world on the intricacies of intra-party politics for ten years before the itch to serve finally got him. In 1980, he filed for, and won, a seat in the House of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature. He served three terms, not seeking reelection in 1986, to instead run for the United States House of Representatives for the 8th District of Massachusetts. He won the Primary Race very narrowly, and the General Election even narrower still.

He was sworn in during the ceremony in January of 1987, and has held the seat since, returning to Cambridge, Massachusetts during the recesses of Congress, and to give the Commencement speech to the graduates from Harvard's class that year.

Dr. Northrup is the author of several books, available at most shops nation-wide, on Political Theory, and on the successful execution of Grassroots campaigns.

Past Election Results

House of Representatives

Election Result for Massachusetts 8th District, U.S. House Primary, 1986
Party		Candidate	Status	%
	Republican	Mario Altobelli	Incumbent	48%
	Democratic	John Northrup	Challenger	52%

Election Result for Massachusetts 8th District, U.S. House, 1986
Party		Candidate	Status	%
	Republican	Laura Garza	Challenger	53.5%
	Democratic	John Northrup	Challenger	56.5%

1987-Present, United States House of Representatives

Northrup has cheifly voted party line, although has been noted for crossing the aisle on certain measures, earning a reputation as a bipartisan lawmaker.

Key Positions

Key Votes

Committee assignments

Budget, Infrastructure, and Commerce Committee

Sponsored legislation

The Historical Preservation Act of 1994