Carpenter attended local public and high schools in Marion, Kansas. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1917, where he was a member of the Chi Phi Fraternity.[1] Carpenter was admitted to the bar that same year and commenced his practice in Marion, Kansas. He continued his family's agricultural pursuits by maintaining his farm.[1]
World War I
Carpenter joined the U. S. Army National Guard in Marion in 1917 as a Second Lieutenant and helped organize Company M under the Third Regiment Infantry, Kansas National Guard. During the First World War he was called to active duty and was transferred to Company M, One Hundred Thirty-ninth Infantry Regiment, Thirty-fifth Infantry Division which deployed to France in early 1918. He was promoted to first lieutenant during the Meuse-Argonne offensive, and served until his discharge on May 8, 1919.[1]
Marriage
Carpenter married Helen Frances Williams (born 20 November 1896 in Marion, Kansas - died January 1994 in Topeka, Kansas) daughter of Fred Reed & Frances Elizabeth (née Skidmore) Williams on 15 July 1920 in Marion, Kansas.[1][2]
Member of the Marion Board of Education (1925–1933)
Served in the State House of Representatives (1929–1933)
Elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and Seventy-fourth Congresses (March 4, 1933–January 3, 1937). Declined to run in 1936 and resumed the practice of law.
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