Walcott moved to
New York City in 1907 and engaged in the manufacture of cotton cloth and banking. When Walcott moved to
Norfolk, Connecticut, in 1910, he continued his business connections in New York City until 1921, when he retired from active business pursuits. During the
First World War, Walcott served with the
United States Food Administration as assistant to Herbert Hoover; he was decorated by the government of France with the Legion of Honor and by Poland with the Officer's Cross. Walcott was a member of the
state senate from 1925 to 1929, serving as
president pro tempore from 1927 to 1929. He was elected as a
Republican to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1929, to January 3, 1935, and was an unsuccessful candidate for re-election in 1934. From 1935 to 1939, Walcott was commissioner of welfare of Connecticut, and a member of the advisory committee of the Human Welfare Group of Yale University from 1920 to 1948, and of Bethume Cookman College, Daytona, Florida, from 1922 to 1948. He also served as
regent of the
Smithsonian Institution from 1941 to 1948. ==Death==