Willis C. Hawley

Willis C. Hawley

Willis Chatman Hawley (born May 5, 1864 in Monroe , Benton County , Oregon , † July 24, 1941 in Salem , Oregon) was an American politician . Between 1907 and 1933 he represented the first constituency of the state of Oregon in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and advancement

Willis Hawley attended the public schools of his home country and then until 1888 Willamette University , where he studied law, among other things. In the following years he went through a career in school service. He had already worked as a teacher from 1884 to 1886, before the end of his studies. Between 1888 and 1891 he was director of the Oregon State Normal School at Drain and from 1893 to 1902 he was president of Willamette University. At this university he taught history and economics for 16 years. In 1893 he was also admitted to the bar. He was also involved in several business ventures.

Political career

Willis Hawley joined the Republican Party . He was a member of the Commission on the Protection of Forests ( National Forest Reservation Commission ), and was a member of another commission that dealt with the granting of loans in rural areas ( Committee on Rural Credits ). Hawley was also on the organizing committee that prepared George Washington's 200th birthday celebrations . In the congressional elections of 1906 he was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he replaced Binger Hermann on March 4, 1907 . After he was confirmed in each of the following years, he was able to complete a total of 13 legislative periods in Congress by March 3, 1933 . At times he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means . In 1930 he was one of the initiators of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act , a law that raised import tariffs to an all-time high.

In 1932, Hawley missed his party's re-nomination. He then retired to Salem, where he worked as a lawyer for the last years of his life.

Web links

• Willis C. Hawley in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Willis C. Hawley in the database of Find a Grave (English)