Willis C. Hawley
Template:Infobox officeholder Willis Chatman Hawley (May 5, 1864 – July 24, 1941) was an American politician and educator in the state of Oregon. A native of the state, he served as the president of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees before entering politics. A Republican, he served 13 terms as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon, from 1907 to 1933. He is best known as a lead sponsor of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act in 1930.
Early life
Hawley was born on a farm in the old Belknap settlement near Monroe in Benton County, Oregon, on May 5, 1864.<ref name="annals">Template:Cite journal</ref> After he attended country schools, he entered college. In 1884, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from Willamette University in Salem, Oregon.<ref name="annals"/> Hawley was the principal of the Umpqua Academy from 1884–86.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1888, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the school, and a Bachelor of Laws from the law department.<ref name="annals"/>
From 1888–1891, he served as president of the Oregon State Normal School at Drain, south of Eugene.<ref name="annals"/> In 1890, he earned a master's degree from Willamette. In 1891, he joined the faculty at Willamette.<ref name="annals"/> Hawley became the president of Willamette, serving as president from 1893 to 1902, while he was a professor of history and economics for sixteen years at Willamette.<ref name="congbio">Template:Cite web</ref>
Then, he engaged in a variety of business and educational ventures before entering politics.<ref name="congbio"/> Hawley became a member of the National Forest Reservation Commission and a member of the Special Committee on Rural Credits, created by Congress in 1915.<ref name="congbio"/> He served as a member of the Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of President and General George Washington.<ref name="congbio"/>
Politics
In 1906, Hawley won Oregon's 1st Congressional District as a Republican.<ref name="congbio"/> He was then re-elected every two years to Congress for the next 12 sessions of Congress.<ref name="congbio"/> Hawley served in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1907, until March 3, 1933.<ref name="congbio"/>
While in Congress, he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means for the Seventieth and Seventy-first Congresses. In 1930, Hawley was a co-sponsor of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff, which raised import tariffs to record levels.<ref name="congbio"/>
In 1932, Hawley was defeated in his bid for renomination to his House seat, and left office in March 1933.<ref name="congbio"/> He returned to Salem, where he practiced law.<ref name="congbio"/>
Death and burial
He died on July 24, 1941, at the age of 77 in Salem, and was buried in Salem's City View Cemetery.<ref name="congbio"/>
References
External links
Template:S-start Template:S-par Template:Succession box Template:S-aca Template:S-bef Template:S-ttl Template:S-aft Template:S-end Template:US House Ways and Means chairs Template:US House Republican Conference Chairs Template:United States representatives from Oregon Template:Authority control
- 1864 births
- 1941 deaths
- Oregon lawyers
- People from Monroe, Oregon
- Willamette University College of Law alumni
- Presidents of Willamette University
- Willamette University alumni
- Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon
- Burials at City View Cemetery
- 20th-century Oregon politicians
- 20th-century United States representatives