Willis C. Hawley

Infobox_Congressman
name =Willis Chatman Hawley


date of birth= birth date|1864|5|5|mf=y
place of birth= Monroe, Oregon
date of death= death date|1941|7|24|mf=y
place of death= Salem, Oregon
state = Oregon
district = ushr|Oregon|1|1st
term = March 4 1907-March 3 1933
preceded = Binger Hermann
succeeded = James W. Mott
party = Republican
spouse =
religion =

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 would serve as president of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees before entering politics. A Republican, he served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon from 1907 to 1933 where he co-sponsored the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930.

Early life

Born on a farm in the old Belknap settlement near Monroe, Oregon, he attended country schools and was graduated from the academic and law departments of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon in 1888.

Hawley was the principal of the Umpqua Academy from 1884-86. Next, he served as president of the Oregon State Normal School at Drain south of Eugene from 1888-1891. Then Hawley became the president of Willamette University in Salem, Oregon. There he served in that position from 1893 to 1902 and was professor of history and economics for sixteen years at the school. Later, he was engaged in numerous business and educational enterprises. Willis C. Hawley then was a member of the National Forest Reservation Commission and a member of the Special Committee on Rural Credits created by Congress in 1915. Additionally, 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.

Politics

Elected as a Republican to the Sixtieth and to the twelve succeeding Congresses. Hawley served in Washington, DC from March 4, 1907 to March 3, 1933. While in Congress, he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means for the Seventieth and Seventy-first Congresses. Hawley was then a co-sponsor of the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930, which raised import tariffs to record levels, and, as many historians claim, contributed to the circumstances which resulted in the Great Depression.Fact|date=September 2007

Hawley was an unsuccessful candidate for re-nomination in 1932. He returned to Salem and resumed the practice of law. He died there in 1941 with interment at Salem's City View Cemetery.

References

External links

*CongBio|H000379
*Find A Grave|id=6254243