William Freeman Vilas (July 9, 1840August 27, 1908) was an American lawyer, politician, and

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

. In the U.S. Senate, he represented the state of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

for one term, from 1891 to 1897. As a prominent

Bourbon Democrat Bourbon Democrat was a term used in the United States in the later 19th century (1872–1904) to refer to members of the Democratic Party who were ideologically aligned with fiscal conservatism or classical liberalism, especially those who su ...

, he was also a member of the cabinet of U.S. President

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 22nd and 24th president of the United States from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. Cleveland is the only president in American ...

, serving as the 33rd

Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...

and the 17th

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also *Interior ministry An ...

. He was a major donor to the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

, leaving $30,000,000 to the school at his death in 1908. He is the namesake of Vilas Hall on the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

campus, as well as Vilas County, Wisconsin, and the towns of Vilas, Colorado, and Vilas, South Dakota.

Early life and education

Memorial to William Vilas at Vicksburg National Military Park

Vilas was born in

Chelsea, Vermont Chelsea is a town in and the shire town ( county seat) of Orange County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,233 at the 2020 census. Geography Chelsea is located in a river valley in central Vermont. The First Branch of the White ...

, the son of Esther Greene (Smilie) and Levi Baker Vilas, a politician. His grandfather was Nathan Smilie, a Democratic politician who ran for Governor of Vermont in 1839. Vilas moved to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th ...

with his family in 1851. He graduated from the

in 1858, and from the

Albany Law School Albany Law School is a private law school in Albany, New York. It was founded in 1851 and is the oldest independent law school in the nation. It is accredited by the American Bar Association and has an affiliation agreement with University at Al ...

in 1860.

Career

He enlisted in the

Union Army During the American Civil War, the Union Army, also known as the Federal Army and the Northern Army, referring to the United States Army, was the land force that fought to preserve the Union (American Civil War), Union of the collective U.S. st ...

during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

and was a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in the 23rd Wisconsin Volunteer Infantry Regiment and later served as the

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

of that

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, service and/or a specialisation. In Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of front-line soldiers, recruited or conscript ...

. Following the war, Vilas was a Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and a regent of the University from 1880 to 1885 and 1898 to 1905. Vilas served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

in 1885, until he was appointed the

between 1885 and 1888, and as

from 1888 to 1889, both under President

. After leaving the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

, he led

German Americans German Americans (german: Deutschamerikaner, ) are Americans who have full or partial German ancestry. With an estimated size of approximately 43 million in 2019, German Americans are the largest of the self-reported ancestry groups by the Unite ...

in the protest against the

Bennett Law The Bennett Law, officially chapter 519 of the 1889 acts of the Wisconsin Legislature, was a controversial state law passed by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1889 dealing with compulsory education. The controversial section of the law was a requi ...

of 1889 which required schools to only use the

English language English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the ...

. From 1891 until 1897, he was a member of the United States Senate, in which, during President Cleveland's second term, he was recognized as the chief defender of the Administration, and he was especially active in securing the repeal of the silver purchase clause of the

Sherman Silver Purchase Act The Sherman Silver Purchase Act was a United States federal law enacted on July 14, 1890.Charles Ramsdell Lingley, ''Since the Civil War'', first edition: New York, The Century Co., 1920, ix–635 p., . Re-issued: Plain Label Books, unknown date, ...

. He was unsuccessful in an 1896 reelection bid, having been defeated by Senator

John Coit Spooner John Coit Spooner (January 6, 1843June 11, 1919) was a politician and lawyer from Wisconsin. He served in the United States Senate from 1885 to 1891 and from 1897 to 1907. A Republican, by the 1890s, he was one of the "Big Four" key Republicans ...

. Vilas was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention of 1896, but withdrew after the adoption of the free-silver plank. He then became one of the chief organizers of the National Democratic Party, attended the convention at Indianapolis, and was chairman of its committee on resolutions. He was also the main drafter of the National Democratic Party's platform. Vilas, a favorite of the delegates, refused to run as the party's sacrificial lamb. Back in Wisconsin, he was from 1897 to 1903 a member of the commission that had charge of the erection of the State Historical Library at Madison, and from 1906 to 1908 of the commission for the construction of the new

state capitol This is a list of state and territorial capitols in the United States, the building or complex of buildings from which the government of each U.S. state, the District of Columbia and the organized territories of the United States, exercise its ...

Personal life

He married Anna M. Fox, who had been born in the territory of Wisconsin. Their younger son died in early childhood and their elder daughter, Nellie, died in 1893. The surviving children were Henry and Mary Esther. He is interred at the Forest Hill Cemetery in

Legacy

Vilas County, Wisconsin, is named for William F. Vilas. Senator Vilas is also the namesake of the towns of Vilas, Colorado and Vilas, South Dakota. His childhood home in Madison is located in what is now the Langdon Street Historic District. His family donated land to the city of Madison to build a public park, which later became a part of the

Henry Vilas Zoo Henry Vilas Zoo is a public zoo in Madison, Wisconsin, United States, that is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). Owned by Dane County, the zoo charges no admission or parking fees. It receives over 750,000 visitors annua ...

References

Sources

Retrieved on 2008-02-15

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vilas, William F. 1840 births 1908 deaths United States Postmasters General United States Secretaries of the Interior Democratic Party members of the Wisconsin State Assembly Albany Law School alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Wisconsin lawyers Union Army officers People of Wisconsin in the American Civil War People from Chelsea, Vermont Democratic Party United States senators from Wisconsin Cleveland administration cabinet members 19th-century American politicians Burials in Wisconsin Bourbon Democrats