William Lyne Wilson (May 3, 1843 – October 17, 1900) was an American politician and lawyer from

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. A

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 ...

, Wilson was elected to the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

in 1882 and served six terms of office, ending in 1895. Following his departure from the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

, Wilson was appointed

Postmaster General of the United States The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

by 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 ...

, remaining in that

cabinet-level A cabinet is a body of high-ranking state officials, typically consisting of the executive branch's top leaders. Members of a cabinet are usually called cabinet ministers or secretaries. The function of a cabinet varies: in some countrie ...

position until 1897. After leaving government service Wilson was named President of

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexington ...

in Lexington, Virginia.

Biography

Early years and marriage

William Lyne Wilson was born in Charles Town, Virginia (now

) on May 3, 1843. He attended Charles Town Academy, graduated from Columbian College, today part of

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

, from which he graduated in 1860."William Lyne Wilson (1843-1900),"
''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: 1774-Present.'' Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office. Online version, accessed Nov. 2, 2015. He subsequently studied at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. 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 policies ...

, he enlisted in the Confederate Army and served as a private in the 12th Virginia Cavalry. After the war, Wilson for several years, he taught school at Columbian College during which he graduated from law school. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1869 and opened a private practice in Charles Town. He was chosen as president of

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Beckley, Potomac State Coll ...

, taking office on September 4, 1882. Mrs William Lyne Wilson

He married the daughter of Rev. A.J. Huntington, D.D., professor of Greek in Columbian University.

Political career

Wilson was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1880. He was elected a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

shortly afterwards and won reelection five times afterwards, serving from 1883 to 1895. He served as chairman of the

Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

from 1893 to 1895 during which he co-authored the

Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act The Revenue Act or Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 (ch. 349, §73, , August 27, 1894) slightly reduced the Tariff in American history, United States tariff rates from the numbers set in the 1890 McKinley tariff and imposed a 2% tax on income over ...

which slightly reduced the United States

tariff A tariff is a tax imposed by the government of a country or by a supranational union on imports or exports of goods. Besides being a source of revenue for the government, import duties can also be a form of regulation of foreign trade and pol ...

rates from the numbers set by the

McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress, framed by then Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fift ...

of 1890. After leaving Congress, Wilson was appointed

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 ...

in the cabinet of President

and served from 1895 to 1897. During that time, future

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

Newton D. Baker served as his private secretary. In 1896, he broke party lines by opposing the Free Silver Movement led by Democratic presidential nominee

William Jennings Bryan William Jennings Bryan (March 19, 1860 – July 26, 1925) was an American lawyer, orator and politician. Beginning in 1896, he emerged as a dominant force in the Democratic Party, running three times as the party's nominee for President ...

and, like many

Bourbon Democrats 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 supp ...

, backed the National Democratic candidate John McAuley Palmer who supported the traditional

gold standard A gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is based on a fixed quantity of gold. The gold standard was the basis for the international monetary system from the 1870s to the early 1920s, and from the l ...

limited government In political philosophy, limited government is the concept of a government limited in power. It is a key concept in the history of liberalism.Amy Gutmann, "How Limited Is Liberal Government" in Liberalism Without Illusions: Essays on Liberal Th ...

and opposed

protectionism Protectionism, sometimes referred to as trade protectionism, is the economic policy of restricting imports from other countries through methods such as tariffs on imported goods, import quotas, and a variety of other government regulatio ...

Death and legacy

After leaving office as Postmaster General, Wilson served as president of

. Wilson died in Lexington, Virginia, on October 17, 1900 and was interred in Edgehill Cemetery in Charles Town. A portion of U.S. Route 340 between

Harpers Ferry Harpers Ferry is a historic town in Jefferson County, West Virginia. It is located in the lower Shenandoah Valley. The population was 285 at the 2020 census. Situated at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, where the U.S. stat ...

and Charles Town, West Virginia, is designated the William L. Wilson Freeway in his honor.

Footnotes

Works

* ''Pensions Appropriation Bill: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Tuesday, March 2, 1886.'' Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1886. * ''The Tariff: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, May 3, 1888.'' Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1888.
''The National Democratic Party: Its History, Principles, Achievements, and Aims.''
(Editor.) Baltimore, MD: H.L. Harvey and Co., 1888. * ''The New Trial of Popular Government: An Address Delivered before the Society of the Alumni of the University of Virginia, on Commencement Day, June 1, 1891.'' Charlottesville, VA, C.M. Brand, 1891. * ''Duties on Wool and Woolen Goods: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, April 7, 1892.'' Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1892.
"The Man, or The Platform?"
(Symposium contributor.) ''North American Review,'' vol. 154, whole no. 426 (May 1892), pp. 525–529.
"The Tariff Plank at Chicago,"
''North American Review,'' vol. 155 (Sept. 1892), pp. 280–286.
"The Income Tax on Corporations,"
''North American Review,'' vol. 158, whole no. 446 (Jan. 1894), pp. 1–7. * ''The Tariff: Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Monday and Tuesday, January 8 and 9, 1894.'' Washington, DC: Capital Publishing Co., 1894. * ''Tariff Reform: Speeches of Hon. Charles F. Crisp, of Georgia, and Hon. William L. Wilson, of West Virginia, in the House of Representatives, Thursday, February 1, 1894.'' With Charles F. Crisp. Washington, DC: Hartman and Cadick, 1894. * ''Speech of Hon. William L. Wilson Before the Young Men's Democratic Association at Philadelphia, Pa., January 8th,1895: "Moderate and Just Taxation is the Best Achievement of Legislative Action."'' Boston, MA: New England Free Trade League, 1895. * ''The Inauguration of William Lyne Wilson, LL. D. as President of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Va., September 15, 1897.'' Lynchburg, VA: J.P. Bell Co., 1897.
"The Founders of States and the Founders of Colleges,"
''University Record,'' vol. 3, no. 15 (July 8, 1898), pp. 85–90. * ''The Cabinet Diary of William L. Wilson, 1896-1897.'' Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1957. * ''A Borderland Confederate.'' Festus P. Summers (ed.) Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1962.

External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wilson, William Lyne 1843 births 1900 deaths United States Postmasters General Presidents of Washington and Lee University West Virginia lawyers Confederate States Army soldiers University of Virginia alumni People of West Virginia in the American Civil War People from Charles Town, West Virginia Cleveland administration cabinet members Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from West Virginia 19th-century American politicians Presidents of West Virginia University Columbian College of Arts and Sciences alumni Bourbon Democrats