William Patterson MacCracken Jr. (September 17, 1888 - September 20, 1969) was the first U. S. Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics. His department was awarded the Collier Trophy of 1928 for its contribution to the "development of airways and air navigation facilities". Later he was convicted of contempt of congress in the

Air Mail scandal The Air Mail scandal, also known as the Air Mail fiasco, is the name that the American press gave to the political scandal resulting from a 1934 congressional investigation of the awarding of contracts to certain airlines to carry airmail and ...

in 1934.

Biography

William was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, September 17, 1888. His mother was Mary Elizabeth Avery before she married William P. MacCracken. Young William studied law at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chic ...

and earned a Doctor of Jurisprudence in 1911. His practice in Chicago was interrupted by his service as a

flight instructor A flight instructor is a person who teaches others to operate aircraft. Specific privileges granted to holders of a flight instructor qualification vary from country to country, but very generally, a flight instructor serves to enhance or evaluate ...

in the Air Service during World War I. He married Sally Lucille Lewis on September 14, 1918.William P. Mac Cracken, Jr. Papers
/ref> From 1922 to 26 he was a member of the board of governors of the

National Aeronautic Association The National Aeronautic Association of the United States (NAA) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization and a founding member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI). Founded in 1905, it is the oldest national aviation club in the Uni ...

,The First Federal Regulator for Aviation
from

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic ...

and from 1920 to 1938 he was a member of the

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) was a United States federal agency founded on March 3, 1915, to undertake, promote, and institutionalize aeronautical research. On October 1, 1958, the agency was dissolved and its assets ...

. MacCracken entered public service as assistant Attorney General of

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

in 1923, and the following year assistant State's Attorney for

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40% of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. As of 20 ...

. MacCracken became the first federal regulator of commercial aviation when then- Secretary of Commerce

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gr ...

named him the first Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics in 1926. He appointed Louis H. Bauer as the first medical director of the Aeronautics Branch. In 1929, he helped to draft key safety standards and regulations that became part of the 1930 Air Mail Act. MacCracken then returned to his private law practice, where he continued to be involved in the growth of

commercial aviation Commercial aviation is the part of civil aviation that involves operating aircraft for remuneration or hire, as opposed to private aviation. Definition Commercial aviation is not a rigorously defined category. All commercial air transport and ae ...

by representing many major

airline An airline is a company that provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for codeshare agreements, in wh ...

s. For that reason Postmaster General Walter F. Brown asked him to preside over what was later scandalized as the ''Spoils Conference'', to work out an agreement between the carriers and the Post office to consolidate air mail routes into transcontinental networks operated by the best-equipped and financially stable companies. This relationship left both exposed to charges of favoritism.

Fulton Lewis Fulton Lewis Jr. (April 30, 1903 in Washington D.C. – August 20, Lists his death date as 21 August, but other references show the death date to be 20 August. 1966 in Washington D. C.) was a conservative American radio broadcaster from the 1930s ...

had collected material indicating collusion of the airlines, and Senator Hugo Black used Lewis' research as he began his investigation into impropriety. :MacCracken had a long experience in the legal aspects of flying and had built a thriving law practice representing aviation clients. He also had close ties to Hoover and Brown and had chaired the 1930 spoils conference. Not surprisingly the Black committee subpoenaed his documents. MacCracken refused to comply, pleading the confidentiality of the lawyer-client relationship...¶ MacCracken may have been motivated by a sense of ethics, but his own actions and those of his associates deeply compromised him. With the files still under subpoena, MacCracken and Gilbert Givvin, a secretary to Transcontinental and Western Air president Harris Hanshue, removed several items and mailed them to Hanshue. Another MacCracken client, L. H. Brittin of Northwest Airways, secured permission from MacCracken’s law partner to remove approximately half a dozen letters Brittin considered personal. He then returned to his own office, tore the letters to pieces, and threw the fragments into the wastebasket...the attorney and his associates were summoned before the senate on contempt charges...With the other three defendants appearing before the senate as ordered, MacCracken went into hiding...After brief deliberation, the chamber acquitted Hanshue and Givven, but sentenced Brittin and MacCracken to ten days in the

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jail. While Brittin promptly served his sentence, MacCracken continued to resist the Senate’s authority. Ultimately, the U. S. Supreme Court unanimously rejected MacCracken’s plea and forced him to serve his sentence.Daniel D. Lee (1991) "Senator Black's Investigation of the Air Mail 1933-34", The Historian 53: 423–42 MacCracken had filed a petition of ''

habeas corpus ''Habeas corpus'' (; from Medieval Latin, ) is a recourse in law through which a person can report an unlawful detention or imprisonment to a court and request that the court order the custodian of the person, usually a prison official, t ...

'' in federal courts to overturn his arrest, but after litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Congress had acted constitutionally, and denied the petition in the case ''Jurney'' v. ''MacCracken''. According to

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

, "Chesley Jurney, the Senate sargeant at arms, had no place to hold MacCracken who, after being sentenced, showed up at Jurney's house and stayed the night. The next day he was confined to a room at the

Willard Hotel The Willard InterContinental Washington, commonly known as the Willard Hotel, is a historic luxury Beaux-Arts hotel located at 1401 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Downtown Washington, D.C. It is currently a member oHistoric Hotels of America the offi ...

". From 1942 to 1968 MacCracken was an attorney for the

American Optometric Association The American Optometric Association (AOA), founded in 1898, represents approximately 37,000 doctors of optometry, optometry students and para-optometric assistants and technicians in the United States. Overview The AOA states that: The American O ...

. "His influence on optometry's recognition by the federal government was profound." A biography of William P. MacCracken was assembled and published by

Southern College of Optometry The Southern College of Optometry is a privately owned educational institution located in Memphis, Tennessee. It specializes in optometry and offers a comprehensive program in this field. History The Southern College of Optometry (SCO) is a pri ...

. He died on September 20, 1969, in

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Honors

* Secretary,

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. Founded in 1878, the ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of aca ...

1925 to 36, Journal of the

November 1969 *April 6, 1927 recipient of the first pilot certificate issued by the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce. * Collier Trophy 1928 (Aeronautics branch of US Department of Commerce)Collier Trophy winners 1920 to 29
from * National Aeronautical Association * LL.D. Norwich University, Northfield Vermont 1936 *

Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy The Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy was established by the National Aeronautic Association (NAA) in 1948 after a trust fund was created in 1936 by Godfrey Lowell Cabot of Boston, a former president of the NAA. It is awarded to a living American ...

1959

Biography

Honors

References

Further reading