Charles Hermann Phillips (January 21, 1859May 24, 1938) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

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and Democratic politician in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. He was a member of the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those o ...

from 1933 to 1937, representing

Wisconsin's 6th State Senate district The 6th Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeast Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Milwaukee County. It includes parts of north, west, and downtown Milwaukee, ...

. He was a son of Joseph Phillips, the 19th mayor of Milwaukee.

Background

Phillips was born on January 21, 1859, in Milwaukee. Charles Phillips attended

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and

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and Markham Academy, and went on to the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. From 1891 to 1895 he worked in the office of the

Wisconsin Secretary of State Wisconsin ( ) is a state in the Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Su ...

. During this time, he attended the

University of Wisconsin Law School The University of Wisconsin Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a Public university, public research university in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 1868, the school is guided by a ...

, graduating in 1893. For a time, he worked with his father, and with a Milwaukee

leather Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning (leather), tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffal ...

company, before going into the

practice of law In its most general sense, the practice of law involves giving legal advice to clients, drafting legal documents for clients, and representing clients in legal negotiations and court proceedings such as lawsuits, and is applied to the profes ...

. He served as chairman of the

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

Democratic Party County Committee, and was a delegate to the

1932 Democratic National Convention The 1932 Democratic National Convention was held in Chicago, Illinois June 27 – July 2, 1932. The convention resulted in the nomination of Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt of New York for president and Speaker of the House John N. Garner from ...

Elective office

In 1932 Phillips challenged

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George Hampel who nominated to succeed the incumbent, fellow Socialist Thomas Duncan (who was not seeking re-election). After winning his party primary, Phillips, running on the Democratic

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with

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

narrowly defeated Hampel in a four-way race, with 14,485 votes for Phillips, 13,951 for Hampel, 8,433 for Republican George Becker, and 267 votes for former Republican State Representative Martin M. Higgins, who was running as an

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. He was assigned to the

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and

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, and became chairman of the committee in charge of Wisconsin's exhibit at the 1933-34 Chicago Centennial of Progress (

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). After the 1934 elections, he became

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of the standing committee on the

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, and a member of the committee on

legislative procedure A bill is a proposal for a new law, or a proposal to substantially alter an existing law. A bill does not become law until it has been passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Bills are introduced in the leg ...

.Ohm, Howard F.; Bryhan, Leone G., eds. ''The Wisconsin Blue Book, 1935'' Madison: Democrat Printing Company, State Printer, 1935; pp. 192, 238
/ref> In 1936, Phillips sought re-election, but was defeated in turn by George Hampel, who was running as a nominal Progressive under the Socialist/Progressive cooperation agreement then under effect, with 22,093 votes for Hampel, 14,136 for Phillips, and 4982 for Republican Salendon Bennett.

Personal life and family

Charles Phillips was the 3rd of nine children born to Joseph Phillips and his first wife, Mary Anne (' End). Joseph Phillips was a prominent German Catholic immigrant businessman and flourished in the insurance industry. He was elected to one term as

mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

and represented Milwaukee in 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

for three years. Charles Phillips married Helen Ramstack in 1884. They had at least two children. Charles H. Phillips died at age 79 on May 24, 1938. He suffered an apparent heart attack while on his way home from work. He was interred at Milwaukee's historic Calvary Cemetery.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Senate (1932, 1936)

, colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 1932 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 8, 1932 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", Democratic Primary, September 1936 , colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;", General Election, November 3, 1936

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Charles H. 1859 births 1938 deaths Politicians from Milwaukee University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni University of Wisconsin Law School alumni Wisconsin lawyers Democratic Party Wisconsin state senators Lawyers from Milwaukee 19th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature