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Thomas Stalker Butler (November 4, 1855 – May 26, 1928) was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from March 4, 1897 until his death, having been elected to the House sixteen times. He was the father of the Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler. He was Dean of the United States House of Representatives.


Early life

Butler was born in Uwchlan Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania. His father was Samuel Butler, a farmer and banker who served in the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...
and one term as
Pennsylvania State Treasurer The Pennsylvania State Treasurer is the head of the Pennsylvania Treasury Department, an independent department of state government. The state treasurer is elected every four years. Treasurers are limited to two consecutive terms. The Pennsylva ...
from 1880 to 1882. Thomas attended the common schools, West Chester State Normal School, and Wyer’s Academy in West Chester. He later studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1877, and commenced practice in West Chester. From 1885 to 1889 and again in 1927-1928 he served as trustee of the West Chester State Normal School. Butler was appointed judge of the fifteenth judicial district of Pennsylvania in 1888.


Political career

Butler stood as an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1889. He was a delegate to the
Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...
in 1892. Elected to Congress in his first term as an Independent Republican, he was elected as a Republican for each succeeding term. While in Congress, he was chairman of the United States House Committee on Pacific Railroads ( Fifty-ninth through Sixty-first Congresses) and member of the United States House Committee on Naval Affairs ( Sixty-sixth through Seventieth Congresses). During World War I, Butler read into the Congressional Record the "bogus oath", which was falsely attributed to the Roman Catholic fraternal organization Knights of Columbus, in which the oath taker pledges to war against Protestant Christians. The bogus oath was refuted by the Committee on Public Information, the wartime information agency of the Woodrow Wilson administration. Butler died in office and was buried in Oaklands Cemetery, West Chester, Pennsylvania. His home at West Chester, The Butler House, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.


See also

*
List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–49) There are several lists of United States Congress members who died in office. These include: * List of United States Congress members who died in office (1790–1899) *List of United States Congress members who died in office (1900–1949) *List o ...


References

*West, Michael Allen. ''Laying the Legislative Foundation: The House Naval Affairs Committee and the Construction of the Treaty Navy, 1926-1934.'' Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University, 1980.


External links


Thomas S. Butler
at
The Political Graveyerd
' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Thomas S. American Quakers 1855 births 1928 deaths Burials at Oaklands Cemetery Pennsylvania state court judges Pennsylvania Independents Independent Republican members of the United States House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania People from West Chester, Pennsylvania Deans of the United States House of Representatives