Willard Saulsbury Jr. (April 17, 1861 – February 20, 1927) was an American lawyer and politician from Wilmington, in

New Castle County, Delaware New Castle County is the northernmost of the three List of counties in Delaware, counties of the U.S. state of Delaware (New Castle, Kent County, Delaware, Kent, and Sussex County, Delaware, Sussex). As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. He was a member of the Democratic Party who served as

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

and President Pro Tempore of the U.S. Senate.

Early life and family

Saulsbury was born in Georgetown, Delaware, son of Willard Saulsbury, Sr., and nephew of

Gove Saulsbury Gove Saulsbury (May 29, 1815 – July 31, 1881) was an American physician and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and he served in the Delaware General Assembly and as Governor of Delaware ...

and Eli Saulsbury. He married May Lammot du Pont, the granddaughter of Charles I. du Pont. He attended private schools and the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

at Charlottesville, where he was a member of

St. Anthony Hall St. Anthony Hall or the Fraternity of Delta Psi is an American fraternity and literary society. Its first chapter was founded at Columbia University on , the feast day of Saint Anthony the Great. The fraternity is a non–religious, nonsectar ...

. Subsequently, he studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1882, and commenced practice in Wilmington, Delaware. He was president of the New Castle Bar Association and chairman of the board of censors.

Political career

Saulsbury was a member of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

from 1908 until 1920. He ran for U.S. Senator in 1899, 1901, 1903, 1905, 1907, and 1911, but Republicans controlled the state legislature and he was unsuccessful. Democrats were in control of the legislature in 1913, the last time U.S. Senators were chosen by state legislators. Saulsbury was the preference of most Democrats and obtained the required majority after several days of balloting. During this term, he served with the Democratic majority in the 63rd, 64th, and 65th Congresses from March 4, 1913, until March 3, 1919. He was the President Pro Tempore of the Senate during the 64th and 65th Congresses. In the 63rd, 64th, and 65th Congresses he was Chairman of the Committee on Coast and Insular Survey, and in the 65th Congress he was also a member of the Committee on Pacific Islands and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. By the time his term expired, the

Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Seventeenth Amendment (Amendment XVII) to the United States Constitution established the direct election of United States Senate, United States senators in each state. The amendment supersedes Article One of the United States Constitution# ...

had been enshrined, so he had to face voters for the first time. In the election of 1918, he lost to Republican L. Heisler Ball, a former U.S. Senator. This loss has been attributed to his opposition to

women's suffrage in the United States Women's suffrage, or the right of women to vote, was established in the United States over the course of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, first in various U.S. states, states and localities, then nationally in 1920 with the ratification ...

and his refusal to support the

Nineteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution The Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States and its U.S. state, states from denying the Suffrage, right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex, in effect recogni ...

Later years

After leaving the Senate, he was a member of the advisory committee of the Conference on Limitation of Armaments in Washington, D.C., in 1921 and 1922, and a member of the Pan American Conference in Santiago, Chile, in 1923. He continued the practice of law in Wilmington and Washington, D.C., until his death. Saulsbury died in Wilmington and is buried in the Christ Episcopal Church Cemetery at Dover.

References

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External links

Biographical Directory of the United States
*
University of Delaware's Willard Saulsbury, Jr., political papers
, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Saulsbury, Willard Jr. 1861 births 1927 deaths American Episcopalians Burials in Dover, Delaware Delaware Democrats Delaware lawyers Democratic Party United States senators from Delaware People from Georgetown, Delaware Politicians from Wilmington, Delaware Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate Candidates in the 1924 United States presidential election Saulsbury family University of Virginia alumni 19th-century American lawyers Du Pont family Candidates in the 1907 United States elections 20th-century United States senators Chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee