Willis Chatman Hawley (May 5, 1864 – July 24, 1941) was an American politician and educator in the state of

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. A native of the state, he served as the president of

Willamette University Willamette University is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college with locations in Salem, Oregon, Salem and Portland, Oregon. Founded in 1842, it is the oldest college in the Western United ...

Salem, Oregon Salem ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, w ...

, where he earned his undergraduate and law degrees before entering politics. A Republican, he served 13 terms as a member of the

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

from Oregon, from 1907 to 1933. He is best known as a lead sponsor of the

Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act The Tariff Act of 1930, also known as the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, was a protectionist trade measure signed into law in the United States by President Herbert Hoover on June 17, 1930. Named after its chief congressional sponsors, Senator Reed ...

in 1930.

Early life

Hawley was born on a farm in the old Belknap settlement near

Monroe Monroe or Monroes may refer to: People and fictional characters * Monroe (surname) * Monroe (given name) * James Monroe, 5th President of the United States * Marilyn Monroe, actress and model Places United States * Monroe, Arkansas, an unincorp ...

Benton County, Oregon Benton County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, the population was 95,184. Its county seat is Corvallis. The county was named after Thomas Hart Benton, a U.S. Senator who advocated American cont ...

, on May 5, 1864. After he attended country schools, he entered college. In 1884, he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from

. Hawley was the principal of the Umpqua Academy from 1884–86. In 1888, he received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the school, and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the law department. From 1888–1891, he served as president of the Oregon State Normal School at Drain, south of Eugene. In 1890, he earned a master's degree from Willamette. In 1891, he joined the faculty at Willamette. Hawley became the president of Willamette, serving as president from 1893 to 1902, while he was a professor of history and economics for sixteen years at Willamette. Then, he engaged in a variety of business and educational ventures before entering politics. Hawley became a member of the

National Forest Reservation Commission The Weeks Act is a federal law (36 Stat. 961) enacted by the United States Congress on March 1, 1911. Introduced by Massachusetts Congressman John W. Weeks and signed into law by President William Howard Taft, the law authorized the United State ...

and a member of the Special Committee on Rural Credits, created by Congress in 1915. He served as a member of the Commission for the Celebration of the Two Hundredth Anniversary of the Birth of President and General

George Washington George Washington (, 1799) was a Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father and the first president of the United States, serving from 1789 to 1797. As commander of the Continental Army, Washington led Patriot (American Revoluti ...

Politics

In 1906, Hawley won

Oregon's 1st Congressional District Oregon's 1st congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S state of Oregon. The district stretches from Portland's western suburbs and exurbs, to parts of the Oregon coast. The district includes the principal cities of ...

as a Republican. He was then re-elected every two years to Congress for the next 12 sessions of Congress. Hawley served in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, from March 4, 1907, until March 3, 1933. While in Congress, he was chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means for the Seventieth and Seventy-first Congresses. In 1930, Hawley was a co-sponsor of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff, which raised import tariffs to record levels. In 1932, Hawley was defeated in his bid for renomination to his House seat, and left office in March 1933. He returned to Salem, where he practiced law.

Death and burial

He died on July 24, 1941, at the age of 77 in Salem, and was buried in Salem's City View Cemetery.

References

External links

* http://www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/hawley_willis/ * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hawley, Willis C. 1864 births 1941 deaths Oregon lawyers People from Monroe, Oregon Willamette University College of Law alumni Presidents of Willamette University Willamette University alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oregon Burials at City View Cemetery 20th-century Oregon politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives