George S. McGill (February 12, 1879May 14, 1963) was an American politician who served as a

United States senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

from 1930 to 1939. He was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. , McGill was the most recent Democrat to represent Kansas in the United States Senate.

Biography

Born in Lucas County,

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

, he moved with his parents to Kansas when he was five. He graduated from Central Normal College in

Great Bend, Kansas Great Bend is a city in and the county seat of Barton County, Kansas, United States. It is named for its location at the point where the course of the Arkansas River bends east then southeast. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

, at the turn of the century and was admitted to the state bar two years later. McGill then moved to

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...

, where he was made deputy county attorney and then county attorney for Sedgwick County, Kansas. He was

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

on November 4, 1930, to replace

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was an American attorney and Republican politician from Kansas who served as the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. He had served as the Sena ...

, who resigned to become

vice president of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Former Governor Henry J. Allen was appointed to fill the seat until a successor was elected. In the Senate, he was the chairman of the Committee on Pensions and was particularly involved in the

Agricultural Adjustment Act The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on par ...

. He was reelected in 1932 but lost a reelection bid in 1938 and three more elections in 1942, 1948 and 1954. McGill was appointed by President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

as a member of the U.S. Tariff Commission, a post he held until 1954. He died in St. Francis Hospital in Wichita in 1963 and was buried in Pawnee Rock Cemetery, in

Pawnee Rock, Kansas Pawnee Rock is a city in Barton County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 193. History Pawnee Rock was founded in 1874. It was named from the historic landmark Pawnee Rock nearby. Pawnee Rock was inc ...

. Kansas has elected only three Democratic U.S. senators; McGill is the only one of the three both to be elected by popular vote (as opposed to election by the State Legislature) and to serve more than one six-year term, the others being John Martin and William Thompson. , McGill was the last Democrat to serve in the U.S. Senate from Kansas; the state has been exclusively represented in the Senate by Republicans since 1939, the longest such active streak for either party in the country.

Sources

House Transcript

''

Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...

''. September 12, 1938.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McGill, George 1879 births 1963 deaths People from Lucas County, Iowa Democratic Party United States senators from Kansas Kansas Democrats Politicians from Wichita, Kansas District attorneys in Kansas International Trade Commission personnel Kansas lawyers