William Ernest Mason (July 7, 1850June 16, 1921) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

and

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from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

. He was the father of

Winnifred Sprague Mason Huck Winnifred Sprague Huck (née Mason; September 14, 1882 – August 24, 1936) was an American journalist and politician from the state of Illinois who became the third woman to serve in the United States Congress, after Jeannette Rankin and Ali ...

. Mason was born in Franklinville,

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. His family moved to Bentonsport,

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when he was 8. He attended Birmingham College. After graduating, he taught at Bentonsport Academy, which he had previously attended. After studying law, he moved to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

in 1872 and was admitted to the bar. Mason was elected to Congress in 1886 and again two years later. Following his defeat in 1890, he returned to law practice in Chicago in 1891 but was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1896. After one term, he returned to Chicago. He served three more terms in the House from 1917 until his death. Mason often was an opponent of U.S. intervention in foreign affairs. He delivered a fiery speech advocating self-governance for the Philippines during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

at the turn of the 20th century: "You cannot govern the Philippine Islands without taxing them. You have not yet their consent to tax them. You propose again to tax them without representation. Look out for tea parties" On April 5, 1917, he was one of 50 representatives who voted against declaring war on Germany. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in

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References

External links

* *
William E. Mason, Memorial addresses delivered in the House of Representatives and Senate frontispiece 1922
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mason, William E. Republican Party Illinois state senators Republican Party members of the Illinois House of Representatives Illinois lawyers People from Franklinville, New York Politicians from Chicago 1850 births 1921 deaths Republican Party United States senators from Illinois Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois 19th-century American lawyers

See also

References

External links