Nelson Dingley Jr. (February 15, 1832 – January 13, 1899) was a journalist and politician from the U.S. state of

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north ...

. Dingley was born in

Durham, Maine Durham is a New England town, town in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,173 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is included in both the Lewiston, Maine, Lewiston-Auburn, Mai ...

and attended the common schools at

Unity, Maine Unity is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,292 at the 2020 census. The town is the service center for the northern portion of Waldo County. Outside of Waldo county, it is best known as the home of the Maine Org ...

and Waterville College (now

Colby College Colby College is a private liberal arts college in Waterville, Maine. It was founded in 1813 as the Maine Literary and Theological Institution, then renamed Waterville College after the city where it resides. The donations of Christian philanthr ...

). He graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

, in 1855, where he was a founding member of the Psi Epsilon Chapter of the

Zeta Psi Fraternity Zeta Psi () is a collegiate fraternity. It was founded in June 1, 1847 at New York University. The organization now comprises fifty-three active chapters and thirty-four inactive chapters, encompassing roughly fifty thousand members, and is a ...

. He then studied law, received an LL.D. from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

, and was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1856. However, he never practiced law and instead became proprietor and editor of the

Lewiston, Maine Lewiston (; ; officially the City of Lewiston, Maine) is List of cities in Maine, the second largest city in Maine and the most central city in Androscoggin County, Maine, Androscoggin County. The city lies halfway between Augusta, Maine, August ...

''Journal'', holding this post for more than twenty years. He was a member of the

Maine House of Representatives The Maine House of Representatives is the lower house of the Maine Legislature. The House consists of 151 voting members and three nonvoting members. The voting members represent an equal number of districts across the state and are elected via p ...

1862–65, 1868, and again in 1873, serving as speaker in 1863 and 1864. He was the 34th

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is Ja ...

in 1874 and 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 1876 and 1880. Dingley was elected as 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 ...

to the

47th Congress The 47th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1881, ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

William P. Frye William Pierce Frye (September 2, 1830 – August 8, 1911) was an American politician from Maine. A member of the Republican Party, Frye spent most of his political career as a legislator, serving in the Maine House of Representatives and the ...

. He was then reelected to the 48th and to the seven succeeding Congresses, serving from September 12, 1881, until his death in Washington, D.C., before the close of the 55th Congress. Reputedly "destitute of humor but soundly versed in finance", Dingley was chairman of the

U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other program ...

in the 54th and 55th Congresses. The tariff schedule of 1897, known as the

Dingley Tariff The Dingley Act of 1897 (ch. 11, , July 24, 1897), introduced by U.S. Representative Nelson Dingley Jr., of Maine, raised tariffs in United States to counteract the Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act of 1894, which had lowered rates. The bill came into ...

, was framed under his direction to counter the lower rates set forth in the 1894 Democratic

Wilson–Gorman Tariff Act The Revenue Act or Wilson-Gorman Tariff of 1894 (ch. 349, §73, , August 27, 1894) slightly reduced the United States tariff rates from the numbers set in the 1890 McKinley tariff and imposed a 2% tax on income over $4,000. It is named for Wi ...

. The Dingley Tariff raised tariff rates and granted the President authority to invoke reciprocity when negotiating trade treaties. Dingley had been reelected to the 56th Congress and was succeeded by Charles E. Littlefield upon his death in Washington, D.C. on January 13, 1899. He is interred in Oak Hill Cemetery, near

Auburn, Maine Auburn is a city in south-central Maine within the United States. The city serves as the county seat of Androscoggin County. The population was 24,061 at the 2020 census. Auburn and its sister city Lewiston are known locally as the Twin Cities ...

External links

The Life and Times of Nelson Dingley Jr. (Google Books)
, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Dingley, Nelson Jr. 1832 births 1899 deaths Colby College alumni Bates College alumni Journalists from Maine Dartmouth College alumni Republican Party governors of Maine People from Durham, Maine Baptists from Maine American magazine editors Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century American journalists American male journalists 19th-century American male writers 19th-century American politicians 19th-century Baptists

See also

External links