William L. Dawson (politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
William Dawson
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 1st district |
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| In office January 3, 1943 – November 9, 1970 |
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| Preceded by | Arthur Mitchell |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Metcalfe |
| Member of the Chicago City Council | |
| In office 1933 – April 12, 1939 |
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| Preceded by | Louis B. Anderson |
| Succeeded by | Earl B. Dickerson |
| Constituency | 2nd ward |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
William Levi Dawson
April 26, 1886 Albany, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | November 9, 1970 (aged 84) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (Before 1939) Democratic (1939–1970) |
| Spouse | Nelle Brown |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Albany State University Fisk University (BA) Northwestern University (LLB) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1917–1919 |
| Rank | First Lieutenant |
| Unit | 366th Infantry Regiment |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
William Levi Dawson (born April 26, 1886 – died November 9, 1970) was an important American politician and lawyer. He represented a part of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States House of Representatives for over 27 years. He served from 1943 until he passed away in 1970 while still in office.
In 1949, William Dawson made history. He became the first African American to lead a committee in the U.S. Congress. He was born in segregated Georgia. He went to Fisk University and Northwestern University School of Law.
During World War I, he served as an officer in the segregated U.S. Army. After the war, he became a successful lawyer and a respected community leader in Chicago. When he was first elected in 1942, he was the only African American in Congress. He worked hard for civil rights and encouraged people to register to vote. In the late 1940s, he successfully fought against efforts to bring back segregation in the military.
Dawson led the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments. He chaired this committee and its later versions for most of the years between 1949 and 1970. He also worked closely with the Democratic Party in Chicago. He focused on helping people in his area get jobs and services.
Early Life and Education
William Dawson was born in Albany, Georgia, in 1886. He went to a local public school that was segregated, meaning Black and white students attended separate schools. In 1905, he graduated from Albany Normal School. This school trained teachers for younger students.
He continued his studies at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. This was a historically black college, which are schools founded to educate Black students. He graduated with high honors in 1909. In 1912, he moved to Chicago, Illinois, to study at Northwestern University Law School. He joined the Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which was the first fraternity for African American men.
Dawson arrived in Chicago during the start of the Great Migration. This was a time when hundreds of thousands of African Americans moved from the rural South to cities in the North and Midwest. They were looking for better opportunities and to escape harsh segregation.
Political Career and Achievements
When the U.S. entered World War I, Dawson served in France. He was a first lieutenant in the 366th Infantry Regiment from 1917 to 1919. After returning home, he became a lawyer in Chicago in 1920.
Dawson started his political career with the Republican Party in 1930. He was elected as an alderman for Chicago's second ward, serving from 1933 to 1939. An alderman is like a city council member. After that, he joined the Democratic Party.
In 1942, Dawson was elected as a Democratic Representative for Illinois in the U.S. Congress. He served from January 3, 1943, until his death in 1970. He helped shape national laws and also guided young Black politicians in Chicago. He supported them in elections and helped them get federal jobs.
During his time in Congress, Dawson spoke out against the poll tax. This was a fee people had to pay to vote. In the South, poll taxes were used to stop most Black voters and many poor white voters from casting their ballots.
Dawson also played a key role in stopping the Winstead Amendment. This amendment would have allowed military members to choose not to be in racially mixed units. This was proposed after President Truman ended segregation in the U.S. armed forces after World War II.
In 1952, Dawson was a main speaker at a civil rights meeting in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. This was a town built by and for Black people. He was the first Black congressman to speak in Mississippi since the Reconstruction era ended in 1877.
Dawson was a member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). His goal was to get more Black people across the country to support the Democratic Party. For a long time, most Black people had supported the Republican Party. This was because Republicans had ended slavery and pushed for laws to give Black people citizenship and voting rights.
Dawson was the first African American to lead a major committee in the U.S. Congress. He became chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments in 1949. He also chaired its new name, the Committee on Government Operations, for many years. For a long time, he and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. from Harlem, New York, were the only two African American representatives in Congress.
Dawson was also a powerful leader within the Democratic Party in Chicago. He helped people in his community get jobs and services. He chose to work within the existing political system to help his community. He did not openly support the efforts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in Chicago during the 1960s.
In 1960, presidential candidate John F. Kennedy offered Dawson a top job as United States Postmaster General. This was a thank you for Dawson's help in Kennedy's 1960 election campaign. However, Dawson turned down the offer. He believed he could do more good by staying in the House of Representatives.
William Dawson passed away from pneumonia in Chicago on November 9, 1970.
See also
- List of African-American United States representatives
- List of African American activists
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
