William P. Dillingham

William Paul Dillingham ( born December 12, 1843 in Waterbury, Washington County, Vermont; † July 12, 1923 in Montpelier, Vermont ) was an American politician and 1888-1890 Governor of the State of Vermont. Between 1900 and 1923 he represented his state in the U.S. Senate.

Early years

William Dillingham was the son of Paul Dillingham, who had been 1865-1867 Governor of Vermont. Later he became a brother of Matthew H. Carpenter, a U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. William Dillingham attended the public schools of his home. After a subsequent law degree from Albany Law School in Milwaukee, and he was admitted in 1867 as a lawyer. Then he began to work in Waterbury in this profession. During the Civil War he was released because of his poor health from military service.

Political rise

Like his father was also William Dillingham member of the Republican Party. Between 1872 and 1876 he was district attorney in Washington County. In 1876 and 1884 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Vermont. In between, he was in 1878 and again in 1880 member of the State Senate. Between 1874 and 1876 he served on the senior staff of Governor Asahel Peck, from 1882 to 1888 was Dillingham control officer in Vermont ( Tax Commissioner).

Governor of Vermont

In 1888, William Dillingham was elected governor of his state. He joined his two-year tenure at October 4, 1888. As governor, he continued his education reforms of his predecessor, Ebenezer J. Ormsbee. In addition, in Dillingham tenure in Vermont was a mental hospital. A law bets were prohibited on election results.

U.S. Senator

After the end of his governorship on October 2, 1890 Dillingham president of the Waterbury National Bank. This office he retained until his death in 1923. Moreover, he was curator of some schools. In 1900 he was elected following the death of Justin Smith Morrill as his successor to the Class 3 senator in the U.S. Congress. This office had been temporarily filled until the election Dillingham by Jonathan Ross. In the years 1903, 1909, 1914 and 1920 Dillingham were each re-elected. He remained there until his death on July 12, 1923 in the Senate in Washington. Then, his seat went to Porter H. Dale. In the Senate, was Chairman of the Committee on Dillingham Transportation Routes to the Seaboard and the Immigration Committee. He was also a member of the Committee on Privileges and Elections and the Committee, which dealt with the founding of the University of the United States. At the same time his mandate as a Senator was Dillinghan 1907-1911 Head of U.S. immigration. Both in this capacity as a senator, he was opposed to unlimited immigration to the United States. He feared for the Protestant supremacy in the United States and believed that America would be flooded by too many immigrants with poverty and crime. With his wife Mary Ellen Shipman he had a child.