Samuel Walker McCall

Samuel Walker McCall (February 28, 1851 – November 4, 1923) was an American Republican lawyer, politician, and writer from Massachusetts. He was for twenty years (1893–1913) a member of the United States House of Representatives, and the 47th governor of Massachusetts, serving three one-year terms (1916–1919). He was a moderately progressive Republican who sought to counteract the influence of money in politics.

Born in Pennsylvania and educated at Dartmouth, he settled in Massachusetts, where he entered local politics on a progressive reform agenda. Elected to Congress, he continued his reform activities, and opposed annexation of the Philippines. He did not join the Progressive Party, but was insufficiently conservative for state party leaders, who denied him election to the United States Senate on two occasions. As governor, he directed the state's actions during World War I, and orchestrated early aid to Halifax, Nova Scotia following a devastating munitions ship explosion there in 1917.

Early years and education Samuel Walker McCall was born in East Providence Township, Pennsylvania on February 28, 1851, to Henry and Mary Ann (Elliott) McCall, the sixth of eleven children. At a young age, the family moved to an undeveloped frontier area of northern Illinois, where McCall spent much of his childhood. McCall's father speculated in real estate and owned a stove factory, which was closed by financial reverses of the Panic of 1857. His education began at the Mount Carroll Seminary (now Shimer College) in Mount Carroll from 1864 to 1866, when that school closed to male students.

McCall's parents then sent him east to the New Hampton Academy in New Hampton, New Hampshire, on the recommendation of a neighbor. The Anvil was one of the first student-run newspapers to comment on national and state politics. which he maintained for most of his life. In 1881 he married Ella Esther Thompson, whom he met while attending New Hampton Academy; they settled in Winchester, Massachusetts,

Legislative career McCall was elected a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1887, serving three terms in 1888, 1889, and 1892. The legislation failed to pass the legislature until 1892. He also supported legislation abolishing imprisonment for debt. and served as the state's ballot commissioner in 1890 and 1891. generally winning reelection by large margins. As he had in the state legislature, he introduced a corrupt practices act into Congress. In April 1898, McCall was among the six representatives who voted against declaring war on Spain. In foreign policy, he was anti-imperialist, arguing for the independence of the Philippines after the Spanish–American War, and opposed the Dingley Tariff, arguing its rates were too high. He was one of the few representatives opposed to the Hepburn Act, which enabled the Interstate Commerce Commission to regulate railroad rates. He was one of 14 representatives, all Republicans, to oppose the Sixteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which imposed a federal income tax. He had a reputation as a bit of a maverick because he often strayed from the Republican party line, but he maintained a generally conservative voting record and introduced little new legislation. even though McCall led in the party caucus balloting for the first three ballots. with the Republican votes split due to the presence of a Progressive Party candidate on the ballot.

Governor McCall speaking in Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts, with Lt. Governor Calvin Coolidge in background (1918)

The Massachusetts Constitutional Convention of 1917–1918 was the major political event of McCall's tenure. The convention proposed a number of reforms, most of which were adopted by the voters. State commissions and agencies were streamlined, and initiative and referendum measures were added to the state constitution. Elections for statewide offices were changed from annual to biennial, beginning in 1920. Legislative reforms proposed by McCall to the state legislature (which included progressive proposals such as reduced working hours and insurance in cases of illness and unemployment) were only partially adopted; proposals reforming state insurance and the public pension program were left in the legislature, and his proposal to abolish capital punishment also failed. an emergency response and relief organization that was the first of its type in the nation. Coordinating a wide array of public and charitable organizations and major businesses, the commission played a significant role in providing relief and other services until it was disbanded in 1918. One of its most important actions was coordinating the state's response to the Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917. With only fragmentary reports received early after a blast devastated the Nova Scotia city of Halifax, McCall called the committee into action, and offered unlimited assistance to the stricken city. Temporary housing built in Halifax was named in McCall's honor, and the state's relief efforts continue to be recognized today by Nova Scotia's annual gift of a Christmas tree to the city of Boston.

In 1918, McCall decided not to run for reelection, and again stood for the United States Senate. In a party nomination rematch with Weeks, he abandoned the campaign after it became clear the conservative Crane wing of the party was standing with Weeks. The seat ended up being won by ex-Governor Walsh in a Democratic upset. In the general election, McCall refused to campaign on Weeks' behalf, a move that contributed to the end of his political career. In 1920, he was nominated by President Woodrow Wilson for a seat on the United States Tariff Commission; the nomination was rejected by the Republican-controlled Senate.

Later years McCall was engaged in literary pursuits for much of his public career, writing in various newspapers and magazines. Following his exit from politics he continued to do so, writing for the Atlantic Monthly magazine, and working on political biographies. His published writings include biographies of his mentor Thomas Brackett Reed, and of Pennsylvania congressman Thaddeus Stevens. Additionally, he was working in a biography of Daniel Webster at the time of his death. Winchester's McCall Middle School is named in his honor. McCall's grandson, Tom McCall, was a two-term Republican Governor of Oregon, serving from 1967 to 1975.