William McKendree Springer

William McKendree Springer (May 30, 1836 – December 4, 1903) was an American attorney and politician who represented Illinois in the United States House of Representatives and served on the United States Court for the Indian Territory.

Early life and education William McKendree Springer was born near New Lebanon, Sullivan County, Indiana, on May 30, 1836.

He attended the Illinois College at Jacksonville, Illinois where he was a member of the Phi Alpha Literary Society. He left the college after defending Stephen A. Douglas and the Kansas-Nebraska Act and finished a master's degree from Indiana University at Bloomington in 1858. He worked as a journalist, read the law, and was admitted to the bar in 1859 or 1861. Also during the war, he objected to the constitutionality of income taxes leading to the United States Supreme Court case Springer v. United States.

Judicial career and return to private practice After two decades of service in Washington, he was defeated for reelection in 1894 due to the split between Gold Democrats and Silver Democrats. He was appointed by Democratic President Grover Cleveland as a judge for the Northern District of the United States Court for the Indian Territory. Justice John M. Harlan concurred in the judgment. This case maintained that the federal government had always had plenary power over native tribes and could unilaterally abrogate Indian treaty rights despite the protests of the tribes.

Springer died at age 67 from pneumonia at his home in Washington, D.C., on December 4, 1903, with notices and obituaries in numerous national newspapers. He was buried in the Oak Ridge Cemetery, at the state capital Springfield, Illinois.