Dawson, William L. (William Levi), 1886-1970
Name Entries
person
Dawson, William L. (William Levi), 1886-1970
Name Components
Surname :
Dawson
Forename :
William L.
NameExpansion :
William Levi
Date :
1886-1970
eng
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Genders
Male
Exist Dates
Biographical History
William Levi Dawson (April 26, 1886 – November 9, 1970) was an American politician and lawyer who represented a Chicago, Illinois district for more than 27 years in the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1943 to his death in office in 1970. In 1949, he became the first African American to chair a congressional committee.
Born in segregated Georgia, Dawson attended Fisk University in Tennessee and Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago. He served as an officer in the segregated U.S. Army in World War I. Back in Chicago, he became a successful lawyer and community leader.
Like his two predecessors representing Illinois' 1st District, when Dawson was first elected in 1942, he was the only African American in Congress. He was active in the civil rights movement and sponsored registration drives. In the late 1940s he successfully opposed efforts to re-segregate the military.
Dawson was the first African American to chair a committee in the United States Congress, when he chaired the Committee on Expenditures in Executive Departments. He served as Chair of that committee and its successor for most of the years between 1949 and 1970. After 1952, Dawson also became closely aligned with the Democratic city machine in Chicago, collaborating often with Mayor Richard J. Daley. In this role, he focused on patronage and services for his constituents. He gave no support to the efforts of Martin Luther King Jr. to shake up city politics in the late 1960s.
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External Related CPF
https://catalog.archives.gov/id/10571253
https://viaf.org/viaf/70502097
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q2546135
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n88295238
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n88295238
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Internal CPF Relations
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
Subjects
African American lawyers
African American legislators
African American politicians
African Americans
City council members
Election districts
Politicians
Nationalities
Americans
Activities
Occupations
African American legislators
African American politicians
African American politicians
Army officers
City Councilman
Community Leader
Lawyers
Representatives, U.S. Congress
Legal Statuses
Places
Nashville
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Chicago
AssociatedPlace
Death
Albany
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>