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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Samuel Walker McCall
| image = Samuel Walker McCall circa 1920 (cropped).jpg
| caption = McCall circa 1920
| order = 47th
| office = Governor of Massachusetts
|
| term_end = January 2, 1919
| lieutenant = Calvin Coolidge
| predecessor = [[David I. Walsh]]
| successor = [[Calvin Coolidge]]
| order2 = Member of the<br>[[United States House of Representatives|U.S. House of Representatives]]<br>from [[Massachusetts]]'s [[Massachusetts's 8th congressional district|8th]] district
| term_start2 = March 4, 1893
| term_end2 = March 3, 1913
| preceded2 = [[Moses T. Stevens]]
| succeeded2 = [[Frederick Simpson Deitrick|Frederick S. Deitrick]]
| office3 = Member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]]
| term3 = 1889–1892
| birth_date = February 28, 1851
| birth_place = [[East Providence Township, Pennsylvania]]
| death_date = November 4, 1923 (aged 72)
| death_place = [[Winchester, Massachusetts]]
| restingplace = [[Wildwood Cemetery (Winchester, Massachusetts)|Wildwood Cemetery]]
| restingplacecoordinates =
| birthname = Samuel Walker McCall
| nationality =
| party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| otherparty =
| spouse =
| relations =
| children =
| residence =
| alma_mater = [[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])
| occupation =
| profession =
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| religion =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Samuel Walker McCall''' (February 28, 1851 – November 4, 1923) was an American [[Republican Party (United States)|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 [[List of Governors of Massachusetts|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 College|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 (United States, 1912)|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 [[History of Halifax (former city)|Halifax]], [[Nova Scotia]] following a [[Halifax Explosion|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.<ref>Evans, p. 2</ref> At a young age, the family moved to an undeveloped frontier area of northern [[Illinois]], where McCall spent much of his childhood.<ref>Evans, p. 3</ref> McCall's father speculated in real estate and owned a stove factory, which was closed by financial reverses of the [[Panic of 1857]].<ref name=Gentile835>Gentile, p. 835</ref> His education began at the [[Mount Carroll Seminary]] (now [[Shimer College]]) in [[Mount Carroll, Illinois|Mount Carroll]] from 1864 to 1866,<ref name=evans7>Evans, p. 7</ref> when that school closed to male students.<ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Carroll County, Illinois|year=1878|publisher=H.F. Kett & Co.|url=https://archive.org/details/historyofcarroll00kett}}</ref>
McCall's parents then sent him east to the [[New Hampton Academy]] in [[New Hampton, New Hampshire]], on the recommendation of a neighbor.<ref name=evans7/> McCall graduated from New Hampton Academy in 1870 and subsequently attended [[Dartmouth College]], where he was a member of the [[Kappa Pi Kappa|Kappa Kappa Kappa]] fraternity and graduated [[Phi Beta Kappa]] near the top of his class. While at Dartmouth, he published a newspaper (self-financed by himself and the other editors) called the ''Anvil'', and was tapped by the Dartmouth president to stand in for a sick teacher of [[Latin (language)|Latin]] and [[Greek (language)|Greek]] at an academy in [[Meriden, New Hampshire]].<ref>Evans, pp. 14–16</ref> The ''Anvil'' was one of the first student-run newspapers to comment on national and state politics.<ref name=Gentile836/>
After graduating, McCall moved to [[Worcester, Massachusetts]], where he studied law and gained admission to the Massachusetts Bar.<ref name=toomey/> He then opened a law practice in [[Boston, Massachusetts|Boston]] with a Dartmouth classmate,<ref>Evans, p. 18</ref> which he maintained for most of his life.<ref name=toomey/> In 1888, he and two partners purchased the ''[[Boston Daily Advertiser]]'', for which he served as editor-in-chief for two years.<ref name=Gentile836>Gentile, p. 836</ref> In 1881 he married Ella Esther Thompson, whom he met while attending New Hampton Academy;<ref>Evans, p. 10</ref> they settled in [[Winchester, Massachusetts]],<ref name=Gentile836/> where they raised five children.<ref name=toomey>Toomey & Quinn, p. 109</ref>
==Legislative career==
McCall was elected a member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] in 1887, serving three terms in 1888, 1889, and 1892.<ref name=Gentile836/> Politically a reform-minded [[Mugwump]] (he had supported Democrat [[Grover Cleveland]] in [[1884 United States presidential election|1884]]), he introduced legislation to govern so-called "corrupt practices" of elected officials, intended to reduce the influence of money and favors in politics.<ref>Sobel, p. 89</ref><ref>Abrams, p. 270</ref> The legislation failed to pass the legislature until 1892.<ref>Evans, pp. 24, 27</ref> He also supported legislation abolishing [[debtors' prison|imprisonment for debt]].<ref name=Gentile836/> He was a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]] in 1888,<ref>Evans, p. 23</ref> and served as the state's ballot commissioner in 1890 and 1891.<ref name=Gentile836/>
In 1892, McCall was elected to the [[United States House of Representatives]], a seat he would occupy for twenty years,<ref>Evans, p. 28</ref> generally winning reelection by large margins.<ref name=Gentile836/><ref name="cd">{{cite web |title=S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-04562_00_00-001-0001-0000 |website=GovInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2 July 2023 |pages=49–50 |date=9 November 1903}}</ref> 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 [[United States declaration of war upon Spain|declaring war on Spain]]. In foreign policy, he was anti-imperialist, arguing for the independence of the [[Philippines]] after the [[Spanish–American War]],<ref>Abrams, p. 30</ref> 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.<ref name=Gentile836/><ref>Abrams, pp. 126–127</ref> 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.<ref name=Gentile836/>
In 1912, McCall refused to stand for reelection, and was instead considered by the state legislature for election to the [[United States Senate]] in early 1913, to succeed the outgoing Senator [[Winthrop Murray Crane]]. His opponent, [[John W. Weeks]], was more conservative Republican who had the support of most of the Crane-dominated state party apparatus. The contest was bitterly divisive, an echo of the [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] split that damaged the party at the national level, and was narrowly won by Weeks,<ref>Sobel, pp. 78–79</ref> even though McCall led in the party caucus balloting for the first three ballots.<ref name=Gentile836/>
==Governor of Massachusetts==
[[File:SamuelMcCall.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Governor McCall in 1916]]
McCall was chosen by the party in 1914 as its nominee for [[Governor of Massachusetts]], as a unifying force between the more progressive and conservative wings of the party. Running against the popular Democratic incumbent [[David I. Walsh]] on a progressive platform, McCall was narrowly defeated,<ref>Sobel, pp. 89–90</ref> with the Republican votes split due to the presence of a [[Progressive Party (United States, 1912)|Progressive Party]] candidate on the ballot.<ref name=Gentile836/> McCall was nominated again in 1915, with the Republicans deliberately courting the Progressive vote by calling for a state [[constitutional convention (political meeting)|constitutional convention]].<ref name=Gentile836/> In a rematch with Walsh, he was this time victorious. He served three consecutive terms, with future President [[Calvin Coolidge]] as his lieutenant governor. In each election, Coolidge won more votes than McCall did, and the ''Boston Transcript'' credited at least one of his victories to Coolidge's drawing power.<ref>Sobel, pp. 101, 107-109</ref>
[[File:slv17601 Gov Sam McCall 1918.jpg|thumb|Governor McCall speaking in [[Vineyard Haven, Massachusetts]], with Lt. Governor [[Calvin Coolidge]] in background (1918)]]
[[File:Visit of Governor Samuel W. McCall of Massachusetts to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 8 November, 1918 - cropped.jpg|thumb|McCall viewing reconstruction efforts in visiting [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], after the [[Halifax Explosion]] (November 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 referenda|initiative and referendum]] measures were added to [[Massachusetts State Constitution|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 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.<ref name=Gentile837/>
Anticipating [[American entry into World War I]] in early 1917, McCall formed the Massachusetts Public Safety Commission,<ref>Lyman, p. 3</ref> an emergency response and relief organization that was the first of its type in the nation.<ref name=MacDonald105>MacDonald, p. 105</ref> 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.<ref>See Lyman for a description of the commission activities.</ref> 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 [[History of Halifax (former city)|Halifax]], McCall called the committee into action, and offered unlimited assistance to the stricken city.<ref name=MacDonald105/> The state organized a major relief train (even before the full extent of the disaster was known) that was among the first to reach Halifax, and the committee's representatives assisted in organizing relief activities on the ground.<ref>MacDonald, pp. 105-106, 142, 173-183</ref> Temporary housing built in Halifax was named in McCall's honor,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://novascotia.ca/archives/explosion/archives.asp?ID=66|title=Visit of Governor Samuel W. McCall of Massachusetts to Halifax, November 8-10, 1918|publisher=Nova Scotia Archives|access-date=2016-06-30}}</ref> and the state's relief efforts continue to be recognized today by Nova Scotia's annual [[Boston Christmas Tree|gift of a Christmas tree]] to the city of Boston.<ref>MacDonald, pp. 273-274</ref>
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.<ref>Sobel, pp. 109-110</ref> 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.<ref name=Gentile837>Gentile, p. 837</ref>
==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 [[List of United States Representatives from Pennsylvania|Pennsylvania congressman]] [[Thaddeus Stevens]]. Additionally, he was working in a biography of [[Daniel Webster]] at the time of his death.<ref name=Gentile837/>
McCall died in Winchester on November 4, 1923. His interment was in [[Wildwood Cemetery (Winchester, Massachusetts)|Wildwood Cemetery]].<ref>{{CongBio|M000305|inline=yes}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sos.oregon.gov/archives/Pages/records/governors_guides.aspx|title=Governor Tom McCall's Administration|publisher=Oregon State Archives|access-date=2016-08-20}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[139th Massachusetts General Court]]
==Biographical works==
* {{cite book| title=The Life of Thomas Brackett Reed| last=McCall| first=Samuel W.| year=1914| url=https://archive.org/stream/thomasbrackett00mccarich#page/n7/mode/2up| publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |location=New York, New York}}
==Legacy and honors==
*Elected a member of the [[American Antiquarian Society]] in 1901.<ref>[http://www.americanantiquarian.org/memberlistm American Antiquarian Society Members Directory]</ref>
*McCall Middle School in Winchester, Mass., McCall's longtime home, is named in his honor.
==References==
{{reflist}}
===Sources===
* {{cite book|last=Abrams|first=Richard|title=Conservatism in a Progressive Era: Massachusetts Politics 1900-1912|url=https://archive.org/details/conservatisminpr0000abra|url-access=registration|publisher=Harvard University Press|year=1964|location=Cambridge, MA|oclc=475077}}
* {{cite book|last=Evans|first=Lawrence Boyd|title=Samuel McCall, Governor of Massachusetts|year=1916|publisher=Houghton, Mifflin|location=Boston|url=https://archive.org/details/samuelwmccallgo00evangoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/samuelwmccallgo00evangoog/page/n23 3]|oclc=1926950}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Gentile|first=Richard H |title=McCall, Samuel Walker |encyclopedia=Dictionary of American National Biography|publisher=Oxford University Press |volume=14 |location=New York |pages=835–837 |year=1999 |isbn=9780195206357|oclc=39182280}}
* {{cite book|last=Lyman|first=George Hinckley|title=The story of the Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety : February 10, 1917-November 21, 1918|publisher=Massachusetts Committee on Public Safety|location=Boston|year=1919|oclc=5117307|url=https://archive.org/details/storymassachuse00lymagoog|page=[https://archive.org/details/storymassachuse00lymagoog/page/n279 3]}}
* {{cite book|last=MacDonald|first=Laura M|title=Curse of the Narrows|publisher=Walker & Company|location=New York|year=2005|isbn=9780802714589|oclc=748588928|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/curseofnarrows00macd}}
* {{cite book|editor-last1=Toomey|editor-first1=Daniel C|editor-last2=Quinn|editor-first2=Thomas P|title=Massachusetts of To-Day: A Memorial of the State, Historical and Biographical, Issued for the World's Columbian exposition at Chicago|publisher=Columbia Publishing Company|year=1892|location=Boston|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=quE-AAAAYAAJs&pg=PA109|oclc=3251791}}
* {{cite book|last=Sobel|first=Robert|title=Coolidge: An American Enigma|publisher=Regnery Publishing|location=Washington, DC|isbn=0895264102|year=1998}}
{{s-start
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Augustus Peabody Gardner]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Massachusetts]]|years=[[1914 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1914]], [[1915 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1915]], [[1916 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1916]], [[1917 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|1917]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Calvin Coolidge]]}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
|state=Massachusetts
|district=8
|before=[[Moses T. Stevens]]
|after=[[Frederick Simpson Deitrick]]
|years=March 4, 1893 – March 4, 1913}}
{{
{{succession box
| before=[[David I. Walsh]]
| title= [[Governor of Massachusetts]]
| years= 1916–1919
| after= [[Calvin Coolidge]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{USRepMA}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCall, Samuel W.}}
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Massachusetts]]
[[Category:1851 births]]
[[Category:1923 deaths]]
[[Category:Boston Daily Advertiser people]]
[[Category:Dartmouth College alumni]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 1916 United States presidential election]]
[[Category:20th-century American politicians]]
[[Category:Shimer College alumni]]
[[Category:People from Winchester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Members of the American Antiquarian Society]]
[[Category:New Hampton School alumni]]
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