Charles Gates Dawes

Politician, lawyer, businessman, banker, diplomat

• Born: August 27, 1865
• Birthplace: Marietta, Ohio
• Died: April 23, 1951
• Place of death: Evanston, Illinois

Also known as: "Hell'n Maria" (or "Hell and Maria") Dawes

Education: Marietta College; Cincinnati Law School

Significance: Charles Gates Dawes was the thirtieth vice president of the United States, serving under President Calvin Coolidge from 1925 to 1929. He is perhaps best known for the Nobel Peace Prize–winning "Dawes Plan" for stabilizing Germany's economy in the aftermath of World War I.

Background

Charles Gates Dawes was born on August 27, 1865, in Marietta, Ohio, to Rufus and Mary Berman Gates Dawes. Dawes had three brothers and two sisters. His family had a long history of American patriotism. His great-great grandfather William Dawes accompanied Paul Revere during his famous midnight ride at the start of the American Revolution (1775–1783). His father later served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865).

As a child, Dawes attended Marietta Academy. He then enrolled at Marietta College and earned his bachelor's degree in 1884. After college, he attended Cincinnati Law School and earned his law degree in 1886. Later that year, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and opened a law practice. He became well-known for arguing cases against the railroad lobby.

While living in Nebraska, Dawes established himself as a successful businessman. He opened several business offices and made investments in land and stocks. He also served as the director of a bank and became so interested in the American banking system that he wrote his first book, The Banking System of the United States and Its Relation to the Money and Business of the Country (1894), on the topic.

In 1894, Dawes purchased control of a utility company in La Crosse, Wisconsin, and became president of a second utility company in Chicago, Illinois. He and his brothers eventually purchased and controlled twenty-eight such companies. Dawes moved his family to Evanston, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, in early 1895 to be closer to his office. Shortly after this move, he got his first taste of politics when he met Marcus A. Hanna, who was working on William McKinley's presidential campaign. Dawes also ended up working on the campaign, and McKinley went on to win the 1896 election.

Political Career

After taking office, McKinley appointed Dawes the comptroller of the currency in the US Treasury Department. Dawes served in the position from 1898 to 1901. Dawes then planned to run to become the US senator from Illinois, but he withdrew from the race following the assassination of President McKinley.

In 1902, Dawes founded and became president of a bank called the Central Trust Company of Illinois. For more than a decade, he focused his attention on managing the bank and caring for his family. When the United States entered World War I (1914–1918) in 1917, however, Dawes enlisted in the US Army. He was commissioned as a major, was quickly promoted to lieutenant colonel, and eventually earned the rank of brigadier general. One of his duties during the war was procuring supplies for American forces. After the war, Dawes resigned from the Army and returned to the United States in 1919.

In 1921, the House of Representatives called on Dawes to testify with regard to military spending during World War I. When a representative asked Dawes how much money had been spent on horses, Dawes exclaimed, "Hell'n Maria! I will tell you this, that we would have paid horse prices for sheep, if they could have hauled artillery!" The passionate outburst earned Dawes his nickname, "Hell'n Maria" (or "Hell and Maria"), and brought him nationwide recognition.

Later that year, Congress created the Bureau of the Budget, and President Warren G. Harding appointed Dawes to serve as its first director. During this period, Dawes insisted that each government department create and stick to a budget. In the first year, this reform led to a savings of about $2 billion.

In 1923, Dawes began serving on the Allied Reparations Commission to solve Germany's financial problems. After World War I, Germany had been ordered to pay reparations. However, Germany's economy had declined, and its currency was unstable. As a result, the nation was unable to pay its debts. The result of the commission's work was the "Dawes Plan," which identified ways to balance Germany's budget and improve its economy. The effort won Dawes and Sir Austen Chamberlain of the United Kingdom the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925. Dawes subsequently donated his winnings to the Walter Hines Page School of International Relations at Johns Hopkins University.

In the meantime, Republican presidential candidate Calvin Coolidge had selected Dawes as his running mate in 1924. Following Coolidge's win, Dawes became the thirtieth vice president of the United States. He took office in 1925 and served one term.

In 1929, Herbert Hoover became president and appointed Dawes to serve as ambassador to the United Kingdom. Dawes held this post until 1932. He then briefly took charge of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC), which Congress created to help struggling corporations and banks during the Great Depression (1929–1939).

Later Career

In July 1932, Dawes resigned from the RFC and effectively retired from his political career. He returned to the banking industry and served as president of the City National Bank and Trust Company until his death.

Dawes died on April 23, 1951, at his home in Evanston, Illinois, from a blood clot in his heart. He was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.

Impact

Dawes is remembered for winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 and for serving as vice president of the United States. However, he also was a published author and a self-taught pianist and composer. One of his compositions, Melody in a Major, was later turned into the song "It's All in the Game," which became a number-one hit for recording artist Tommy Edwards in 1958. Dawes donated his home in Evanston to Northwestern University for use by the Evanston Historical Society (now Evanston History Center). The house, known as Charles G. Dawes House, is a national historic landmark and operates as a museum.

Personal Life

Dawes married Caro Blymer on January 24, 1889. The couple had two children, a son named Rufus and a daughter named Carolyn. They also adopted two children.

In 1912, Dawes's son drowned in Lake Geneva. The tragedy led Dawes and his wife to form homeless shelters in Chicago and Boston in their son's memory.

Bibliography

Benzkofer, Stephan. "Chicago's Other Nobel Peace Prize Laureates." Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2012, www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-per-flash-nobel-dawes-0422-20120422-story.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Charles G. Dawes." Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, www.occ.gov/about/what-we-do/history/150th-comptroller-charles-dawes.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Charles G. Dawes." Ohio History Central, www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Charles‗G.‗Dawes. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Charles G. Dawes—Biographical." Nobelprize.org, www.nobelprize.org/nobel‗prizes/peace/laureates/1925/dawes-bio.html. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Charles G. Dawes, 30th Vice President (1925–1929)." United States Senate, www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/generic/VP‗Charles‗Dawes.htm. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

"Dawes, Charles Gates, (1865–1951)." Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=d000147. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.

Evanston History Center, evanstonhistorycenter.org/. Accessed 29 Jan. 2018.