US SPEAKER HOUSE REPRESENTATIVES POLYGAMY CONGRESSMAN MA LETTER SIGNED 1919 VF
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FREDERICK HUNTINGTONGILLETT (1851 - 1935)37thSPEAKER OF THE UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1919-1925&US CONGRESSMAN FROMMASSACHUSETTS’ 2nd DISTRICT 1893-1925.Gillett introducedlegislation to initiate the adoption of an Anti-Polygamy Amendment to theUnited States Constitution!<<>> HERE'S A LETTER SIGNEDBY GILLETT ON “THE SPEAKER’S ROOMS-HOUSEOF REPRESENTATIVES” LETTERHEAD, 1p., DATED AT WASHINGTON D. C., JUNE 7, 1919TOEVERETT PEPPERRELL WHEELER...(1840 - 1925)ANTI-SUFFRAGE ACTIVIST, NYC POLITICIAN, AND AUTHOR, PRESIDENT OF THE MEN'SASSOCIATION OPPOSED TO WOMAN SUFFRAGE IN THE 1910s&DRAFTED THE 1897 BILL WHICH CREATED THECONSOLIDATED CITY OF NEW YORK.GILLETT WRITES TOWHEELER AT THE DRUMLIN, NEW HAMBURGH, NEW YORK, and SAYS, IN PART “…I am very glad that what I said met withyour approval. It seemed to me thatthere was a word there that ought to be said, as I do not think the presentsituation can long be tolerated…”The document measures 8”x 10½” and is in VERY FINE CONDITION.A FINE ADDITION TO YOURAMERICAN POLITICAL HISTORY AUTOGRAPH, MANUSCRIPT & EPHEMERA COLLECTION!!Biographical Sketch of the Honorable F. H GillettFrederick Huntington Gillett (October16, 1851 – July 31, 1935) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts stategovernment and both houses of the U.S. Congress between 1879 and 1931, including six years as Speaker of the House. Early lifeFrederick H. Gillett was born in Westfield, Massachusetts, to Edward BatesGillett (1817–1899) and Lucy Fowler Gillett (1830–1916). He graduated from Amherst College, where he was a member of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity, in 1874 and Harvard Law School in1877. He entered the practice of law in Springfield in 1877. CareerGillett was the Assistant Attorney General of Massachusetts from1879 to 1882. For two one-year terms he was a member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives. Hewas elected to the Fifty-third United States Congress in1892. A Republican, Gillett served in the United States House of Representatives from1893 to 1925. On January 24, 1914, he introduced legislation to initiate theadoption of an Anti-Polygamy Amendment tothe U.S. Constitution. Republicans won a net total of 24 seats in the 1918 elections, increasing the size of their majority in the House. Gillett was nominated bythe Republican caucus for Speaker of the House inthe upcoming 66th United States Congress. On May 19, 1919, Congress convened, and he was elected speaker, defeating the Democratic incumbent Champ Clark228–172. Gillett was expected to exercise less control than his predecessor, since he was characterized by one reporter as someone who did not drink coffeein the morning "for fear it would keep him awake all day". He wasreelected as speaker in 1921 and again in 1923. He decided to run for the United StatesSenate in 1924. He won the Republican primary easily over twoother candidates and then narrowly defeated incumbent Senator David I. Walsh inthe Republican landslide of November 1924 ledby President Calvin Coolidge, aformer governor of Massachusetts. Timemagazine chose him for its November 17, 1924, cover. He served one term in the Senate from 1925 to1931, and decided not to seek re-election in the face of a difficult primarychallenge. In June 1930, hedeclined to state his position on prohibition or its repeal when queried byprohibition advocates.Personal lifeOn November 25, 1915, Gillett married Christine Rice Hoar, the widow of his former colleague in Congress, Rockwood Hoar. In1934 he published a biography of George FrisbieHoar, an earlier congressman and senator from Massachusetts, and his wife's father-in-law from her previous marriage. During his time in Washington, Gillett spent his free timedriving his 1926 Pontiac Coupe and playing golf in the morning. In retirementhe wintered in Pasadena, California. He died in a hospital in Springfield, Massachusetts, on July 31, 1935. LegacyAs of 2019, Gillett is the most recent Speaker of the Houseto have also served in the U.S. Senate. He was also the longest-tenured incumbentcongressman to have ever been elected to the Senate until June 2013, whenRepresentative Ed Markey waselected to the same Senate seat that Gillett held.I am a proud member ofthe Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society ofAmerica, the Manuscript Society and the American Political Items Collectors(APIC) (member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations'code of ethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service andhistorical memorabilia online for over twenty years.~
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