vcczar Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 William B Allison (R-IA) is the second of the Big Four senators of the late Gilded Age/Early Progressive Era posted so far. He was more moderate than the more conservative Aldrich, but all the big 4 are considered "conservatives" because they aren't social progressives. They did believe in the progressive concepts of efficiency. Most conservatives ultimately adopted that concept. Hoover was a big figure in the efficiency movement. I see the efficiency movement as progressivism for politicians that understand business and money more than they do other people. Allison is interesting because he does compromise, but his compromise is mainly to make progressive reform more tolerable for conservatives. He's not embracing it, and doesn't necessarily like the bills he creates. He's playing defense when progressivism and populism has the upper hand. If he stubbornly opposes them, they'll win. If he plays a long, they only partially win. Here's his actions: Allison, William B. 1873 state GOP boss in Iowa Allison, William B. 1878 Bland-Allison Silver Purchase Act, restored bimetalism Allison, William B. 1881 Influential Senate Appropriations Committee Chair. Serves 12 consecutive years Allison, William B. 1884 Chairs bipartisan Allison committee, finding federal intervention didn't politicize scientific research Allison, William B. 1881 Declines to be Garfield's Sec of Treasury. Would also decline Arthur and Harrison for this job. Allison, William B. 1888 Rep Pres Candidate Allison, William B. 1888 blocks tariff reform Allison, William B. 1890 Key role in McKinley Tariff Allison, William B. 1895 Influential Senate Appropriations Committee Chair. Serves 14 more years (26 total) Allison, William B. 1896 Rep pres candidate Allison, William B. 1896 candidate for GOP pres nom Allison, William B. 1897 Declines offer to be McKinley's Sec of State Allison, William B. 1897 Senate Republican Conference Chairman. Serving 11 years Allison, William B. 1897 Key role in Dingley Tariff Allison, William B. 1900 Strongly considered by McKinley for VP Allison, William B. 1901 member of Senate big four Allison, William B. 1906 promotes compromise on RR regulation w/ amdt to Hepburn Act Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 I'm voting favorable on him. It was a tossup. I have no strong objections to him, other than him being too encrusted in power for too long. I give him a slight nod for at least working with progressives and populists (these populists were more socialist than today's MAGA populists). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rezi Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 I'd definitely have answered neutral on this one if the option existed. He seems chill, didn't do anything too good or bad, but I lean towards approval because the job of compromising and making progressive policy more pragmatic is always good. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeP47 Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 I'm again in line with V (and my previous comments on the big 4 in general), but just want to note Allison is kind of a meme candidate in some alt-hist election circles where they seem to think he's uber leftist somehow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vcczar Posted September 8 Author Share Posted September 8 16 minutes ago, OrangeP47 said: I'm again in line with V (and my previous comments on the big 4 in general), but just want to note Allison is kind of a meme candidate in some alt-hist election circles where they seem to think he's uber leftist somehow. What!? Probably for the Silver Purchase Act, which has his name on it, even though he's the moderate one that made it palatable. Bland wanted unlimited silver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeP47 Posted September 8 Share Posted September 8 16 minutes ago, vcczar said: What!? Probably for the Silver Purchase Act, which has his name on it, even though he's the moderate one that made it palatable. Bland wanted unlimited silver. I think also because he's from Iowa and so is Weaver. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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