William Henry McMaster papers

Collection

Identifier: MS-099

Staff Only

Content Description

This collection contains correspondence, speeches, and scrapbooks of news clippings on tariff resolution, agriculture, "gasoline fight", and other topics. Also included are photographs related to Mount Rushmore.

Dates

Creation: 1895 - 1968
Creation: Majority of material found within 1923 - 1929

Creator

McMaster, William H. (William Henry), 1877-1968 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research without restriction. Researchers are advised to contact the Archives and Special Collections prior to visiting. Advance notice may be needed to retrieve items for research use.

Conditions Governing Use

Researchers must obtain a signed Permission to Publish Form if they wish to reproduce, broadcast, or otherwise disseminate information from published and unpublished works held by ASC. Permission to reproduce, broadcast, or otherwise disseminate information materials from ASC does not constitute permission from the holder of copyright or literary rights. The researcher is responsible for securing permission from the copyright holder to publish or reproduce content from materials found in the collections.

Biographical / Historical

William Henry McMaster was born in Ticonic, Iowa in 1877. He attended public school in Sioux City, Iowa and Beloit College in Wisconsin from 1895 to 1899. He moved to Yankton, South Dakota, where he began a career in banking as a cashier, becoming president of a banking chain in South Dakota in 1910. He served in the South Dakota House of Representatives from 1911 to 1913 and in the South Dakota Senate from 1913 to 1917, after which he served as Lieutenant Governor for four years before serving as governor from 1921 to 1925. Having been a friend to farmers as a banker, McMaster continued his support of the farming community as governor. He fought, for example, to revise tax levies and to provide state guaranteed credit to help relieve the burden on agriculture, and he waged a successful battle against high gasoline prices. After serving two terms as governor, he chose not to seek reelection, instead winning a seat in the U.S. Senate, where he served from 1925 until 1931. He then moved to Illinois, where he served first as vice president, then as president, and finally as chairman of the board of Dixon National Bank. He died in 1968.

Extent

4 Linear Feet (one record carton and 2 oversize boxes)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

This collection contains materials primarily related to the work of William Henry McMaster during his time as South Dakota governor and US senator from South Dakota.