William Humphrey
Encyclopedia
William Ewart Humphrey (31 March 1862 - 14 February 1934), an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician, served as a member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from 1903 to 1917. He represented the state of Washington at large from 1903 to 1909 and the First Congressional District of Washington
Washington's 1st congressional district
Washington's 1st congressional district encompasses part of Northwest Seattle and largely suburban areas north and east of Seattle including Shoreline, Edmonds, Lynnwood, Mountlake Terrace, Bothell, Kirkland and Redmond as well as Bainbridge Island and part of the Kitsap Peninsula. It is currently...

 from 1909 to 1917. Humphrey also served as a member of the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...

 from 1925 to 1933.

Humphrey was born near Alamo, Indiana
Alamo, Indiana
Alamo is a town in Ripley Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. The population was 66 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Alamo is located at ....

, and attended local common schools. He graduated from Wabash College
Wabash College
Wabash College is a small, private, liberal arts college for men, located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Along with Hampden-Sydney College and Morehouse College, Wabash is one of only three remaining traditional all-men's liberal arts colleges in the United States.-History:Wabash College was founded...

 in 1887, then went on to study law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

. Humphrey was admitted to the Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

 State Bar in 1887, and started a practice in Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville, Indiana
Crawfordsville is a city in Union Township, Montgomery County, Indiana, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 15,915. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County...

. When the economic Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...

 struck, he moved to Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...

, continuing to practice law.

Humphrey was elected as a Republican to fill Washington's new third seat in the House of Representatives in 1902. He was re-elected in 1904 and 1906 to this position. This seat was elected by the state at large until the election of 1908, when the three seats were divided into congressional districts. Humphrey's seat became the First Congressional District of Washington, with Humphrey winning the first election to the new District in 1908 and re-election in 1910, 1912, and 1914. He ran unsuccessfully for the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1916, which marked the end of his congressional career.

President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...

 appointed Humphrey as a member of the Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...

 ("FTC") in 1925, and he was reappointed for another six-year term in 1931. But because of policy disagreements, Humphrey was dismissed from the FTC by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...

 in 1933. Humphrey, however, refused to recognize his dismissal, and brought a lawsuit in the United States Court of Claims
United States Court of Claims
The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855 as the Court of Claims, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims , and abolished in 1982....

 to seek compensation for his continued employment. And legal questions from the lawsuit went before the United States Supreme Court in Humphrey's Executor v. United States, 295 U.S. 602
Humphrey's Executor v. United States
Humphrey's Executor v. United States, , was a United States Supreme Court case decided during the Franklin Delano Roosevelt presidency, regarding the powers that a President of the United States has to remove certain executive officials of a "quasi-legislative," "quasi-judicial" administrative body...

 (1935), in which the Court ruled that Roosevelt's decision to terminate Humphrey violated an express limitation on presidential power set forth by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....

 in the Federal Trade Commission Act
Federal Trade Commission Act
The Federal Trade Commission Act of 1914 started the Federal Trade Commission , a bipartisan body of five members appointed by the president of the United States for seven-year terms. This commission was authorized to issue “cease and desist” orders to large corporations to curb unfair trade...

.
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