William B. Allison

Iowa workhorse whose long hold on Appropriations made him a quiet master of the Senate.

Overview

Allison served continuously from 1873 to 1908, five terms ending only with his death. He chaired the Appropriations Committee for more than two decades, shaped every major tariff and currency compromise of the Gilded Age, including the Bland-Allison silver act of 1878, and was twice nearly nominated for president, leading the 1888 convention on early ballots. Allies trusted him as the Senate's premier strategist of conference committees and floor timing, and Iowa honored him as the most powerful national figure in its history.