William H. Stafford, a Milwaukee lawyer, served for 20 years as Congressman for
Milwaukee’s Fifth District. He was born in Milwaukee on 12 October 1869, the son of
Mary R. and William H. Stafford, Sr. He attended Milwaukee Public Schools; upon
graduating high school, Stafford attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 1893 and
was admitted to the Wisconsin Bar in 1894.
Stafford unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 1898 but lost in the Republican Party
nomination. He first won election as a member of the House of Representatives in
1902 and served from 1903 -1911, 1913 - 1919, 1921 - 1923, and 1929 - 1933. Stafford
often ran against noted Wisconsin Socialist politician Victor L. Berger, defeating
him in 1904, 1912, 1914, 1916 and 1920, but being defeated by him in 1918. Although
Stafford supported many Progressive causes, he never officially aligned himself with
the Progressive movement. He ran his own campaigns, and claimed to have never
received campaign contributions.
In Congress, Stafford argued against government spending. He was one of fifty
congressmen who voted against the United States’ entry into World War I. Stafford
was also an early supporter for independence in the Philippines after the
Spanish-American War. Notably, he introduced legislation to abolish so-called “lame
duck” sessions of Congress and was on record in favor of modifying the federal
prohibition law as early as 1928.
He ran for the Senate in 1938, but was defeated. When not serving in Congress,
Stafford worked as a lawyer in Milwaukee. He never married. Stafford died on 22
April 1957.
