serviceyears branch death_date allegiance birth_date term_end death_place preceded battles term_start rank name succeeded birth_place unit party state district article_title
1917 -- 1919 united states 9 november 1970 united states of america 26 april 1886 november 9 , 1970 chicago , illinois arthur w. mitchell world war i january 3 , 1943 first lieutenant william levi dawson ralph h. metcalfe albany , georgia 366th infantry regiment republican before 1939 , democratic after 1939 illinois 1st william l. dawson -lrb- politician -rrb-

william l. dawson -lrb- politician -rrb-

william levi dawson -lrb- april 26 , 1886 -- november 9 , 1970 -rrb- was an african-american politician who represented chicago , illinois for more than 27 years in the united states house of representatives .
in the 1940s he was active in the civil rights movement and sponsored registration drives .
after 1952 he became closely aligned with the democratic city machine , collaborating often with mayor richard j. daley .
in a new role he focused on patronage for his constituents and avoided involvement in civil rights issues , and gave no support to the efforts of martin luther king , jr. to shake up city politics .
