Charles Hawks Jr.
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's2nd district
In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1941
Preceded by	Harry Sauthoff
Succeeded by	Harry Sauthoff
Personal details
Born	July 7, 1899 Horicon, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	January 6, 1960(1960-01-06) (aged 60) Bryn Mawr Hospital Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Resting place	Oakhill Cemetery,Horicon, Wisconsin
Party	Republican
Spouse	Lucille Alma McGinnis ​ ​ (m. 1928⁠–⁠1960)​
Children	Ann Hawks (b. 1930; died 2005) Charles Hawks III (b. 1938; died 1993)
Parents	Charles Hawks Sr. (father) Linda (Yankey) Hawks (mother)
Relatives	Eli Hawks (grandfather)
Education	University of Wisconsin
Occupation	Businessman, politician
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1917–1919
Rank	Yeoman 1st Class
Unit	USSRhode Island (BB-17)
Battles/wars	World War I

Charles Hawks Jr. (July 7, 1899 – January 6, 1960) was an American businessman andRepublican politician fromDodge County, Wisconsin. He served one term in theU.S. House of Representatives, representingWisconsin's 2nd congressional district during the76th U.S. Congress (1939–1941). He was an avowed isolationist in the lead-up toWorld War II and was praised by theGerman American Bund. His grandfather,Eli Hawks, was a member of theWisconsin State Assembly and mayor ofJuneau, Wisconsin. His father, Charles Hawks Sr., was a prominent banker and served as mayor ofHoricon, Wisconsin.

Charles Hawks Jr. was born and raised inHoricon, Wisconsin.^[1]

In his senior year at Horicon High School, he enlisted in theUnited States Navy a week after theUnited States declaration of war against Germany inWorld War I. After just four days training atNaval Station Great Lakes, he was assigned to the battleshipUSSRhode Island (BB-17). He served two years and rose to the rank ofyeoman 1st class before mustering out of the service in 1919.^[2] While serving aboard theRhode Island, he assisted the32nd Infantry Division (an activated Wisconsin National Guard unit) in smuggling their unofficial mascot—a goat named "Billy"—out of France and into the United States aboard the battleship.^[3] For the rest of his life, Hawks was active in theAmerican Legion and theVeterans of Foreign Wars.^[1]

After returning from the war, Hawks immediately entered theUniversity of Wisconsin and graduated from the business school in 1923.^[1][4] He then went to work as a salesman and insurance agent inBoston, Massachusetts, thenIndianapolis, Indiana, and finallyWichita, Kansas. He returned to Horicon in the Summer of 1926, and opened his own insurance business,^[5] though it only lasted a few years; he closed that business moving briefly toWauwatosa, Wisconsin, before going to work for Stanley Hanks Insurance inMadison, Wisconsin.^[6] In 1933, he was hired as an agent inWaukesha, Wisconsin, for theNorthwestern Mutual insurance company.^[7]

During the 1920s and 1930s, Hawks was also becoming active in theRepublican Party of Wisconsin and was editor of the state party'sYoung Republican monthly newsletter. In 1936, he won his first elected office as a member of theDodge County board of supervisors. Later that year, he entered the race forWisconsin Secretary of State and was selected as the Republican nominee without opposition at the state convention.^[8] In the general election, Hawks came in a distant second place, receiving only 26% of the vote, as theProgressive Party incumbent,Theodore Dammann, easily won his sixth term.^[9]

Undaunted, Hawks continued activities in the Republican Party and was elected chairman of the Dodge County Republican Party. He was re-elected to the county board in April 1838 without opposition.^[10] In August, he announced he would run forUnited States House of Representatives, seeking the Republican nomination to challenge Progressive Party incumbentHarry Sauthoff inWisconsin's 2nd congressional district.^[11] No other Republican candidates ultimately entered the race, and Hawks moved on to the general election facing the incumbent, Sauthoff, and Democratic nominee Reinhold Gerth.^[12]

In the general election, Hawks attacked theNew Deal and progressive policies as neglectful of farmers and wasteful of public funds.^[13] He suggested progressive policies were damaging business confidence and preventing economic growth. The 1938 election saw a Republican wave; Hawks narrowly prevailed in his race, defeating Sauthoff by about 1,500 votes.^[14]

Early in the76th Congress, Hawks came out in favor of maintaining total U.S. neutrality in the midst of Germany'screeping annexation ofCzechoslovakia and the closing campaigns of theSpanish Civil War.^[15] Also early in the term, he received vociferous praise from the Nazi-backedGerman American Bund for a speech againstCommunism.^[16] Hawks continued to support total neutrality after theNazi invasion of Poland in September.^[17] Hawks described Roosevelt's foreign policy as "war hysteria ... part of a program by this administration to make the citizens of this country forget about their domestic failures."^[18]

During the term, Hawks voted against most Roosevelt administration programs and appropriations, and opposed funding for a post office in his own hometown, Horicon. Journalists in Wisconsin eventually linked his vote against the post office to the fact that the current post office rented space from a building owned by Hawks' father.^[19]

In August 1939, Hawks was selected as manager for thepresidential campaign of U.S. senatorStyles Bridges.^[20] Hawks explained that Bridges wanted to focus on bringing his anti-New Deal message to young Republicans, and would embrace a strategy of courting unpledged delegates rather than attempting to win pledged delegates.^[21]

In the 1940 election, Hawks faced a rematch against Progressive Harry Sauthoff. Sauthoff attacked Hawks' votes against New Deal programs. Foreign policy played little role in the campaign as both had anti-war positions. Their rematch resulted in another close election, but this time Hawks was defeated, coming in 2,360 votes behind Sauthoff.^[22]

Immediately after leaving office, Hawks went to work as a lobbyist inWashington, D.C., for theWisconsin Association of Manufacturers.^[23] But within months, Hawks made clear that he intended to run again.^[24] Later that year, however, theAttack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent U.S. entry intoWorld War II radically changed the politics of the 1942 election. Hawks faced a difficult primary against three other Republicans, including former University of Wisconsin football star and coachEdward J. Samp. Hawks came under intense criticism for his earlier previous anti-war votes, which were attacked as irresponsible and short-sighted.^[25] Hawks won the primary, but received only 38% of the vote.^[26]

In the general election, foreign policy loomed large as Wisconsin newspapers bemoaned a contest between two "isolationists".^[18] Sauthoff won the election by a substantial margin; Hawks received only 39% of the vote.^[26]

After his loss in 1942, Hawks moved toWynnewood, Pennsylvania, and went to work for theSun Oil Co. for several years. In the 1950s, he was hired by General Grinding Wheel Corp. ofPhiladelphia as a vice president.^[27]

Charles Hawks Jr. died atBryn Mawr Hospital inBryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, on January 6, 1960, after an illness of two months.^[27] His body was interred at Oak Hill Cemetery in Horicon, Wisconsin.^[28]

Charles Hawks Jr. was the eldest of four children born to Charles Hawks and his wife Linda (née Yankey). Charles Hawks Sr. was a prominent and successful banker in Horicon, served as mayor of the city, and was an influential member of the Wisconsin Chamber of Commerce. Charles Jr.'s paternal grandfather wasEli Hawks, a grain merchant andWisconsin pioneer who served as a member of theWisconsin State Assembly, presidential elector, and mayor and postmaster ofJuneau, Wisconsin.^[29]

Charles Jr. married Lucille Alma McGinnis, of Waukesha, on September 1, 1928.^[30] They had two children together and were married for 31 years before his death in 1960.^[27]

• United States Congress."Charles Hawks Jr. (id: H000375)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1899 births
• 1960 deaths
• People from Horicon, Wisconsin
• People from Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania
• Businesspeople from Wisconsin
• Businesspeople from Pennsylvania
• County supervisors in Wisconsin
• United States Navy personnel of World War I
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• Republican Party United States representatives from Wisconsin
• 20th-century Wisconsin politicians
• 20th-century American businesspeople
• American anti–World War II activists
• American anti-communists
• American Presbyterians
• 20th-century United States representatives
• Old Right (United States)

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