Editing William E. Chandler (section)

===U.S. Senator (New Hampshire)===
[[File:Image from page 16 of "Universities and their sons; history, influence and characteristics of American universities, with biographical sketches and portraits of alumni and recipients of honorary degrees" (1898).jpg|150px|thumb|left|{{center|U.S. Senator<br>William E. Chandler<br>'''1898'''}}]]

As a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], he was elected to the [[United States Senate]] to fill the vacancy caused by the death of [[Austin F. Pike]] and served from June 14, 1887, to March 3, 1889. Subsequently, elected for the term beginning March 4, 1889, he was reelected in 1895 and served from June 18, 1889, to March 3, 1901. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination. He served as chairman of the Committee on Immigration (Fifty-first and Fifty-second Congresses), Committee on Census (Fifty-fourth Congress), and Committee on Privileges and Elections (Fifty-fifth and Fifty-sixth Congresses).

In 1892, Chandler proposed a one-year ban on immigration, to keep out "undesirables," which included cholera carriers, Anarchists, nihilists, polygamists, Mafia members, illiterates, "blind or crippled" persons, "persons without means," etc.<ref>See, for example, {{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67102884/to-control-immigration/ |title=To Control Immigration: Four More Classes of Excluded Persons Proposed |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=Washington |page=3 |date=1893-01-05 |access-date=2021-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> Among the solutions Chandler proposed for addressing the "evils which have been made apparent by the vast increase, within recent years, of degraded immigrants from Italy, Turkey, Hungary, Poland and Russia proper" were the addition of an educational requirement and property qualification for all persons or families seeking to emigrate to the United States.<ref>"Shall Immigration Be Suspended?", ''North American Review'' No. 434, January 1893, p. 7.</ref>  The strongest opponents of the bill were the steamship companies, who stood to lose a major portion of their business.<ref>See, for example, {{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67102585/prohibition-of-immigration/ |title=Prohibition of Immigration: Opposition of the Steamship Companies to the Chandler Bill |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=Washington |page=4 |date=1892-12-12 |access-date=2021-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> A watered-down version of The Chandler Immigration and Contract Labor Bill became law on March 3, 1893. It simply required steamship companies to prepare lists of their passengers containing full information,<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67102316/the-new-immigration-bill/ |title=The New Immigration Bill |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |location=Washington |page=9 |date=1893-03-04 |access-date=2021-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/67102470/as-it-has-passed-congress/ |title=(Untitled editorial) |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=4 |date=1893-03-05 |access-date=2021-01-07 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and thus very likely served as a compromise to get the steamship companies to back down on Immigration Reform at this time.

In 1900, he was one of only two Republicans and the only Senator from the Northeast to vote against the [[Gold Standard Act]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/56-1/s21|title = TO AGREE TO THE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE ... -- Senate Vote #21 -- Mar 6, 1900}}</ref> though he emphasized that he did not oppose the gold standard itself.