- In full:
- Charles Gates Dawes
- Born:
- Aug. 27, 1865, Marietta, Ohio, U.S.
- Died:
- April 23, 1951, Evanston, Ill. (aged 85)
- Title / Office:
- vice president of the United States of America (1925-1929), United States
- Political Affiliation:
- Republican Party
- Awards And Honors:
- Nobel Prize (1925)
Charles G. Dawes
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Who was Charles G. Dawes?
Charles G. Dawes (1865–1951) was the 30th vice president of the United States, serving under President Calvin Coolidge from 1925 to 1929. A lawyer, banker, and Republican politician, Dawes also served as ambassador to Great Britain and was the author of the Dawes Plan. For his work on the Dawes Plan, which reorganized German finances and reparations payments after World War I, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1925, sharing it with Sir Austen Chamberlain. Earlier in his career, Dawes was appointed United States comptroller of the currency in 1897 and, later, as the first director of the budget in 1921 by President Warren G. Harding.
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When did Charles G. Dawes serve as Vice President of the United States?
Charles G. Dawes served as the 30th Vice President of the United States from 1925 to 1929, during President Calvin Coolidge's Republican administration. Beyond his role as Vice President, Dawes also contributed to managing Germany's reparations payments after World War I through the "Dawes Plan". For this, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1925, jointly with Sir Austen Chamberlain.
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Which president did Charles G. Dawes serve under as vice president?
Charles G. Dawes served as Vice President during the administration of President Calvin Coolidge from 1925 to 1929. Dawes, a Republican, was selected as Coolidge's running mate in 1924. He also won the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1925 for the Dawes Plan, which addressed Germany's World War I reparations payments.
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What were some important achievements of Charles G. Dawes during his career?
During his career, Charles G. Dawes, the 30th vice president of the United States, had many notable achievements:
* He was the author of the Dawes Plan for managing Germany’s reparations payments after World War I. For this, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace jointly with Sir Austen Chamberlain in 1925.
* As the first director of the budget in 1921, he was appointed by President Warren G. Harding.
* He served as ambassador to Great Britain (1929–32).
* During World War I, Dawes was head of supply procurement for the American Expeditionary Force in France.
* He directed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation during the Great Depression.2 Britannica SourcesCreated from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles. -
What was the Dawes Plan and why was it important?
The Dawes Plan, created under the leadership of Charles G. Dawes, was an attempt to resolve the issue of Germany's reparation payments following World War I. In 1924, a committee of experts developed the Dawes Plan, which was subsequently accepted by the Allies and Germany.
The Dawes Plan was important because it addressed Germany's inability to pay reparations for its liability for World War I. The plan reorganized the Reichsbank and provided Germany with an initial loan of 800 million marks. Although the Dawes Plan offered only a partial resolution to global economic disorganization, it did save Europe from economic collapse for a few years.
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How did Charles G. Dawes contribute to American and international history beyond being vice president?
Beyond his vice presidency (1925–29), Charles G. Dawes made significant contributions to American and international history. As head of supply procurement for the American Expeditionary Force in France during World War I and as the first director of the budget in 1921, Dawes demonstrated his leadership abilities.
His most notable achievement was the Dawes Plan of 1924, which addressed Germany's inability to pay World War I reparations. The plan reorganized German finances with the help of American loans and saved Europe from economic collapse for a few years. Dawes was also an ambassador to Great Britain (1929–32) and directed the Reconstruction Finance Corporation during the Great Depression. In 1925, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace jointly with Sir Austen Chamberlain.
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Charles G. Dawes (born Aug. 27, 1865, Marietta, Ohio, U.S.—died April 23, 1951, Evanston, Ill.) was the 30th vice president of the United States (1925–29) in the Republican administration of President Calvin Coolidge. An ambassador and author of the “Dawes Plan” for managing Germany’s reparations payments after World War I, he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace jointly with Sir Austen Chamberlain in 1925.
Dawes was the son of General Rufus R. Dawes, a Union officer during the American Civil War and later a member of Congress, and Mary Beman Gates. Educated at Marietta College in Ohio and Cincinnati Law School, Dawes practiced law in Lincoln, Nebraska (1887–94), and then moved to Evanston, Illinois, which he made his permanent home. He was appointed United States comptroller of the currency in 1897 but resigned to contest (unsuccessfully) the Republican Party nomination for a United States Senate seat in 1901. He then turned to private business and banking and organized the Central Trust Company of Illinois. During World War I, Dawes was head of supply procurement for the American Expeditionary Force in France. After his resignation as a brigadier general in 1919, he was appointed by President Warren G. Harding as the first director of the budget in 1921.
In 1923 Dawes was appointed by the Allied Reparations Commission to plan a solution for the problem of Germany’s inability to pay reparations for its liability for World War I as set forth in the Treaty of Versailles. Dawes presided over a committee of experts that submitted a plan in 1924 providing for a reorganization of German finances with the assistance of loans from American investors. The Dawes Plan saved Europe from economic collapse for a few years, but it proved to be only a partial solution for the dilemma of world economic disorganization.
After he was selected as Coolidge’s vice-presidential running mate in 1924, he campaigned against the Ku Klux Klan and supported limits on the use of the filibuster in the Senate. As vice president he favored the Kellogg-Briand Pact, which attempted to eliminate war as an instrument of foreign policy. He declined to seek the presidency in 1928 and was appointed ambassador to Great Britain (1929–32) by Herbert Hoover. During the Great Depression he returned to the United States (1932) to direct the Reconstruction Finance Corporation but resigned the same year to reenter the banking business.
Dawes was the author of several works, including A Journal of the Great War (1921), Notes as Vice President (1935), and A Journal of Reparations (1939). A self-taught musician, he composed Melody in A Major (1912), an instrumental piece for violin that, with the addition of lyrics by Carl Sigman, became the pop standard “It’s All in the Game” (1951).