Walter Gresham Andrews

Walter Gresham Andrews (July 16, 1889 – March 5, 1949) was an American politician and a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from New York. Over the course of nine consecutive terms in Congress, he represented his constituents during a period of profound economic, social, and international change in the United States, serving from 1931 until his death in 1949.

Born on July 16, 1889, Andrews came of age in an era marked by rapid industrialization and the emergence of the United States as a global power. His early life unfolded against the backdrop of the Progressive Era, which shaped many of the political and social issues that would later come before Congress during his tenure. Details of his family background and childhood are less extensively documented, but his subsequent public career reflects a grounding in the civic and political currents of his time.

Andrews’s education prepared him for a life of public service and engagement in the legislative process. Coming into adulthood in the first decades of the twentieth century, he would have been exposed to the debates over government regulation, labor rights, and America’s growing role in world affairs that characterized the period before and after World War I. This formative environment helped shape the perspective he later brought to national office as a Republican lawmaker from New York.

Before his election to Congress, Andrews developed a career that positioned him to enter national politics, though the surviving record emphasizes his congressional service rather than his earlier professional activities. By the time he sought federal office, he had established himself sufficiently within his party and community to win election as a Republican to the House of Representatives. His successful bid reflected both his personal standing and the political strength of the Republican Party in his New York district at the outset of the 1930s.

Andrews began his service in the United States Congress in 1931, at the start of the Seventy-second Congress, and remained in office through successive re-elections until 1949. As a member of the House of Representatives, he participated actively in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New York constituents during the Great Depression, the New Deal era, World War II, and the early years of the postwar period. A loyal member of the Republican Party, he contributed to the legislative process over nine terms in office, engaging with major national questions of economic recovery, social policy, and national defense that came before Congress during these years.

During his eighteen years in the House, Andrews served at a time when Congress grappled with unprecedented federal intervention in the economy, the expansion of social welfare programs, and the demands of global conflict. As a Republican, he was part of the opposition party for much of the New Deal period, helping to shape debate over the scope and direction of federal policy. His long tenure indicates sustained support from his district and a continuing role in deliberations over legislation affecting both New York and the nation as a whole.

Walter Gresham Andrews’s congressional career came to an end with his death in office on March 5, 1949. His passing closed a chapter of continuous service that had begun in 1931 and spanned some of the most consequential years in modern American history. He was later memorialized in standard biographical references, including the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, and is interred at a site recorded by Find a Grave, reflecting his enduring place in the historical record of the United States House of Representatives and of New York’s congressional delegation.