Born in 1854 into a slave-owning Mississippi family, George Chamberlain relocated to Oregon at the age of 22 seeking better economic prospects. Within five years, he worked as a teacher, studied law, passed the Oregon bar, and won election to the Oregon House of Representatives. After decades working in Oregon politics, Chamberlain entered the U.S. Senate in 1909 and began championing progressive causes including women's suffrage, military modernization, wildlife conservation, and land reform in the West, with mixed success. While his efforts to reform railroad land ownership failed, his legislation to remove English language requirements for army enlistment after World War I became law. Chamberlain also chaired the Committee on Military Affairs from 1913 to 1919, making him an influential senator during World War I, and co-authored the original Selective Service Act. Although a supporter of President Woodrow Wilson, Chamberlain broke with the White House in 1918 to launch wartime investigations into poor conditions within military training camps. After losing his re-election in 1920, he retired to private law practice in Washington, D.C., where he most notably argued Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), a frequently cited case protecting private education and broadening due process protections, in a losing effort before the U.S. Supreme Court.
