Nathan William MacChesney (1878–1954) was a prominent Chicago lawyer and architect of racial segregation.

[1] He was educated at California Wesleyan College, receiving a bachelor's degree in 1898.

In this capacity, he represented the War Department in, Stearns v. Wood, before the Supreme Court where the Court sided with him and reaffirmed that the federal government had the authority to set training and performance regulations for the state National Guard.

[1] He again served in the army during World War I, and was thereafter normally referred to as "General MacChesney" by his associates.

[1] MacChesney drafted the "Standard Form, Chicago Restrictive Covenant,"[3] used as a model for enforcing racial segregation throughout the city.