He was for twenty years (1893–1913) a member of the United States House of Representatives, and the 47th Governor of Massachusetts, serving three one-year terms (1916–1919).

Born in Pennsylvania and educated at Dartmouth, he settled in Massachusetts, where he entered local politics on a progressive reform agenda.

As governor, he directed the state's actions during World War I, and orchestrated early aid to Halifax, Nova Scotia following a devastating munitions ship explosion there in 1917.

[1] At a young age, the family moved to an undeveloped frontier area of northern Illinois, where McCall spent much of his childhood.

[2] McCall's father speculated in real estate and owned a stove factory, which was closed by financial reverses of the Panic of 1857.

[7] In 1881 he married Ella Esther Thompson, whom he met while attending New Hampton Academy;[10] they settled in Winchester, Massachusetts,[7] where they raised five children.

[7] In 1892, McCall was elected to the United States House of Representatives, a seat he would occupy for twenty years,[15] generally winning reelection by large margins.

[7][18] He had a reputation as a bit of a maverick, because he often strayed from the Republican party line, but he maintained a generally conservative voting record, and introduced little new legislation.

[22] Anticipating American entry into World War I in early 1917, McCall formed the Massachusetts Public Safety Commission,[23] an emergency response and relief organization that was the first of its type in the nation.

[24] Coordinating a wide array of public and charitable organizations and major businesses, the commission played a significant role in providing relief and other services until it was disbanded in 1918.

[26] Temporary housing built in Halifax was named in McCall's honor,[27] and the state's relief efforts continue to be recognized today by Nova Scotia's annual gift of a Christmas tree to the city of Boston.

[29] In the general election, McCall refused to campaign on Weeks' behalf, a move that contributed to the end of his political career.