(1864–1926) in Kassel. They had three daughters: Lina (1889–1933), Liese (1891–1955), and Hedwig (1893–1935). In 1895 he gave up the profession he had learned and became active for various social democratic newspapers. First he worked as an editor for the in Giessen, from 1900 for the in Nuremberg, from 1902 for the (Offenbach am Main) and finally from 1905 for the in his home town. In addition to political articles, Scheidemann wrote "Dialect Stories" every Sunday from 1909 under the pseudonym Henner Piffendeckel. He also published several books in the Kassel dialect. Rise in the party and the Reichstag In the 1903 Reichstag elections, Scheidemann entered the Reichstag of the German Empire for the constituency Düsseldorf 3, the city and district of Solingen. He was reelected in January 1907 and January 1912. From 1906 to 1911 he also held a seat as a city councilor in his home town of Kassel. When in 1911 he was elected to the SPD's executive committee, of which he remained a member until 1918, he resigned his municipal mandate because the election required that he move to Berlin. After the death in 1913 of August Bebel, the long-time leader of the SPD, Scheidemann took over the chairmanship of the SPD parliamentary group together with Hugo Haase. He held this position until 1918. In 1912 Scheidemann became the first Social Democrat to be elected one of the vice presidents of the Reichstag, but since he refused to make the inaugural visit to the emperor – the "going to court" that the party had always frowned on – he was unable to take office. It was not until June to October 1918 that he actually held the office. Unlike Friedrich Ebert, who became party co-chairman with Hugo Haase in 1913, Scheidemann had rhetorical talent. He could speak convincingly before mass meetings as well as small audiences. Wilhelm Keil, a friend and party comrade of both men, described Ebert as "always serious, dignified and energetic", while Scheidemann was a "brilliant rhetorician with somewhat boisterous manners ... which at times allowed doubts to arise as to what percentage of his seemingly holy fire was to be ascribed to theatricality". Scheidemann's down-to-earth manners, his sense of humor and unshakeable cheerfulness earned him recognition outside the party. His political style was on the pragmatic side. Whenever he could he avoided conflicts in which he saw little hope of resolution. He