Cassius Clay Dowell (February 29, 1864 – February 4, 1940) was a Republican U.S. Representative from

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to th ...

. He served from 1915 to 1935, and again from 1937 until his death in 1940, with the interregnum caused by an unsuccessful campaign for reelection in 1934.

Biography

Born on a farm near the unincorporated town of Summerset, Iowa (in

Warren County Warren County is the name of fourteen counties in the USA. Some are named after General Joseph Warren, who was killed in the Battle of Bunker Hill in the American Revolutionary War: * Warren County, Georgia * Warren County, Illinois * Warren County ...

, near Indianola) Dowell attended the public schools, Baptist College in

Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines () is the capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small part of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines, ...

, and

Simpson College Simpson College is a private Methodist liberal arts college in Indianola, Iowa. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and has about 1,250 full-time and 300 part-time students. In addition to the Indianola residential campus, Simpso ...

in Indianola, Iowa. In 1886, he graduated from the

liberal arts Liberal arts education (from Latin "free" and "art or principled practice") is the traditional academic course in Western higher education. ''Liberal arts'' takes the term '' art'' in the sense of a learned skill rather than specifically th ...

department of

Drake University Drake University is a private university in Des Moines, Iowa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs, including professional programs in business, law, and pharmacy. Drake's law school is among the 25 oldest in the United States. His ...

, and graduated from

Drake University Law School Drake University Law School is a professional graduate law school of Drake University, located in Des Moines, Iowa. The school has over 330 full-time students. The school is led by Dean Jerry Anderson. Founded in 1865, Drake Law School is one of t ...

the following year. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1888 and commenced practice in Des Moines. From 1894 to 1898, Dowell served as member of the Iowa State House of Representatives. He served in the Iowa State Senate from 1902 to 1912. In 1914, Dowell was elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

to represent

Iowa's 7th congressional district Iowa's 7th congressional district is a former congressional district in Iowa. It was eliminated after the 1970 election, leaving Iowa with six congressional districts. The state has since been reduced to four congressional districts. Redistrict ...

. He was re-elected to this seat eight times, until reapportionment between 1930 and 1932 moved his home county into Iowa's 6th congressional district, prompting him to run for the seat in that district. He won the 1932 race by more than 13,000 votes, surviving the Roosevelt landslide. Yet he was surprised two years later, when former Iowa Supreme Court Justice Hubert Utterback upset him by over 4,000 votes. He had served nearly twenty years, in the Sixty-fourth and the nine succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915 – January 3, 1935). He had served as chairman of the Committee on Elections (in the Sixty-sixth and Sixty-seventh Congresses), and on the Committee on Roads (in the Sixty-eighth through Seventy-first Congresses). Dowell returned to Des Moines to practice law, and reclaimed his seat two years later in 1936, when Utterbeck ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate. Utterbeck tried to regain his House in 1938, but Dowell defeated him decisively. Dowell filed for re-election in the 1940 race, but died due to heart disease in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on February 4, 1940."Dowell, Veteran Congressman of 6th District Dies," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1940-02-05, at 2. He was interred in Glendale Cemetery,

. In reporting his death, an Iowa newspaper reported that "only rarely did he participate in house debate but his influence upon legislation was strong. He was instrumental in securing veterans' hospitals for Des Moines and Knoxville, in the establishment of Camp Dodge during wartime, and in the erection of an $800,000 federal building on Des Moines' waterfront." After his death, Republican Robert K. Goodwin won the special election to complete his term, and Republican Paul Cunningham won the 1940 general election for a full term.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dowell, Cassius Clay 1864 births 1940 deaths American Disciples of Christ People from Indianola, Iowa Drake University alumni Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers Politicians from Des Moines, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa Drake University Law School alumni

Biography

See also

References

External links