Bolivar Edwards Kemp Sr. (December 28, 1871, St. Helena Parish,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

– June 19, 1933, Amite, Louisiana), was an attorney and a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Louisiana's 6th congressional district. In 1897, Kemp earned his legal degree from the

Louisiana State University Law Center The Paul M. Hebert Law Center, often styled "LSU Law", is a public law school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It is part of the Louisiana State University System and located on the main campus of Louisiana State University. Because Louisiana is a ci ...

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

and began his law practice in Amite, the

parish seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equivalent term, shire town, is used in ...

Tangipahoa Parish Tangipahoa Parish () is a parish located on the southeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 133,157. The parish seat is Amite City, while the largest city is Hammond. Southeastern Louisiana ...

, one of the

Florida Parishes The Florida Parishes, on the east side of the Mississippi River—an area also known as the Northshore or Northlake region—are eight parishes in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Louisiana. The Florida Parishes were part of what ...

. In 1910, he was appointed a member of the influential

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

Board of Supervisors. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, Kemp won the 1924 primary election for the 6th district seat and was unopposed in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

. He ran unopposed in 1926, 1928, and 1930, and he defeated two primary opponents to win a fifth term in 1932. Kemp worked for passage of

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...

flood-control legislation, the

Great Mississippi Flood The Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 was the most destructive river flood in the history of the United States, with inundated in depths of up to over the course of several months in early 1927. The period cost of the damage has been estimate ...

having occurred in 1927. On June 19, 1933, Bolivar Kemp died unexpectedly of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

at his home in Amite three weeks after the similar death of his brother and law partner, William Breed Kemp Jr. His seat ordinarily would have been filled through a special primary and general election. In early December 1933,

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Oscar K. Allen declared that a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

would be held eight days from the date of his announcement, and he named Kemp's widow, the former Esther Edwards Conner, known as "Lallie" Kemp, as the "unopposed" Democratic nominee. Many protested the announcement, and ballots were destroyed or burned in several locations within the district. After state election officials nevertheless declared Lallie Kemp the winner of the special election, a committee of citizens staged a "revolt election", won by

Jared Y. Sanders Jr. Jared Young Sanders Jr. (April 20, 1892 - November 29, 1960) was an American lawyer and politician who served three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1934 to 1937 and again from 1941 to 1943. He was the son of Louisiana governor Jar ...

, supported by district

conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

and anti-

Huey Long Huey Pierce Long Jr. (August 30, 1893September 10, 1935), nicknamed "The Kingfish", was an American politician who served as the 40th governor of Louisiana from 1928 to 1932 and as a United States senator from 1932 until his assassination i ...

elements. In January 1934, Mrs. Kemp and Sanders presented their competing claims to the House. The

United States House Committee on Elections The United States House Committee on Elections is a former standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Article 1, section 5, of the Constitution of the United States specifies: "Each House shall be the Judge of the Elections, ...

refused to seat either candidate, and the full House approved the committee report by voice vote. Lallie Kemp declined to run in the subsequent May 1 special election in which Sanders defeated Harry D. Wilson, the Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry. The Kemps' son, Bolivar Edwards Kemp Jr., a son-in-law of Harry Wilson, served as the

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana () has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-year term and is the chief legal officer of t ...

from 1948 to 1952, between the two terms of Fred S. LeBlanc of Baton Rouge. Lallie Kemp, who died in 1943, was appointed in 1937 by Governor Richard Leche to the Louisiana Hospital Board. She is honored by the naming of the medical center, a critical access hospital, in Independence. Bolivar E. Kemp was

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. He is interred beside his wife and son at Amite Cemetery.

References

External links

Obituary, ''Ponchatoula Enterprise'', June 23, 1933
*, ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

'', December 18, 1933
New York Times obituary, June 20, 1933 (subscription required)"Louisiana Contest Up in House Today"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', January 3, 1934 (subscription required)
"House Upholds Ban on Louisiana Seat"
''The New York Times'', January 30, 1934 (subscription required)
"Quits Louisiana Race"
''The New York Times'', March 19, 1934 (subscription required) {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Bolivar E. 1871 births 1933 deaths American lawyers Louisiana State University Law Center alumni People from St. Helena Parish, Louisiana People from Amite City, Louisiana American Episcopalians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana Kemp family 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

See also

References

External links