Gilbert Nelson Haugen (April 21, 1859 – July 18, 1933) was a seventeen-term Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

from

Iowa's 4th congressional district Iowa's 4th congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers the western border of the state, including Sioux City, Iowa, Sioux City and Council Bluffs, Iowa, C ...

, then located in northeastern Iowa. For nearly five years, he was the longest-serving member of the House. Born before the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, and first elected to Congress in the 19th century, Haugen served until his defeat in the 1932

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

landslide. From 1928 to 1933, he was the longest-serving member of the House and was the

Dean of the United States House of Representatives The dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of United States House of Representatives, the House. The current dean is Hal Rogers, a Republican Party (United States), Republican from Kentucky, ...

Biography

Born near

Orfordville, Wisconsin Orfordville is a village in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States. It is located at the intersection of Highway 11 (Wisconsin), Highway 11, Highway 213 (Wisconsin), Highway 213, and the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad. The population was 1,473 at ...

, Haugen attended rural schools. He moved to

Decorah, Iowa Decorah is the largest city in and county seat of Winneshiek County, Iowa, Winneshiek County, Iowa, United States. The population was 7,587 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Decorah is located at the intersection of Iowa ...

, in 1873 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He attended Breckenridge College in Decorah, and Academic and Commercial College, in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

. After leaving college, Haugen engaged in various enterprises, principally real estate and banking. Moving to

Northwood, Iowa Northwood is a city and the county seat of Worth County, Iowa, United States, along the Shell Rock River. The population was 2,072 at the time of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Northwood is part of the Mason City, Iowa, Mason City M ...

in 1886, Haugen engaged in banking. In 1890, he organized the Northwood Banking Co. and became its president. He also served as treasurer of

Worth County, Iowa Worth County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 7,443. The county seat is Northwood, Iowa, Northwood. The county was founded in 1851 and na ...

, from 1887 to 1893. In 1894, Haugen was elected to his first of two terms in the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

, where he served until 1898. That year, he was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 4th congressional district in the U.S. House, first serving in the Fifty-sixth Congress. He was re-elected sixteen times. On April 5, 1917, he was one of the 50 representatives who voted against declaring war on Germany. He served as chairman of the Committee on Expenditures in the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

(in the Sixtieth Congress), and on the Committee on Agriculture (in the Sixty-sixth through Seventy-first Congresses). Haugen served as the U. S. Congressional Agriculture Committee's chairman from 1919 to 1931. Together with Senator

Charles L. McNary Charles Linza McNary (June 12, 1874February 25, 1944) was an American Republican politician from Oregon. He served in the U.S. Senate from 1917 to 1944 and was Senate Minority Leader from 1933 to 1944. In the Senate, McNary helped to pass leg ...

(R-Oregon), Haugen was the co-author of the

McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill The McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Act, which never became law, was a controversial plan in the 1920s to subsidize American agriculture by raising the domestic prices of five crops. The plan was for the government to buy each crop and then store it ...

, a moderate farm relief bill which was offered in three separate congresses before finally passing in 1927. The McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Act was a proposed bill to limit agricultural sales within the United States. Agricultural products would be either stored or exported to protect the prices of commodities. The bill was supported by

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

Henry C. Wallace Henry Cantwell Wallace (May 11, 1866 – October 25, 1924) was an American farmer, journalist, and political activist who served as the secretary of agriculture from 1921 to 1924 under Republican presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidg ...

and even Vice President

Charles Dawes Charles Gates Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was the 30th vice president of the United States from 1925 to 1929 under President Calvin Coolidge. He was a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925 for his work on the Dawes Plan for ...

; however, it was vetoed by President

Calvin Coolidge Calvin Coolidge (born John Calvin Coolidge Jr.; ; July 4, 1872January 5, 1933) was the 30th president of the United States, serving from 1923 to 1929. A Republican Party (United States), Republican lawyer from Massachusetts, he previously ...

, and never went into effect. In May 1928, Haugen had served longer than any of his House colleagues, earning him the informal title of

, a title that he would hold for five years. He was the last Republican Dean of the House for more than 84 years, until

Don Young Donald Edwin Young (June 9, 1933 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician from Alaska. He is the List of members of the United States Congress by longevity of service, longest-serving Republican Party (United States), Republican in House ...

assumed the title in 2017. In all, he served in Congress from March 4, 1899, to March 4, 1933. In 1932, Haugen, like many other Republican candidates, was defeated in the Roosevelt landslide, losing to Democratic publisher

Fred Biermann Frederick Elliott Biermann (March 20, 1884 – July 1, 1968) was an American politician who was a three-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa's 4th congressional district. Elected as part of the 1932 Roosevelt landslide, he was defeated wh ...

of Decorah. Several months after leaving Congress, Haugen died at Northwood, on July 18, 1933. He was interred in Sunset Rest Cemetery in Northwood.

References

Other sources

*Harstad, Peter T. & Lindemann, Bonnie (1992). ''Gilbert N. Haugen: Norwegian-American Farm Politician''. Iowa City: State Historical Society of Iowa. *Michael, Bonnie (July/August 1978). "Gilbert N. Haugen. Apprentice Congressman". ''

Palimpsest In textual studies, a palimpsest () is a manuscript page, either from a scroll or a book, from which the text has been scraped or washed off in preparation for reuse in the form of another document. Parchment was made of lamb, calf, or kid ski ...

''. 59: 118-129. *Murphy, Daniel D. (1911). ''Contested Election Case of D. D. Murphy v. G.N. Haugen from the Fourth Congressional District of Iowa''. Washington: Government Printing Office. *Schacht, John N. (1980). ''Three Progressives From Iowa: Gilbert N. Haugen, Herbert C. Hoover, Henry A. Wallace''. Iowa City: Center for the Study of the Recent History of the United States.

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haugen, Gilbert Nelson 1859 births 1933 deaths Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives American Lutherans American people of Norwegian descent People from Orfordville, Wisconsin People from Worth County, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Decorah, Iowa Deans of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century members of the Iowa General Assembly