James Benjamin Aswell Sr. (December 23, 1869 – March 16, 1931) was a prominent educator and a Democratic

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

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 ...

, who served from 1913 until his death, which occurred twelve days into his tenth term.

Life and career

Aswell was born in the Vernon community in rural Jackson Parish in north Louisiana to Benjamin W. and Elizabeth A. (Lyles) Aswell . He graduated with teaching credentials in 1892 from

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

. In 1893, he received the Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Nashville University of Nashville was a private university in Nashville, Tennessee. It was established in 1806 as Cumberland College. It existed as a distinct entity until 1909; operating at various times a medical school, a four-year military college, a ...

, and received a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

at Fayetteville the following year. In 1907, he obtained his

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Some law degrees are professional degrees that are prerequisites or serve as preparation for legal careers. These generally include the Bachelor of Civil Law, Bachelor of Laws, an ...

from the same institution. He was a state school administrator before he was selected to be president of Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, now

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

, in 1900. He resigned in 1904 after being elected as Louisiana Superintendent of Education in 1904. He resigned his position in 1908 to be president of Louisiana State Normal School, now

Northwestern State University Northwestern State University of Louisiana (NSULA) is a public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport, Louisiana, Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville, Louisiana, Leesville/Fort Jo ...

. Aswell resigned his position in 1911 to run unsuccessfully for governor in the 1912 Democratic primary. He was defeated by Luther E. Hall, who served in the state's highest office from 1912 to 1916. Later that year, Aswell was elected to the U.S. House from the newly created 8th congressional district, based around Natchitoches and

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

. Aswell was reelected nine times. During the 1920s, he was the ranking minority member of the

House Agriculture Committee The United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agricul ...

. He worked with the Louisiana

naturalist Natural history is a domain of inquiry involving organisms, including animals, fungi, and plants, in their natural environment, leaning more towards observational than experimental methods of study. A person who studies natural history is cal ...

Caroline Dormon Caroline "Carrie" Coroneos Dormon (July 19, 1888 – November 21, 1971) was an American naturalist, ethnographer, and writer in Louisiana. She was a pioneer conservationist and was involved in the establishment of the Kisatchie National Forest and ...

to establish the

Kisatchie National Forest Kisatchie National Forest, the only National forest in Louisiana, United States, is located in the forested piney hills and hardwood bottoms of seven central and northern parishes. It is part of the Cenozoic uplands (some of Louisiana's oldest ...

in his district. He died in Washington, D.C., and is interred there in

Rock Creek Cemetery Rock Creek Cemetery is an cemetery with a natural and rolling landscape located at Rock Creek Church Road, NW, and Webster Street, NW, off Hawaii Avenue, NE, in the Petworth (Washington, D.C.), Petworth neighborhood of Washington, D.C., across ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aswell, James Benjamin 1869 births 1931 deaths People from Jackson Parish, Louisiana Louisiana Democrats Educators from Louisiana Louisiana lawyers Peabody College alumni University of Arkansas alumni University of Arkansas School of Law alumni People from Natchitoches, Louisiana Presidents of Louisiana Tech University Presidents of Northwestern State University Burials at Rock Creek Cemetery Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives