Lloyd Thurston (March 27, 1880 – May 7, 1970) was a seven-term Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from southern

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 the ...

. First elected in 1924, he served until 1938, when he unsuccessfully sought election to the U.S. Senate. By his final term, he had served on three of the most powerful House committees. Born in Osceola, Iowa, Thurston attended the public schools. During the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

enlisted on June 13, 1898, as a private in Company I of the Iowa Volunteer Infantry's Fifty-first Regiment. He also served with this company during the

Philippine–American War The Philippine–American War or Filipino–American War ( es, Guerra filipina-estadounidense, tl, Digmaang Pilipino–Amerikano), previously referred to as the Philippine Insurrection or the Tagalog Insurgency by the United States, was an arm ...

, and was honorably discharged on November 2, 1899. In 1902, he graduated from the University of Iowa College of Law at

Iowa City, Iowa Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced private practice in Osceola. He served as a prosecuting attorney for

Clarke County, Iowa Clarke County is a county located in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,748. The county seat is Osceola. The county was formed in January 1846, one of twelve counties established by legislative action in a compr ...

from 1906 to 1910. Thurston served as captain in the Iowa National Guard from 1902 to 1906. During the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

served with the rank of captain in Company C, Twenty-sixth Battalion, of the United States Guards, at Fort Crook, Nebraska. After serving as member of the

Iowa Senate The Iowa Senate is the upper house of the Iowa General Assembly, United States. There are 50 seats in the Iowa Senate, representing 50 single-member districts across the state of Iowa with populations of approximately 60,927 per constituency, . ...

from 1920 to 1924, he ran for a seat in the U.S. House for

Iowa's 8th congressional district Iowa's 8th congressional district existed from 1873 to 1963. The district was configured five times. Although the district encompassed four different areas of Iowa in its ninety-year existence, it was always predominantly rural, and elected a R ...

that was open due to the retirement of

Hiram Kinsman Evans Hiram Kinsman Evans (March 17, 1863 – July 9, 1941) served part of one term as a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa's 8th congressional district. Born in Walnut Township, Wayne County, Iowa, Evans attended the country schools and Seymour ...

. He defeated populist Democrat Rev. LeRoy Munyon, by over 16,000 votes. After re-election landslides in 1926 and 1928, he survived a close challenge in 1930, winning by a margin of fewer than 1,600 votes. In 1931 Iowa lost two seats in Congress, requiring redistricting by the

Iowa General Assembly The Iowa General Assembly is the legislative branch of the state government of Iowa. Like the federal United States Congress, the General Assembly is a bicameral body, composed of the upper house Iowa Senate and the lower Iowa House of Repres ...

. Thurston's home county (Clarke County) was included in Iowa's 5th congressional district, where he ran for election in 1932. Unlike a majority of his colleagues in the Iowa house delegation, he survived the Roosevelt landslide, but by fewer than 200 votes out of over 100,000 votes cast. In 1933, Thurston voted in favor of certain key elements of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal, including the National Industrial Recovery Act and the Agricultural Adjustment Act. In the following election, in which Democrats generally retained the seats they had won in the 1932, Thurston widened his victory margin to over 5,000 votes. In 1936 he again won by a similar margin. By 1938, he had served on the House Committee on Rules, the House Appropriations Committee, and the House Ways and Means Committee. He was one of the leaders of the Republican opposition to Roosevelt's Judiciary Reorganization Bill of 1937, an unsuccessful effort to change the size of the U.S. Supreme Court to remove it as an obstacle to Roosevelt's social and economic legislation. Thurston was not a candidate for renomination to his House seat in 1938, but instead ran against former one-term Republican Senator

L. J. Dickinson Lester Jesse ("L. J." or "Dick") Dickinson (October 29, 1873June 4, 1968) was a Republican United States Representative and Senator from Iowa. He was, in the words of ''Time'' magazine, "a big, friendly, white-thatched Iowa lawyer."

for their party's nomination to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator

Guy M. Gillette Guy Mark Gillette (February 3, 1879March 3, 1973) was an American politician serving as a Democratic U.S. Representative and Senator from Iowa. In the U.S. Senate, Gillette was elected, re-elected, defeated, elected again, and defeated again. ...

. Thurston lost to Dickinson, who in turn lost a close contest in the general election to Gillette. Thurston resumed the practice of law in Osceola, Iowa. He died 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, ...

on May 7, 1970. He was interred in Maple Hill Cemetery, Osceola, Iowa.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Thurston, Lloyd 1880 births 1970 deaths University of Iowa College of Law alumni Republican Party Iowa state senators Iowa lawyers People from Clarke County, Iowa American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Iowa National Guard personnel United States Army officers American military personnel of the Philippine–American War American prosecutors National Guard (United States) officers Military personnel from Iowa United States Army personnel of World War I Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa People from Osceola, Iowa 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers