Otha Wearin

Otha Wearin

Otha Donner Wearin (born January 10, 1903 in Hastings , Mills County , Iowa , †  April 3, 1990 in Glenwood , Iowa) was an American politician . Between 1933 and 1939 he represented the state of Iowa in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Otha Wearin was born on a farm near Hastings. He attended his homeland public schools including the Tabor Academy , which he graduated in 1920, and Grinnell College , which he left in 1924. He then worked his farm in Hastings. In the meantime he had already made a name for himself as the author of a number of articles that made it easier for him to get into politics. Wearin traveled to Europe and studied the forms of agriculture there. He published his findings in a book.

Politically, Wearin was a member of the Democratic Party . From 1926 to 1928 he was treasurer of the school district in his home country. Between 1928 and 1932 he was a member of the Iowa House of Representatives . In 1930 he was chairman of the Judicial Convention of the Democratic Party. In 1936 and 1940, Otha Wearin was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions , at which US President Franklin D. Roosevelt was each nominated for re-election.

In 1932, Wearin was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC in the seventh constituency of Iowa . There he succeeded Cassius C. Dowell of the Republican Party on March 4, 1933 . His election victory was part of the nationwide trend in favor of the Democrats, which culminated with the election of Franklin Roosevelt as president. After two re-elections, Wearin was able to complete three consecutive terms in Congress by January 3, 1939 . It was during this time that most of the Roosevelt administration's New Deal laws were discussed and passed in Congress. In 1933 the 21st amendment came into force, which repealed the alcohol ban after the 18th amendment of 1919.

In 1938, Wearin decided not to run again. Instead, with the support of President Roosevelt, he ran for his party's nomination for the US Senate elections . Roosevelt wanted to push incumbent Guy Gillette out of the Senate. The plan failed because Wearin could not prevail against Gillette in the primary. Then Wearin worked on his farm again and also remained active in literature. During World War II he was a member of the Alien Enemy Hearing Board in southern Iowa from 1941 to 1944 . Between 1948 and 1952 he was a member of his party's executive committee in Iowa. He was also a member of the Mills County Education Committee.

In 1950, Otha Wearin was again defeated in his party's Senate primary. Two years later he was also unsuccessful in the gubernatorial elections. Between 1959 and 1961 he was a member of the staff of Governor Herschel Loveless ; from 1965 to 1969 he worked on a commission that dealt with problems of aging. Then he withdrew from politics. He subsequently published other books and articles. He dealt with the history of Iowa and campaigned for environmental protection. He also raised cattle on his ranch near Hastings. Otha Wearin died on April 3, 1990 in Glenwood.

Web links

• Otha Wearin in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Otha Wearin in the database of Find a Grave (English)