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Gilbert N. Haugen | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Haughen, 1905–1933 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 4th district | |
| In office March 4, 1899 – March 3, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Updegraff |
| Succeeded by | Fred Biermann |
| 33rd Dean of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office May 16, 1928 – March 4, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas S. Butler |
| Succeeded by | Edward W. Pou |
| Member of theIowa House of Representatives | |
| In office 1894–1898 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gilbert Nelson Haugen April 21, 1859 |
| Died | July 18, 1933(1933-07-18) (aged 74) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Profession | Banker |
Gilbert Nelson Haugen (April 21, 1859 – July 18, 1933) was a seventeen-term RepublicanU.S. Representative fromIowa's 4th congressional district, then located in northeastern Iowa. For nearly five years, he was the longest-serving member of the House. Born before theAmerican Civil War, and first elected to Congress in the 19th century, Haugen served until his defeat in the 1932Franklin D. Roosevelt landslide.[1]
From 1928 to 1933, he was the longest-serving member of the House and was theDean of the United States House of Representatives.
Born nearOrfordville, Wisconsin, Haugen attended rural schools. He moved toDecorah, Iowa, in 1873 and engaged in agricultural pursuits. He attended Breckenridge College in Decorah, and Academic and Commercial College, inJanesville, Wisconsin. After leaving college, Haugen engaged in various enterprises, principally real estate and banking. Moving toNorthwood, Iowa in 1886, Haugen engaged in banking. In 1890, he organized the Northwood Banking Co. and became its president. He also served as treasurer ofWorth County, Iowa, from 1887 to 1893.[1]
In 1894, Haugen was elected to his first of two terms in theIowa House of Representatives, 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 theFifty-sixth Congress. He was re-elected sixteen times.[2] 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 theDepartment of the Interior (in theSixtieth Congress), and on theCommittee on Agriculture (in theSixty-sixth throughSeventy-first Congresses).[3][4]
Haugen served as the U. S. Congressional Agriculture Committee's chairman from 1919 to 1931. Together with SenatorCharles L. McNary (R-Oregon), Haugen was the co-author of theMcNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill, 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 bySecretary of AgricultureHenry C. Wallace and even Vice PresidentCharles Dawes; however, it was vetoed by PresidentCalvin Coolidge, and never went into effect.[4]
In May 1928, Haugen had served longer than any of his House colleagues, earning him the informal title ofDean of the United States House of Representatives, a title that he would hold for five years. He was the last Republican Dean of the House for more than 84 years, untilDon Young 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 publisherFred Biermann of Decorah. Several months after leaving Congress, Haugen died at Northwood, on July 18, 1933. He was interred in Sunset Rest Cemetery in Northwood.
Media related toGilbert N. Haugen at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 4th congressional district 1899–1933 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chairman of theHouse Agriculture Committee 1919–1931 | Succeeded by |
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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