Hewitt Leonidas Bouanchaud (August 19, 1877 – October 17, 1950) was a Democratic politician in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...
of
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
. A native of
Pointe Coupee Parish
Pointe Coupee Parish ( or ; french: Paroisse de la Pointe-Coupée) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 22,802; in 2020, its population was 20,758. The parish seat is New Roads.
Pointe ...
gubernatorial
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
candidate John M. Parker, a Democrat formerly affiliated with the
Progressive Party Progressive Party may refer to:
Active parties
* Progressive Party, Brazil
* Progressive Party (Chile)
* Progressive Party of Working People, Cyprus
* Dominica Progressive Party
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* Progressive Party (Sardinia), Ita ...
. Among Bouanchaud's opponents was state court Judge Philip H. Gilbert of
Assumption Parish
Assumption Parish (french: Paroisse de l'Assomption, es, Parroquia de la Asunción) is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2010 census, the population was 23,421. Its parish seat is Napoleonville. Assumption Parish was ...
, who was subsequently the interim lieutenant governor from 1926 to 1928.
As the former House Speaker, Bouanchaud was chosen president of the Louisiana Constitutional Convention in 1921. The document produced by that convention remained in force until 1975 during the administration of
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Edwin Edwards.
In 1924, Lieutenant Governor Bouanchaud ran for governor against Henry L. Fuqua, and Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Bouanchaud and Fuqua received the most votes in the first Democratic primary held on January 15, 1924, with Long of
Winnfield
Winnfield is a small city in, and the parish seat of, Winn Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 5,749 at the 2000 census, and 4,840 in 2010. Three governors of the state of Louisiana were from Winnfield.
, having been eliminated from contention that year. Long then gained the governorship four years later in 1928. Fuqua defeated Bouanchaud in the second Democratic primary held on February 19, 1924.
Bouanchaud was the brother of longtime Pointe Coupee Parish SheriffLamartine Bouanchaud. His great-niece, Mary Blanche Crosby Brown (1923-2013), was the wife of J. Marshall Brown, a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from
Louisiana Democratic Party
The Louisiana Democratic Party (french: Parti démocrate de Louisiane) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the state of Louisiana.
Dominated by the conservative planter elite through much of the 19th century, the party was historically p ...
. The Bouanchauds were sons of James Alcide Bouanchaud, a captain of the Pointe Coupee Battery for the
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
during the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...
. Alcide Bouanchaud later became a state district court judge. Hewitt Bouanchaud's nephew, Alcide "Bub" Bouanchaud, and his great-great nephew. Paul Raymond Smith, both served as sheriff in Pointe Coupee Parish.
Bouanchaud was preceded as Speaker by
Lee Emmett Thomas
Lee may refer to:
Name
Given name
* Lee (given name), a given name in English
Surname
* Chinese surnames romanized as Li or Lee:
** Li (surname 李) or Lee (Hanzi ), a common Chinese surname
** Li (surname 利) or Lee (Hanzi ), a Chinese s ...
* Curet, Bernard. "Ponte Coupee: Her Place in History." ''
Acadiana Profile
''Acadiana Profile'' is a bi-monthly magazine published in the American state of Louisiana. It is the longest-running magazine in the state's history, and one of the most enduring regional publications in the United States. Subtitled "The Magazi ...