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, 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

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 ...

, 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 Jackson Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Jackson'') is a parish in the northern part of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 15,031. The parish seat is Jonesboro. The parish was formed in 1845 from parts of Clai ...

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 ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) 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. Tho ...

degree from the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

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

law degree A law degree is an academic degree conferred for studies in law. Such degrees are generally preparation for legal careers. But while their curricula may be reviewed by legal authority, they do not confer a license themselves. A legal license is gra ...

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 research university in Ruston, Louisiana. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activ ...

, 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. Aswell resigned his position in 1911 to run unsuccessfully for governor in the 1912 Democratic primary. He was defeated by

Luther E. Hall Luther Egbert Hall (August 30, 1869 – November 6, 1921) was the 35th governor of Louisiana from 1912 to 1916. Prior to that, he was a state senator from 1898 to 1900, a state district judge from 1900 to 1906, and state appellate judge from 1 ...

, 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 ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

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

House Agriculture Committee The U.S. House 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 agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

. He worked with the Louisiana naturalist

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

to establish the Kisatchie National Forest in his district. He died in Washington, D.C., and is interred there in Rock Creek Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aswell, James Benjamin 1869 births 1931 deaths People from Jackson Parish, Louisiana Louisiana Democrats Members of the United States House of Representatives from Louisiana 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