Walter Hughes Newton (October 10, 1880 – August 10, 1941) was a

United States 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 ...

from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

; born in

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

Hennepin County, Minnesota Hennepin County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Minnesota. Its county seat is Minneapolis, the state's most populous city. The county is named in honor of the 17th-century explorer Father Louis Hennepin. The county extends from Minneap ...

; attended the public schools and was graduated from the law department of the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public land-grant research university in the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. ...

at Minneapolis in 1905; was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in Minneapolis, Minnesota; first assistant prosecuting attorney of Hennepin County 1914 – 1918; elected as a Republican to the 66th, 67th, 68th, 69th, 70th, and 71st congresses, from March 4, 1919, until his resignation on June 30, 1929.

Congress

Congress in 1928 and 1929 adopted what was known as the "Newton Bill," to divide the jurisdiction of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, creating the Tenth Circuit, which sits in Denver. This was the first change in the geography of the federal courts since the present system of courts of appeals was created in 1891. The enormous Eighth Circuit had encompassed all the territory from the Mississippi (except Texas and part of Louisiana) almost to the states of the West Coast. Congressman Newton's plan resolved multiple disputes among the American Bar Association, the courts, and both Houses. Newton's solution was to divide the states along a North/South boundary, creating the Tenth Circuit as encompassing Oklahoma, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah and New Mexico, thereby leaving a somewhat unified grouping of Eighth Circuit states sharing the Mississippi/Missouri river system, from Minnesota and the Dakotas to Arkansas. The likeliest pre-Newton plan would have divided the circuit along a boundary from East to West.

After Congress

Newton left Congress upon his appointment as personal secretary to President

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was an American politician who served as the 31st president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 and a member of the Republican Party, holding office during the onset of the Gre ...

. He served in that capacity until March 3, 1933; regent of the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Found ...

; appointed a member of the

Federal Home Loan Bank Board The Federal Home Loan Bank Board (FHLBB) was a board created in 1932 that governed the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLB or FHLBanks) also created by the act, the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and nationally-chartered thrifts ...

by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933 and served until 1934 when he resumed the practice of law in Minneapolis, Minnesota; also engaged as an author; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1936 to the

75th Congress The 75th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1937 ...

; appointed Federal

Referee in Bankruptcy A Referee in Bankruptcy or Bankruptcy Referee was a federal official with quasi-judicial powers, appointed by a United States district court to administer bankruptcy proceedings, prior to 1979. The office was first created by the Bankruptcy Act of ...

in 1938 and served until his death in Minneapolis, Minnesota, August 10, 1941; interment in Lakewood Cemetery.

Sources

External links

* Personal secretaries to the President of the United States Baptists from Minnesota University of Minnesota Law School alumni 1880 births 1941 deaths Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota 20th-century American politicians 20th-century Baptists {{Minnesota-politician-stub