Wesley Abner D'Ewart (October 1, 1889 – September 2, 1973) was a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Republican

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from

Montana's 2nd congressional district Montana's second congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives that was apportioned after the 2020 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 United States House of Representati ...

from June 5, 1945, to January 3, 1955.

Early life

Wesley D'Ewart was born in

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

to William John D'Ewart and Mary Elizabeth Barnard.Scott, Kim Allen. “Historical Note.” Wesley D’Ewart Papers, 1936-1973. Montana State University, Special Collections and Archival Informatics, 2009. He attended Washington State College at Pullman. In 1910, D'Ewart moved to Wilsall,

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, where he settled in Park County. Before entering politics, D'Ewart worked in ranching and for the Forest Service.“D'Ewart, Wesley Abner.” History, Art & Archives: United States House of Representatives, 2021. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/12176.

Political career

Throughout his career, D’Ewart was a staunch member of the Republican Party. In 1936, D’Ewart was elected to the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

. He served there for three years, then was elected to the

Montana Senate The Montana State Senate is the upper house of the Montana Legislature, the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Montana. The body is composed of 50 senators elected for four years. Half of the Senate is up for election every two years. ...

in 1940. D’Ewart served in the Senate from 1941 to 1945. When United States Congressman James F. O'Connor, who represented

died on January 15, 1945, a special election was held to replace him, which D'Ewart won.Barrett, Evan. “Montana Voices: Special Election? That Sounds Familiar.” Missoula Current. Missoula Current, 2017. https://missoulacurrent.com/opinion/2017/03/montana-special-election-congress-evan-barrett/?print=print. He was re-elected in

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

against Democratic nominee John J. Holmes by a wide margin, and in

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

, he defeated Willard E. Fraser to narrowly win re-election. D'Ewart was re-elected in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

against John J. Holmes. Rather than seek re-election, D'Ewart ran for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

against incumbent Democratic Senator James E. Murray in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

. Following a close and contentious election, Murray narrowly defeated D'Ewart to win his final term in the Senate.Design. “Senator James E. Murray of Montana - The Knoxville Focus.” The Knoxville Focus. The Knoxville Focus, August 17, 2014. https://knoxfocus.com/archives/senator-james-e-murray-montana/. D'Ewart served as an assistant to the

United States Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organi ...

from January 1955 to September 1955. He was in charge of lands and reclamation.Van, Dusen George. “Politics of ‘Partnership’: The Eisenhower Administration and Conservation, 1952-60,” 1974. He was Assistant Secretary of the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

from October 1955 to July 1956. From August 1956 to October 1958 he was a special representative for the Secretary of Agriculture. When incumbent Governor J. Hugo Aronson declined to seek reelection as

Governor of Montana A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, D'Ewart ran to succeed him, and lost to former

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Donald Grant Nutter in the Republican primary by fewer than five hundred votes. (Nutter went on to win the general election.)

Publications

* D'Ewart, Wesley Abner. ''Promoting the interests of the Fort Fall Indian irrigation project, Idaho.'' House Report: 80th Congress, 2nd Session, June 15, 1948. * D'Ewart, Wesley Abner. ''Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands.'' House Report: 83rd Congress, 2nd Session, July 9, 1954. * D'Ewart, Wesley. ''Eisenhower Administration Project.'' ew York Columbia University Oral History Research Office, 1967.

Later years

D’Ewart retired from politics and lived in Wilsall, Montana. During his retirement, D’Ewart remained active in the Republican Party. He followed Montana elections closely and worked as an activist and strategist. D'Ewart was a director of the National Water Resources Association, and he served on the Western States Water Council from 1966 to 1969. He died in

Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. Hist ...

, on September 2, 1973. D'Ewart was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Livingston.Our Campaigns - Candidate - Wesley Abner D'Ewart. Accessed April 5, 2021. https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=47272. His papers are now held by the Montana State University Library's Archives and Special Collections.

References

External links

* Wesley A. D'Ewart Papers, (1936-1973), Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections,

Montana State University Montana State University (MSU) is a public land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana, United States. It enrolls more students than any other college or university in the state. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's d ...

br>Library.

The Reminiscences of Wesley A. D'Ewart: Oral History, 1972.
Interview conducted by Roy Huffman and Jeffrey J. Safford, both employed by Montana State University during the 1970s. Held at Montana State University'
Archives and Special Collections
* * Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands
Readex online.
* Fort Hall Indian Irrigation Project
Readex online.
{{DEFAULTSORT:DEwart, Wesley A. 1889 births 1973 deaths Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Washington State University alumni People from Park County, Montana Republican Party members of the Montana House of Representatives Republican Party Montana state senators Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature