Otha Wearin

Otha Donner Wearin (* January 10, 1903 in Hastings, Mills County, Iowa, † April 3, 1990 in Glenwood, Iowa ) was an American politician. Between 1933 and 1939 he represented the state of Iowa in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

Otha Wearin was born on a farm near Hastings. He attended the public schools of his home including the Tabor Academy, where he graduated in 1920, and Grinnell College, which he left in 1924. After that he managed his farm in Hastings. In the meantime, he had already made as an author of some articles a name that is easier for him to enter into politics. Wearin toured Europe and studied the local forms of agriculture. His findings, he published in a book.

Politically, Wearin a member of the Democratic Party. From 1926 to 1928 he was treasurer of the school district in his home. Between 1928 and 1932 he sat as an MP in the House of Representatives from Iowa. In 1930 he was chairman of the Law Commission ( Judicial Convention ) of the Democratic Party. In the years 1936 and 1940 Otha Wearin was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention, where U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt was nominated for each of the re-election.

1932 Wearin the seventh constituency of Iowa was in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington DC selected. There he entered on March 4, 1933, the successor of Cassius C. Dowell of the Republican Party. His election victory was part of the nationwide trends in favor of the Democrats, which culminated with the election of Franklin Roosevelt as president. After two elections Wearin was able to complete in Congress until January 3, 1939 three consecutive legislative sessions. During this time, most of the New Deal legislation of the Roosevelt administration were discussed and approved by Congress. In 1933, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution came into force, which quashed the ban on alcohol after the 18th Amendment to the Constitution of 1919 again.

In 1938 Wearin opted not to run again. Instead, he applied with the support of President Roosevelt at his party's nomination for election to the U.S. Senate. Roosevelt wanted to knock out as incumbent Guy Gillette from the Senate. The plan failed because Wearin could not prevail against Gillette in the primaries. Then again Wearin worked on his farm and remained active in literature. During the Second World War, he was from 1941 to 1944 Member of the Alien Enemy Hearing Board in southern Iowa. Between 1948 and 1952 he was on the board of his party in Iowa. He was a member of the Education Committee in Mills County.

In 1950, Otha Wearin defeated again in the Senate primaries of his party. Two years later he was also unsuccessful in the gubernatorial primaries. Between 1959 and 1961 he was a member of the staff of Governor Herschel Loveless; 1965 to 1969 he worked with in a commission dealing with the problems of aging. After he retired from politics. As a result, he published more books and articles. He dealt with the history of Iowa and campaigned for environmental protection. On his ranch at Hastings he also raised cattle. Otha Wearin died April 3, 1990 in Glenwood.