American politician
Burton Erwin Sweet
(December 10, 1867 – January 3, 1957) was a four-term Republican
U.S. Representative
from
Iowa's 3rd congressional district
, then a wide but short chain of counties in north-central and northeastern Iowa, in the shape of a monkey wrench.
Born on a farm near
Waverly, Iowa
, Sweet attended the common schools and the
Iowa State Normal School
at
Cedar Falls
. He graduated from
Cornell College
in
Mount Vernon, Iowa
in 1893, and from the
University of Iowa College of Law
at
Iowa City
in 1895. He was
admitted to the bar
in 1895 and commenced practice in Waverly. He was Waverly's
city solicitor
from 1896 to 1899. In 1900 he was elected to the first of two two-year terms in the
Iowa House of Representatives
. In 1902, after 3rd congressional district Congressman and
Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
David B. Henderson
announced his retirement from Congress, Sweet finished third on each convention ballot for the Republican nomination, losing to
Benjamin P. Birdsall
.
[1]
In 1904, when Sweet's final term in the legislature ended, he served as delegate to the
Republican National Convention
. He was also a member of the Republican State Central Committee from 1902 to 1906. Although he was a lawyer, he also owned two sections of farmland.
In 1908, Sweet was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for the seat vacated by Congressman Birdsall. He was defeated by
Charles E. Pickett
,
[2]
who won the general election and was re-elected to a second term in 1910.
In 1914, Sweet was elected as a
Republican
to represent Iowa's 3rd congressional district in the
Sixty-fourth Congress
, replacing incumbent Democratic Congressman
Maurice Connolly
(who had run for the U.S. Senate).
[3]
He was re-elected three consecutive times. In 1922, an opportunity to run for the
U.S. Senate
arose because Iowa Senator
William S. Kenyon
resigned before the completion of his term to accept an appointment as federal judge, thus forcing a special election. Instead of running for a fifth term in the House, Sweet ran for Kenyon's former seat. In a six-way Republican primary, Sweet lost to insurgent
Smith W. Brookhart
.
[4]
In all, Sweet served in the House from March 4, 1915, to March 3, 1923.
Sweet resumed the practice of law. Two years later, however, Sweet had another opportunity to run for the same Senate seat, and by then Brookhart had lost the support of Iowa Republican Party leaders because of his anti-business, pro-
union
stances, and this time Sweet was Brookhart's only serious challenger in the Republican Primary. However, Brookhart won the Primary again, defeating Sweet again, this time by over 30,000 votes.
[5]
Sweet died in
Waverly, Iowa
, on January 3, 1957. He was interred in Harlington Cemetery.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Birdsall Winner,' Waterloo Daily Reporter, 1902-09-25 at p.1.
- ^
"C.E. Pickett is Nominated," Waterloo Daily Courier, 1908-02-03 at p.1.
- ^
"Republicans Elect Entire Ia. Ticket by Big Majority," The Des Moines News, 1914-11-04 at p. 1.
- ^
"Brookhart Given 41.1 Percent on All Primary Ballots," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1922-06-07 at 1.
- ^
"Brookhart wins by 32,000; no choice for governor," Davenport Democrat-Leader, 1924-06-04 at p. 1.
This article incorporates
public domain material
from the
Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
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