Iowa's 9th congressional district
Iowa's 9th congressional district | |
---|---|
Obsolete district | |
Created | 1870 |
Eliminated | 1940 |
Years active | 1873–1943 |
Iowa's 9th congressional district existed from 1873 to 1943. The district was configured four times, first as part of a nine-district plan, then twice in eleven-district plans, then again in a nine-district plan. In the nine-district plans, the Ninth District encompassed the northwestern corner of Iowa, but in the eleven-district plans it encompassed Council Bluffs and nine surrounding counties.
Phase one: 1873–1883
Based on the 1870 census, Iowa's
Phase two: 1883 to 1887
The 1880 census caused Iowa to receive two more seats in the House, requiring reapportionment of the state into eleven districts.[1] The former Ninth District in northwestern Iowa was generally divided to create the new 11th and 10th districts.[1] When southwest and south-central Iowa were divided among four districts rather than three, the new Ninth District was created. It included Crawford County (of the old Ninth District) and Harrison, Shelby, Audubon, Pottawattamie, Cass, Mills, Montgomery, and Fremont counties (of the old Eighth District).[1] It included Council Bluffs in Pottawattamie County, across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska and the historical starting point of the transcontinental railroad.
Only two elections were held under this configuration. Voters elected Democrat
Phase three: 1887 to 1933
The Iowa General Assembly soon readjusted the boundaries of the eleven-district map, allegedly to increase the number of Republican victories.
Lyman retained his seat after reapportionment, and he was followed by
The General Assembly's 45-year failure to reapportion congressional districts resulted in malapportionment, which was particularly severe in certain districts in Iowa. Residents of three other southern Iowa districts (the 1st, 6th, and 8th) gained in per capita influence as the districts' population growth slowed or reversed.[5] The 9th district did not decline in political influence as much as districts that were oversized for too long (like the 10th and 11th) and districts with Iowa's largest cities (like the 2nd, 3rd and 7th). Instead, it was one of three Iowa districts that, by 1920, deviated less than a ten percent from the ideal "one person, one vote" population.[5]
Phase four: 1933 to 1943
The 1930 census reflected that Iowa, like other rural Great Plains states, had not grown as much as states such as California, causing Iowa to lose seats in Congress for the first time. It lost two seats, forcing the Republican-dominated 1931 General Assembly to adopt a nine-district plan. As in 1872, the Ninth District included Sioux City and the northwestern corner of Iowa, but this time it included only thirteen counties (Dickinson, Clay, Buena Vista, Sac, Ida, Cherokee, O'Brien, Osceola, Lyon, Sioux, Plymouth, Woodbury, and Monona).[6]
The first election under the nine-district plan, in 1932, coincided with the
The district was eliminated after the 1940 census. All of the district was renamed the 8th district with the exception of Monona County, which was placed in the 7th district.
List of members representing the district
Member (District Residence (County)) |
Party | Years | Cong ress |
Electoral history |
---|---|---|---|---|
District created March 4, 1873 | ||||
Jackson Orr (Boone) |
Republican | March 4, 1873 – March 3, 1875 |
43rd | Redistricted from the re-elected in 1872 .Retired. |
S. Addison Oliver (Onawa) |
Republican | March 4, 1875 – March 3, 1879 |
44th 45th |
Re-elected in 1876 .Retired. |
Cyrus C. Carpenter (Fort Dodge) |
Republican | March 4, 1879 – March 3, 1883 |
46th 47th |
Re-elected in 1880 .Retired. |
William H. M. Pusey )
(Council Bluffs |
Democratic | March 4, 1883 – March 3, 1885 |
48th | Elected in 1882 .Lost re-election. |
Joseph Lyman (Council Bluffs) |
Republican | March 4, 1885 – March 3, 1889 |
49th 50th |
Re-elected in 1886 .Retired. |
Joseph R. Reed (Council Bluffs) |
Republican | March 4, 1889 – March 3, 1891 |
51st | Elected in 1888 .Lost re-election. |
Thomas Bowman )
(Council Bluffs |
Democratic | March 4, 1891 – March 3, 1893 |
52nd | Elected in 1890 .Retired. |
Alva L. Hager (Greenfield) |
Republican | March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1899 |
53rd 54th 55th |
Re-elected in 1896 .Lost renomination. |
Smith McPherson (Red Oak) |
Republican | March 4, 1899 – June 6, 1900 |
56th | Elected in 1898. .
Resigned when appointed judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Iowa |
Vacant | June 6, 1900 – December 3, 1900 |
|||
Walter I. Smith (Council Bluffs) |
Republican | December 3, 1900 – March 15, 1911 |
56th 57th 58th 59th 60th 61st 62nd |
Re-elected in 1910.
Resigned when appointed judge of the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit |
Vacant | March 15, 1911 – June 5, 1911 |
62nd | ||
William R. Green (Council Bluffs) |
Republican | June 5, 1911 – March 31, 1928 |
62nd 63rd 64th 65th 66th 67th 68th 69th 70th |
Re-elected in 1926. .
Resigned when appointed a judge of the US Court of Claims |
Vacant | March 31, 1928 – June 4, 1928 |
70th | ||
Earl W. Vincent (Guthrie Center) |
Republican | June 4, 1928 – March 3, 1929 |
Elected to finish Green's term .Lost renomination. | |
Charles E. Swanson )
(Council Bluffs |
Republican | March 4, 1929 – March 3, 1933 |
71st 72nd |
Re-elected in 1930. and lost re-election.
Redistricted to the 7th district |
Guy Gillette (Cherokee) |
Democratic | March 4, 1933 – November 3, 1936 |
73rd 74th |
run for U.S. senator and resigned when elected.
|
Vacant | November 3, 1936 – January 3, 1937 |
74th | ||
Vincent F. Harrington (Sioux City) |
Democratic | January 3, 1937 – September 5, 1942 |
75th 76th 77th |
US Army .
|
Vacant | September 5, 1942 – November 3, 1942 |
77th | ||
Harry E. Narey (Spirit Lake) |
Republican | November 3, 1942 – January 3, 1943 |
Elected to finish Woodbury's term .Retired. | |
District eliminated January 3, 1943 |
See also
References
- ^ a b c "Congressional Map of the State of Iowa - Official Census 1885" (Iowa Official Register 1886 Archived 2006-05-19 at the Wayback Machine at pp. 12-13).
- ^ a b c "The Congressional Districts," Waterloo Courier, 1886-04-14.
- ^ Editorial from Davenport Democrat, reprinted in "Iowa Press Pointers," Cedar Rapids Evening Gazette, 1886-04-13 at p. 2.
- ^ Iowa Official Register 1929-30 Archived 2013-11-12 at the Wayback Machine at p. 3.
- ^ a b Editorial, "A Brilliant Idea," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1921-01-26 at 6.
- ^ Iowa Official Register 1933-34 Archived 2011-07-25 at the Wayback Machine at p. 6.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1989). The Historical Atlas of Political Parties in the United States Congress. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Martis, Kenneth C. (1982). The Historical Atlas of United States Congressional Districts. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company.
- Congressional Biographical Directory of the United States 1774–present