Cassius C. Dowell

Who was Cassius C. Dowell?

Cassius Clay Dowell was a Republican U.S. Representative from Iowa. He served from 1915 to his death in 1940, except for a two-year period in 1935-36 resulting from a 1934 election loss.

Born on a farm near the unincorporated town of Summerset, Iowa in Warren County, Dowell attended the public schools, Baptist College in Des Moines, Iowa, and Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. In 1886 he graduated from the liberal arts department of Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa, and graduated from Drake University Law School the following year. He was admitted to the bar in 1888 and commenced practice in Des Moines.

From 1894 to 1898, Dowell served as member of the Iowa State House of Representatives. He served in the Iowa State Senate from 1902 to 1912.

In 1914, Dowell was elected as a Republican to represent Iowa's 7th congressional district. He was re-elected to this seat eight times, until reapportionment between 1930 and 1932 moved his home county into Iowa's 6th congressional district, prompting him to run for the seat in that district. He won the 1932 race by more than 13,000 votes], surviving the Roosevelt landslide.