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John L. Dawson

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American politician (1813–1870)
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John L. Dawson
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
In office
March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1867
Preceded byJames K. Moorhead
Succeeded byJohn Covode
Constituency21st district
In office
March 4, 1851 – March 3, 1855
Preceded byAndrew J. Ogle
Succeeded byJonathan Knight
Constituency18th district (1851–1853)
20th district (1853–1855)
Personal details
Born(1813-02-07)February 7, 1813
Uniontown, Pennsylvania, US
DiedSeptember 18, 1870(1870-09-18) (aged 57)
Springfield Township, Pennsylvania, US
Political partyDemocratic

John Littleton Dawson (February 7, 1813 – September 18, 1870) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Early life and education

Dawson was born in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, and grew up in Brownsville, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Washington College with a degree in law, was granted admission to the bar in 1835, and ran a small law practice. He served as deputy attorney general for Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in 1838, and as district attorney for the western district of Pennsylvania from 1845 until 1848.

Political career

In 1848, he unsuccessfully ran for congress as a Democrat, but on subsequent attempts he was elected and served in the 32nd and 33rd congresses, from March 4, 1851, until March 3, 1855, when he stepped down, declining the nomination for the next term. While serving as a congressman he was the chairman of the Committee on Agriculture.

During his time away from congress, President Franklin Pierce offered him the governorship of Kansas Territory, but he declined so that he could run for congress again, which he was elected to again in 1863, and served on the 38th and 39th congresses from March 4, 1863, until March 3, 1867. His vote on the Thirteenth Amendment is recorded as nay.

He was a delegate to Democratic National Convention from Pennsylvania, 1844, 1848, 1860, 1868.

He retired to his home in Springfield Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where he died at age 57. He was interred at Christ Episcopal Churchyard in Brownsville.

In 1860, he was honored as the namesake of Dawson County, Nebraska, in what was then Nebraska Territory.

Sources

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded byAndrew Jackson Ogle Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district
1851–1853 		Succeeded byJohn McCulloch
Preceded byJohn Allison Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 20th congressional district
1853–1855 		Succeeded byJonathan Knight
Preceded byJames K. Moorhead Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 21st congressional district
1863–1867 		Succeeded byJohn Covode
Chairmen of the United States House Committee on Agriculture
Seal of the United States House of Representatives
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