James Miller Hazlett

James Miller Hazlett (October 14, 1864 – November 8, 1941) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania who served one term in Congress from 1927 to 1929. His brief congressional tenure took place during a significant period in American history, as the nation moved through the prosperity of the 1920s toward the political realignments that would follow. As a member of the House of Representatives, Hazlett participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his Pennsylvania constituents as part of the Republican Party.

Hazlett was born in Derry, Ireland, on October 14, 1864. When he was two years old, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in South Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Growing up in an immigrant family in a rapidly industrializing city, he was introduced early to manual trades and the working life that would shape his early career and inform his later public service.

In 1881 Hazlett began working in his father’s blacksmith shop in South Philadelphia. He became engaged as a farrier, shoeing horses and working in related blacksmith trades, a profession he pursued until 1915. This long period of work in a skilled trade connected him closely with the everyday concerns of working Philadelphians and provided him with a base of local recognition and community ties that aided his entry into municipal politics.

Hazlett’s political career began in earnest in 1896, when he was nominated and elected to the Philadelphia Common Council. He served in the city’s councils for sixteen years, rising in influence and responsibility. By 1911 he had become president of the select council, a position he held until his resignation that year. Over these years he also held a variety of other municipal offices in Philadelphia, contributing to the governance and administration of the city during a period of substantial urban growth and political change.

Building on his long record in local government, Hazlett was elected as a Republican to the Seventieth Congress from Pennsylvania. His service in Congress extended from 1927 to 1929, encompassing one term in office. He was elected to this term but resigned on October 20, 1927, before the formal convening of Congress. Nonetheless, his election and brief service placed him among the Republican lawmakers of the late 1920s, a time marked by debates over economic policy, infrastructure, and the role of the federal government in a rapidly modernizing society.

After leaving Congress, Hazlett remained active in Republican Party affairs at the state and national levels. In May 1928 he was elected chairman of the Republican Central Campaign Committee, a post he held until 1934, overseeing party campaign activities during several election cycles that spanned the onset of the Great Depression. He also served as a delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1928 and 1932, participating in the nomination of the party’s presidential candidates and in the broader deliberations of the national party during a turbulent political era.

In his later years, Hazlett continued his public service in a more specialized administrative capacity. He served as a member of the Board of Road Viewers from November 7, 1935, until his retirement on February 23, 1937, contributing to the oversight and evaluation of road and infrastructure matters in his jurisdiction. James Miller Hazlett died on November 8, 1941, closing a life that had taken him from immigrant beginnings and a blacksmith’s shop in South Philadelphia to municipal leadership, a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, and long involvement in Republican Party and civic affairs.