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==Legal and political career==

==Legal and political career==

Cawthorn was born in the unincorporated Selma near another [[rural]] community, Georgetown, in northeastern Grant Parish. He graduated from Oak Grove High School in Oak Grove in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana in West Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana. In 1932, he received his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]].<ref name=obit>{{cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/la/sabine/obits/c/c3650001.txt|title=Joe T. Cawthorn|publisher=''Sabine Index''|location=Many, Louisiana|date=November 16, 1967|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>​

Cawthorn was born in the unincorporated Selma near another [[rural]] community, Georgetown, in northeastern Grant Parish. He graduated from Oak Grove High School in Oak Grove in West Carroll Parish, Louisiana in West Carroll Parish in northeastern Louisiana. In 1932, he received his law degree from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center at [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]].<ref name=obit>Joe T. Cawthorn obituary, 'Sabine Index'' (Many, Louisiana), November 16, 1967.</ref>​

In 1940, Cawthorn was elected as the state senator for a district encompassing both DeSoto and the neighboring and much larger Caddo Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=  ​http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024 (Caddo and DeSoto parishes)|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref> In his one term, during the administration of [[Governor]] [[Sam Houston Jones]], Cawthorn chaired the Senate Finance Committee but became a persistent critic of Jones, after Jones split politically with former Governor [[James A. Noe]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], Cawthorn's political mentor. Cawthorn accused Jones of "waste and inefficiency" in state government.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lhVPujF2H94C&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=former+la.+state+rep.+t.+c.+brister&source=bl&ots=0YJFzRc9r9&sig=70PlajzgFaHh4Tk-PQE3x9t3v8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YQwqVJTqFY2ryAT7wYDABg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=former%20la.%20state%20rep.%20t.%20c.%20brister&f=false|title=Louisiana During World War II: Politics and Society, 1939-1945|author=Jerry Purvis Sanson|pages=83, 84, 88|date=1999|publisher=[[Louisiana State University]] Press|location=[[Baton Rouge]], Louisiana]]|isbn=0-8071-2308-0|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>

In 1940, Cawthorn was elected as the state senator for a district encompassing both DeSoto and the neighboring and much larger Caddo Parish.<ref>{{cite web|url=  ​http://senate.la.gov/Documents/Membership/1880membership.pdf|title=Membership in the Louisiana State Senate, 1880-2024 (Caddo and DeSoto parishes)|publisher=Louisiana State Senate|accessdate=June 16, 2020}}</ref> In his one term, during the administration of [[Governor]] [[Sam Houston Jones]], Cawthorn chaired the Senate Finance Committee but became a persistent critic of Jones, after Jones split politically with former Governor [[James A. Noe]] of [[Monroe, Louisiana|Monroe]], Cawthorn's political mentor. Cawthorn accused Jones of "waste and inefficiency" in state government.<ref>{{cite book|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=lhVPujF2H94C&pg=PA87&lpg=PA87&dq=former+la.+state+rep.+t.+c.+brister&source=bl&ots=0YJFzRc9r9&sig=70PlajzgFaHh4Tk-PQE3x9t3v8U&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YQwqVJTqFY2ryAT7wYDABg&ved=0CEUQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=former%20la.%20state%20rep.%20t.%20c.%20brister&f=false|title=Louisiana During World War II: Politics and Society, 1939-1945|author=Jerry Purvis Sanson|pages=83, 84, 88|date=1999|publisher=[[Louisiana State University]] Press|location=[[Baton Rouge]], Louisiana]]|isbn=0-8071-2308-0|accessdate=October 28, 2014}}</ref>