Largely self-educated, he served as a district attorney and member of the Arizona Territorial legislature before fulfilling his childhood ambition of joining the United States Senate.

[7] During the convention, he positioned himself for a U.S. Senate seat by avoiding the political fighting over various clauses in the constitution which damaged his rivals.

During his early years in the Senate, Ashurst was a supporter of the Woodrow Wilson administration and served as chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs between 1914 and 1919.

The Democrats regained control in 1932, and Ashurst became chairman of the Judiciary Committee, serving until he left the Senate in 1941.

[9] During re-election campaigns, Ashurst employed one of his favorite quotations, "Praise undeserved is scandal in disguise."

He said, The first half-hour, you imagine that the earth has slipped from beneath your feet and that the stars above your head have paled and faded, and in your heart you wonder how the Senate will do without you, and how the country will get along without you.

[10]I suffer from Cacoëthes loquendi, a mania or itch for talking; from vanity, morbidity and, as is plain to everyone who knows me, from an inborn, an inveterate flair for histrionics.Ashurst had an affection for oration, as expressed by his statement, "I simply love speaking – just as one may like maple syrup, Beethoven, Verdi, or Longfellow, Kipling, or Shakespeare – one hardly knows why.

"[12] This combined with his courtly manners and impeccable attire earned Ashurst a reputation as the Chesterfield of the Senate.

Without losing one whit of his eloquence, or missing or misquoting a classical phrase, Ashurst can run the range from buffoonery to some of the most challenging remarks heard in Congress.

After obtaining copies of several speeches by Senator Roscoe Conkling, a prominent 19th-century orator, Ashurst developed his speaking range and ability by thundering the words of other to the plants and rocks of the surrounding countryside.

He also read a wide variety of classical and literary sources in an effort to learn as much quotable material as possible.

As a result of these early efforts, by the time Ashurst joined Congress he had a well-developed speaker's voice and a wide collection of memorized quotations in both English and Latin.

[8] I love auriferous words, and nothing delights me more than to pluck gems from the dictionary that otherwise might never see the light of day.Ashurst's most celebrated address came on June 15, 1935, when on the Senate floor he chastised Huey Long with a harangue which Time called "one of the most devastating speeches the chamber ever heard.

"[4] Other notable speeches by Ashurst dealt with Hugo Black's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1937, a proposed tariff on imported copper in 1932, and U.S. entry into World War I in 1917.

No Senator can change his mind quicker than I.Through his legislative career, Ashurst maintained a need to be inconsistent in his political actions.

During the 1936 presidential election Ashurst denounced rumors that Franklin D. Roosevelt planned to reorganize the Supreme Court by "whittling, chiseling, indirection, circumlocution, periphrasis, and house-that-Jack-built tactics.

"[7] Other examples of Ashurst switching positions include: Even his speaking skills could contribute to his inconsistency, as was the case on January 21, 1914.

Ashurst gave a three-hour speech in support of the Nineteenth Amendment (for women's suffrage), which exhausted the time available to vote on it, and delayed its passage.