9/23/2013:
John Burke launched his senate campaign on this date in 1916 by speaking before a small crowd in Fargo. Burke was considered one of President Wilson’s most ardent Democratic supporters and was extremely well-known to North Dakotans; from 1907 until 1913, he had served three terms as the state’s tenth Governor.
Burke was born in Harper, Iowa, to a family of Irish immigrants in 1859. After obtaining a law degree from the University of Iowa in 1886, he set up his practice first in Des Moines, and later in Henning, Minnesota. In August of 1888, he became a resident of Dakota Territory, when he moved to Devils Lake to become a partner at the law firm of Henry Middaugh. Middaugh had been impressed with the young lawyer’s powerful oratory, a skill that would also endear him to future political constituents. While working in Rolette County, he met and married a St. John schoolteacher by the name of Mary Kane.
Burke’s first political race came in 1890, during an election for the North Dakota House of Representatives. He won the race with a large popular vote, and later won a seat in the North Dakota Senate. Although he received the Democratic nominations for State Attorney General, a district judgeship, and a seat in the U.S. Congress during the 1890s, he was defeated in each race by the state’s Republican majority. Then, in 1906, facing a divided Republican party, Burke succeeded in a bid for North Dakota Governor. Passionate and enthusiastic, Burke’s stirring oratory secured his election and re-election during three terms.
In 1913, President Wilson appointed Burke U.S. Treasurer, and three years later, Burke ran for the U.S. Senate. His campaign platform centered on free-trade policies and isolationism, advocating the position that the U.S. should avoid entering the Great War at all costs. On the evening of September 21st, he told Fargoans that the Wilson administration was fighting to keep America out of the war. After a short-lived campaign, Burke lost the election to incumbent Porter McCumber. However, Wilson won reelection and Burke was reappointed to the treasury, where he served until 1921. His integrity in office earned him the nickname “Honest John,” and since 1963, a statue of him has stood in Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C.
Dakota Datebook written by Jayme L. Job
Sources:
Bismarck Daily Tribune. Friday (Morning ed.), September 22, 1916: p. 1.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Burke_(politician)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_elections,_1916
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_1916
http://webapp.und.edu/dept/library/Collections/og1.html
http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_north_dakota/col2-content/main- content-list/title_burke_john.html