John W. Kern

John Worth Kern
United States Senator from Indiana
In office March 4, 1911 – March 4, 1917
Preceded by	Albert J. Beveridge
Succeeded by	Harry S. New
Chairman of Democratic Caucus of the United States Senate
In office March 4, 1913 – March 4, 1917
Deputy	J. Hamilton Lewis (Whip)
Preceded by	Thomas S. Martin
Succeeded by	Thomas S. Martin
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1849 Alto, Indiana
Died	August 17, 1917 (aged 67) Asheville, North Carolina
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Michigan

John Worth Kern (December 20, 1849 – August 17, 1917) was a Democratic United States Senator from Indiana. While the title was not official, he is considered to be the first Senate majority leader (and in turn, the first Senate Democratic Leader), while serving concurrently as Chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

He was born in Alto, Indiana, the eldest of eight boys.^[1] Kern studied law at the University of Michigan. He began the practice of law in Kokomo, Indiana, and served as city attorney (1871–1884). He was elected to the Indiana Senate in 1893, serving for four years, serving at the same time as assistant U.S. Attorney for Indiana. From 1897 to 1901 he was city solicitor of Indianapolis. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Indiana in 1900 and 1904. After these defeats, he returned to his law practice, travelled to Europe, and spent six months at a sanatorium in Asheville, North Carolina, for reasons of health.

In the 1908 election, he was the Democratic candidate for Vice President, running mate to third-time Presidential candidate William Jennings Bryan as a Midwestern compromise. Bryan was defeated by Taft. Kern then sought election to the United States Senate from Indiana (the legislature then being Democratic-controlled), but was outmaneuvered by fellow Democrat Benjamin F. Shively.

Indiana's other Senate seat came up for election in 1910, and this time the legislature elected Kern. He entered the Senate in 1911, one of ten new Democrats—most of them progressives. Joining Shively, Kern became a progressive Democrat and an opponent of monopolistic corporate power. He quickly became involved in an effort to shake up his party's conservative leadership. In 1912, he helped write the Democratic platform, which had progressive planks in favor of banking and tariff reform, and direct popular election of Senators.

In the election of 1912, Woodrow Wilson was elected President, Democrats gained a majority in the House, and eleven more progressive Democrats entered the Senate. Kern's national stature as a progressive, his skill at conciliation, and his personal popularity resulted in his unanimous election as Chairman of the Democratic Caucus and de facto majority leader. He worked closely with President Wilson and often met with him privately. He kept the peace and promoted unity that helped propel Wilson's initiatives through the Senate. These included tariff reform, the nation's first income tax (as permitted by the 16th Amendment), the Federal Reserve Act, antitrust laws, and the Federal Trade Commission.

In 1913, Kern was contacted by labor activist Mary Harris Jones ("Mother Jones"), who had been imprisoned by a military court in West Virginia during the Paint Creek-Cabin Creek strike of 1912. In response, Kern introduced the Kern Resolution, adopted by the Senate on May 27. The resolution led to the Senate Committee on Education and Labor investigation into conditions in West Virginia coal mines. Congress almost immediately authorized two similar investigations: into conditions in copper mining in Michigan and coal mining in Colorado.^[2]

Kern had advocated direct popular election of Senators, and helped enact the 17th Amendment to establish it in 1913. However, when Kern sought re-election in 1916 under the new system, he was defeated by Republican Harry S. New, narrowly losing the popular vote (47.8% to 46.1%).^[3] At Bryan's urging, Wilson considered him for appointment to high public office, but Kern was in poor health. He died on August 17, 1917 in Asheville, five months after leaving the Senate. He was originally interred on the Kern estate near Hollins, Virginia, and re-interred in Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis twelve years later.

References

• Walter J. Oleszek, "John Worth Kern: Portrait of a Floor Leader," in First Among Equals: Outstanding Senate Leaders of the Twentieth Century, Richard A. Baker & Roger H. Davidson, eds., Washington, DC: Congressional Quarterly, 1991, 7–37.

• John W. Kern at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States Senators from Indiana Class 1 Noble Hanna Tipton White Bright Wright Turpie T. Hendricks Pratt McDonald Harrison Turpie Beveridge Kern New Ralston Robinson Minton Willis Jenner Hartke Lugar Donnelly Class 3 Taylor W. Hendricks Smith Hannegan Whitcomb Cathcart Pettit Fitch Lane Morton Voorhees Fairbanks Hemenway Shively Taggart Watson Van Nuys Jackson Jenner Capehart Bayh II Quayle Coats Bayh III Coats