John W. Kern

John Worth Kern (December 20, 1849 – August 17, 1917) was an American attorney and politician from Indiana. He served as a Democratic United States senator and is considered the first Senate majority leader, even though the title was not official at the time. He also held the position of chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Kern was born in Alto, Indiana and studied law at the University of Michigan Law School. Before becoming a senator, he worked as a lawyer in Kokomo, Indiana and served in the Indiana Senate. He ran for Governor of Indiana but was not successful. Later, he became the Democratic vice presidential nominee in the 1908 presidential election, running with William Jennings Bryan, but they lost to the Republican ticket of William Howard Taft and James S. Sherman.

In 1910, Kern was elected to the United States Senate. There, he worked closely with President Woodrow Wilson and helped pass important laws like the Clayton Antitrust Act, the Revenue Act of 1913, and the Federal Reserve Act. He also supported the Seventeenth Amendment, which changed how senators are chosen. Unfortunately, he lost his re-election bid in 1916 and passed away the following year.

Early life

John W. Kern was born in Alto, Indiana. He was the oldest of eight brothers. He went to school at the University of Michigan Law School and then started working as a lawyer in Kokomo, Indiana.

Early career

John W. Kern served as the city attorney for Kokomo from 1871 to 1884. He was later elected to the Indiana Senate in 1893, where he worked for four years. During his time there, he also helped people who wanted to form unions and supported laws to protect workers and children.

In 1895, Kern traveled to Europe for his health and met Alton B. Parker in London, becoming good friends. He later became city solicitor of Indianapolis from 1897 to 1901. He tried to become Governor of Indiana in 1900 and 1904 but was not successful. In 1908, he ran for Vice President alongside William Jennings Bryan, but they lost to William Howard Taft.

United States Senate

In 1910, Indiana chose John W. Kern to join the United States Senate. He started his term in 1911 and worked with other new Democrats who wanted change. Kern supported fair banking, better rules for trade, and letting people vote directly for their senators.

After the 1912 election, Democrats had more members in the Senate. Because Kern was respected and good at bringing people together, he became the leader of the Democratic group in the Senate. He helped work with President Woodrow Wilson to pass important laws, like new rules for trade, the first income tax, and laws to stop big companies from being too powerful.

Kern also helped make sure senators were chosen by popular vote, which became possible with a change to the Constitution in 1913. However, when he tried to be re-elected in 1916, he lost by a small margin to a Republican candidate.

Retirement and death

John W. Kern was asked to take on new roles after leaving the Senate, but his health was too weak for him to serve. He passed away on August 17, 1917, in Asheville, five months after leaving the Senate. He was first buried at his summer home near Hollins, Virginia, and later moved to Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis twelve years after his death. He left behind his wife Araminta C. Kern and his son John W. Kern Jr., who later became a judge and mayor of Indianapolis.