William Lemke | |
|---|---|
 Lemkec. 1930s | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1943 – May 30, 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Charles R. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Fred G. Aandahl |
| In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Olger B. Burtness |
| Succeeded by | Charles R. Robertson |
| 11thAttorney General of North Dakota | |
| In office January 5, 1921 – November 23, 1921 | |
| Governor | Lynn Frazier |
| Preceded by | William Langer |
| Succeeded by | Sveinbjorn Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Frederick Lemke (1878-08-13)August 13, 1878 Albany, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | May 30, 1950(1950-05-30) (aged 71) Fargo, North Dakota, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (NPL faction) Independent (1940) Union (1935–1936) Progressive (1912) |
| Spouse | Isabelle McIntyre |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | University of North Dakota (BA) Georgetown University Yale University (LLB) |
William Frederick Lemke (August 13, 1878 – May 30, 1950) was an American politician who representedNorth Dakota in theUnited States House of Representatives as a member of theRepublican Party. He was also theUnion Party's presidential candidate in the1936 presidential election.
Lemke was born inAlbany, Minnesota, and raised inTowner County, North Dakota, the son of Fred Lemke and Julia Anna Kleir, pioneer farmers who had accumulated some 2,700 acres (11 km2) of land. Lemke lost an eye in a boyhood accident.[1] As a boy, Lemke worked long hours on the family farm, attending a common school for only three months in the summers. However, the family did reserve enough money to send him to theUniversity of North Dakota, where he was not only a superior student, but also well known for his ability to impersonate the professors. Graduating in 1902,[2]he stayed at the state university for the first year of law school but moved toGeorgetown University, then toYale Law School, where he finished work on his law degree and won the praise of the dean. He returned to his home state in 1905 to set up practice atFargo. Lemke was aFreemason.
During the 1910s, theNonpartisan League (NPL) was formed and quickly gained significant traction in North Dakota.[3] Lemke was heavily involved and quickly became one of its top leaders.[1] He is considered by many to be the brains of the operation, often being called the "bishop" or "political bishop" of the NPL.[4]
Lemke was electedattorney general ofNorth Dakota in 1920,[1] although this violated the rule set by NPL leaderA. C. Townley about its leaders running for office.[4] By this time the NPL was plagued with infighting and controversies and public support was declining.[3][5][6] In 1921, a specialrecall election, initiated by opponents of the NPL (theIndependent Voters Association or IVA) successfully removed all three members of theIndustrial Commission, all of whom were NPL members:John N. Hagan (Commissioner of Agriculture and Labor),Lynn Frazier (Governor), and Lemke (Attorney General). They were replaced with IVA-supported candidates.[3][5][6][7]
However, Lemke remained popular. In 1922, he received the NPL's nomination for governor, but he was defeated by incumbentRagnvald Nestos. Later, in 1932, he was elected to theUnited States House of Representatives, as a member of theNon-Partisan League (NPL).[1] Also in 1932, William Lemke campaigned for Franklin D Roosevelt for President in North Dakota and other states in the Midwest.
While inCongress, Lemke earned a reputation as aprogressivepopulist and supporter of theNew Deal, championing the causes of familyfarmers and co-sponsoring legislation to protect farmers against foreclosures during theGreat Depression.
In 1934, Lemke co-sponsored theFrazier–Lemke Farm Bankruptcy Act, restricting the ability of banks to repossess farms.PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt signed the act into law on June 28, 1934. The Act was later struck down by the Supreme Court inLouisville Joint Stock Land Bank v. Radford. Lemke tried to get the Act re-passed by Congress, but was stymied by the Roosevelt administration which privately told Congressmen that they would exercise a Presidential veto against the bill. The Act was eventually re-passed and later held constitutional by the Supreme Court. Lemke was a political friend and ally of Louisiana populistHuey Long prior to his assassination in 1935.
In June 1936, Lemke accepted the nomination of theUnion Party, a short-livedthird party, as its candidate for President of the United States.[8] He received 892,378 votes, or just under two percent nationwide, and noelectoral votes in the1936 election. Lemke did outpollAlf Landon in six North Dakota counties[9][a] and remained the last third-party presidential candidate to outpoll a major-party nominee in any non-Southern county[b] untilGeorge Wallace outpolledHubert Humphrey inUtah's arch-RepublicanKane County in1968 and his successorJohn G. Schmitz outpolledGeorge McGovern in fourIdaho counties in 1972.[10] Simultaneously, he was reelected to the House of Representatives as a Republican. Many believe Lemke's acceptance of the Union Party nomination in 1936 was out of bitterness toward Roosevelt over the farm mortgage issue. Through the Union Party, Lemke befriended other populists such as Fr.Charles Coughlin.
In 1940, having already received the Republican nomination for a fifth House term, he withdrew from that race to launch an unsuccessful run as an independent for theU.S. Senate. He ran again for the House in 1942 as a Republican and served four more terms, until his death in 1950.
From 1943 to 1948, Lemke was the champion for establishment of the Theodore Roosevelt National Memorial Park (nowTheodore Roosevelt National Park). The National Park Service did not support this proposal, and oddly enough Lemke was no admirer of Theodore Roosevelt, but he seems to have pursued the establishment of a park in anticipation of the economic benefits it might bring to the region. His efforts were ultimately successful, with the park established by act of Congress in June, 1948.[11]
Lemke died of a heart attack inFargo, North Dakota and is buried in Riverside Cemetery.[12][13] FormerAtlanta Bravesbaseball playerMark Lemke is Lemke's second cousin twice removed.
Representative William Lemke, Republican of North Dakota, died on the way to a hospital tonight soon after he collapsed in the Power Hotel in downtown Fargo. He was 71 years old.
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Attorney General of North Dakota 1921–1922 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota's at-large congressional district 1933–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota's at-large congressional district 1943–1950 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forNorth Dakota Attorney General 1920 | Succeeded by |
| First | Nonpartisan League nominee forNorth Dakota Attorney General 1921 | Succeeded by J. H. Ulsrud |
| Preceded by | Nonpartisan League nominee forGovernor of North Dakota 1922 | Vacant Title next held by William Langer |
| New political party | Union nominee forPresident of the United States 1936 | Party dissolved |
| One seat at-large (1889–1903) |   | ||||||
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| Two seats at-large (1903–1913) |
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| Three districts (1913–1933) |
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| Two seats at-large (1933–1963) |
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| Two districts (1963–1973) |
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| One seat at-large (1973–present) | |||||||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
