Michael C. Kerr
28th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office December 6, 1875 – August 19, 1876
Preceded by	James G. Blaine
Succeeded by	Samuel J. Randall
Leader of theHouse Democratic Caucus
In office December 6, 1875 – August 19, 1876
Preceded by	James Lawrence Orr
Succeeded by	Samuel J. Randall
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's3rd district
In office March 4, 1875 – August 19, 1876
Preceded by	William S. Holman (3rd)
Succeeded by	Nathan T. Carr (3rd)
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives from Indiana's2nd district
In office March 4, 1865 – March 3, 1873
Preceded by	James A. Cravens
Succeeded by	Simeon K. Wolfe
Member of theIndiana House of Representatives
In office 1856–1857
Personal details
Born	Michael Crawford Kerr March 15, 1827 Titusville, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	August 19, 1876 (aged 49) Rockbridge County, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Louisville
Profession	Lawyer

Michael Crawford Kerr (March 15, 1827 – August 19, 1876) was an American lawyer and legislator who served as the firstDemocraticspeaker of the United States House of Representatives after theCivil War.

He was born atTitusville, Pennsylvania and educated at the Erie Academy. He graduated from theUniversity of Louisville School of Law in 1851. He moved toNew Albany, Indiana in 1852 and was a member of theState Legislature from 1856 to 1857.

He was elected to Congress in 1864 as aWar Democrat, having vigorously opposed theCopperhead element in his district. He won the praise of Republican GovernorOliver P. Morton for helping suppress illegal conspiracies by Copperheads.^[1]

Kerr served in theUnited States House of Representatives as aDemocrat fromIndiana from 1865 to 1873. In Congress he was looked upon as one of the leaders of the Democratic Party. He strongly opposed the Republican policy ofReconstruction in the Southern States. He was not re-elected in 1872.

Hishard money views on financial questions did not meet with favor in his agrarian constituency, where he openly antagonized the inflationists and theGreenback element and favoredthe resumption ofspecie payments. In 1874, however, after a sharp contest he won the seat back, and on his re-entry into Congress was elected to thespeakership. He presided as Speaker at only the first session of theForty-fourth Congress and died ofconsumption shortly after its adjournment.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1790–1899)

• Halsell, Willie D., ed. "Advice from Michael C. Kerr to a Reconstructed Rebel Congressman."Indiana Magazine of History 33 (September 1941): 257–61.
• Smith, William Henry.The history of the state of Indiana (1897)p. 798-800 online
• Stampp, Kenneth.Indiana politics during the Civil War (1949)

• Original newspaper broadsheet in the collection of the State Archives in Indianapolis
• Michael C. Kerr atFind a Grave

• 1827 births
• 1876 deaths
• People from Titusville, Pennsylvania
• Speakers of the United States House of Representatives
• People from New Albany, Indiana
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Indiana
• University of Louisville School of Law alumni
• 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis
• Tuberculosis deaths in Virginia
• 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 19th-century members of the Indiana General Assembly

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata