John Burke (February 25, 1859 – May 14, 1937) was an American lawyer, jurist, and political leader from North Dakota who served as the tenth governor of North Dakota from 1907 to 1913, and later served as the 24th treasurer of the United States under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 to 1921. Following his term as treasurer, he subsequently served intermittently as Chief Justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court first from 1929 to 1931, then from 1935 until his death in 1937. He was the first Democrat to serve as Governor of North Dakota.

Early life

Burke was born in Sigourney, Iowa of Irish ancestry to John and Mary (née Ryan) Burke.

After establishing two separate practices of middling success in the late 1880s, Burke moved to the Dakota Territory poor in 1888 where he acquired work wherever he could before settling down in St. John in Rolette County.

Career

Following his move to St. John, Burke began a legal practice and subsequently became a Rolette County judge in 1889. Following this, Burke returned to Rolette County, serving as a county judge for another term from 1897 to 1899.

After reluctantly accepting the nomination to run for governor of North Dakota by unanimous vote, Burke secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and ousted incumbent Elmore Sarles in what was called the 'Revolution of 1906', being the first step in the dismantling of Republican National committeeman Alexander McKenzie's political machine. Burke's campaign attracted wide bipartisan support, mostly those Republicans and other majority groups who had distaste for the incumbent Sarles administration, and the McKenzie political machine which had dominated the state for the previous 20 years. Following his taking of office, Burke, a new-era progressive, instituted and pursued policies against the railroad monopolists which had dominated state politics previously, and a number of reforms against corruption, which Burke personally despised and had crusaded against in all offices.

At the 1912 Democratic National Convention in Baltimore, Burke enthusiastically supported the candidacy of Woodrow Wilson. Burke swung all of North Dakota's votes to Wilson on the first ballot. William Jennings Bryan, himself a supporter of Wilson and also a good friend of Burke's, wanted Burke to run for vice president. Burke demurred, however, due to a promise he had given Indiana delegates for their votes. As a result, Thomas R. Marshall of Indiana was chosen instead for the vice presidency. Burke was named United States Treasurer following Wilson's election victory in November 1912. From 1913 to 1921, Burke was Treasurer of the United States under President Woodrow Wilson before he resigned two months prior to Wilson's leaving office to start a brokerage firm on Wall Street.

Following his resignation from the treasury, Burke founded the Kardos & Burke brokerage firm with businessman Louis Montgomery Kardos Jr. on Wall Street. In 1924, the firm was made defunct after Kardos was found guilty of criminally defrauding investors in a bucket shop scheme. Burke was later exonerated of any association with the crimes, with his only personal investment being the loan which founded the firm. To please investigators, Burke sold all of his property and gave up a large amount of his wealth before moving back to Fargo, North Dakota. His remains are interred in Saint Mary's Cemetery, Bismarck, North Dakota. A similar statue also stands on the grounds of the North Dakota State Capitol in Bismarck.

thumb|Statue of John Burke at the State Capitol grounds, Bismarck, ND

References

  • John Burke Papers at The University of North Dakota
  • National Statuary Hall Collection includes biography and photo of statue.
  • National Governors Association