Baer, John Miller, 1886-1970

United States Congressman and political cartoonist.

Baer, a Republican, was elected July 10, 1917, in a special election to fill the unexpired term of Henry Helgesen. He was re-elected in 1918 and defeated in 1920.

National Nonpartisan League cartoonist, United States Congressman from North Dakota (1917-1920), political cartoonist for LABOR.

John M. Baer was born in 1886 on a farm at Black Creek, Outagamie County, Wisconsin. He was graduated with a B.A. from Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin, in 1909. He moved to Beach, North Dakota the same year and married Estella G. Kennedy, daughter of J.R. "Flax King" Smith. He was appointed postmaster at Beach but resigned to become the political cartoonist for the NONPARTISAN LEADER in 1916. Baer was elected to Congress in 1917, in a special election, to fill Henry T. Helgeson's seat after Helgeson's death. He was re-elected in 1918 but defeated in 1920 by Olger B. Burtness. In 1920, Baer became cartoonist for LABOR (Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen) where he remained until his death in 1970. Major themes in his cartoons were patriotism, loyalty to America, and big business interests vs. the interests of farmers.

John Miller Baer (1886-1970) was an American cartoonist and politician.

John Miller Baer was born on March 29, 1886 on a farm in Blackcreek, Wisconsin. After graduating from Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin in 1909 with a bachelor of arts degree, Baer moved to Beach, North Dakota. Baer worked as a civil engineer, a farmer and postmaster and began submitting cartoons and articles to newspapers. Baer's political ideology solidified as he began to feel that big business and corruption led to farmers being taken advantage of. Baer drew cartoons for the Non-Partisan Leader and in 1916 resigned as postmaster and moved to Fargo where he was a cartoonist for the Fargo Courier-News .

Baer entered politics as the first person elected to Congress with the endorsement of the National Nonpartisan League. He was elected on the Nonpartisan ticket in 1916 to a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Republican representative for 1st District of North Dakota. But controversy followed Baer to Washington D.C. Baer refuted the New York Times' claim that during his campaign he declared "this is no time to make an issue of Americanism" and the paper accused him of being too closely aligned with socialism. Others in Congress insinuated that he was an unpatriotic, foreign influence. While in office, he continued to use his cartoons to influence others and received criticism from his colleagues in 1920 for drawing for the Plumb Plan League which was thought to be responsible for the railroad strike.

After failing to win another term during the 1920 election, Baer returned to journalism as a cartoonist for the National Railroad Union newspaper, Labor, where he produced cartoons arguing for improved conditions for the American worker and the unemployed.

John Miller Baer died in Washington, D.C. on February 18, 1970.