Bartel John Jonkman (April 28, 1884 – June 13, 1955) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Jonkman was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he attended the public schools. He was of Dutch descent. He graduated from the law department of the University of Michigan in 1914, was admitted to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

the same year, and commenced practice in Grand Rapids. He served as assistant prosecutor of Kent County from 1915 to 1920, and as prosecuting attorney from 1929 to 1936. Following the death of

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

Carl E. Mapes, in December 1939, a special election was held on February 19, 1940 to fill the vacancy. Jonkman was elected as a Republican from

Michigan's 5th congressional district Michigan's 5th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The district is represented by Republican Tim Walberg. Predecessors From 1873 to 1993, the 5th was based in the Grand Rapids a ...

to the

76th United States Congress The 76th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939, ...

, serving from February 19, 1940 to January 3, 1949. In the 1948 Republican primary, he was defeated for re-nomination by

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

, then 34 years old, who eventually served as the 38th President of the United States from 1974–1977. A confidential 1943 analysis of the House Foreign Affairs Committee by

Isaiah Berlin Sir Isaiah Berlin (6 June 1909 – 5 November 1997) was a Russian-British social and political theorist, philosopher, and historian of ideas. Although he became increasingly averse to writing for publication, his improvised lectures and talks ...

for the British

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described Jonkman as Bartel J. Jonkman had become unpopular largely due to his isolationist position on foreign policy. He resumed the practice of law and died in Grand Rapids. He was interred there in Woodlawn Cemetery.

References

The Political Graveyard
1884 births 1955 deaths Politicians from Grand Rapids, Michigan American people of Dutch descent Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Old Right (United States) 20th-century American politicians University of Michigan Law School alumni {{Michigan-politician-stub