James Preston Kem (April 2, 1890February 24, 1965) was an American politician representing

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from 1947 to 1953.

Life and career

James P. Kem was born in

Macon, Missouri Macon is a city in and the county seat of Macon County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,457 at the 2020 census. History Macon was platted in 1856. Like the county, Macon was named for Nathaniel Macon. A post office called Macon Cit ...

. He attended Blees Military Academy, then graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

in 1910, and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1913. He was admitted to the bar in 1913 and commenced practice in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

. He entered the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

infantry in 1917 and was a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran. In 1920, Kem resumed the general practice of law in Kansas City. He built up a very successful corporate practice over the next two decades. By 1943, he served as President of the Lawyers Association of Kansas City and as chairman of the Jackson County

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Committee. In 1944, he served as a delegate to the

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

and began building support for a run for the U.S. Senate. Kem defeated incumbent

Frank P. Briggs Frank Parks Briggs (February 25, 1894September 23, 1992) was a United States senator from Missouri, and succeeded Harry S. Truman when Truman was elected vice president. Biography Frank P. Briggs was born in Armstrong, Missouri on February 25, ...

, who had been appointed to the office in 1945 when

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

resigned to become

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

. During his one term in the Senate, Kem was a staunch opponent of President Truman, characterizing him as a puppet of

Tom Pendergast Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1872 – January 26, 1945), also known as T. J. Pendergast, was an American political boss who controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri, from 1925 to 1939. Pendergast only briefly held elected ...

's corrupt political machine in Kansas City. Kem lost his re-election bid in 1952 to Democratic candidate,

Stuart Symington William Stuart Symington III (; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from M ...

, a former

Emerson Electric Emerson Electric Co. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Ferguson, Missouri. The ''Fortune'' 500 company manufactures products and provides engineering services for industrial, commercial, and consumer markets.

CEO who had been

United States Secretary of the Air Force The secretary of the Air Force, sometimes referred to as the secretary of the Department of the Air Force, (SecAF, or SAF/OS) is the head of the Department of the Air Force and the service secretary for the United States Air Force and United S ...

in the Truman administration. Kem retired to a

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

law practice and then raised

Angus Angus may refer to: Media * ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film * ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record'' Places Australia * Angus, New South Wales Canada * Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario * East Angus, Quebec Scotland * An ...

cattle in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

until his death in 1965 at the age of 74.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kem, James P. 1890 births 1965 deaths People from Macon, Missouri University of Missouri alumni Harvard Law School alumni Missouri lawyers People from Kansas City, Missouri United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers Lawyers from Washington, D.C. Missouri Republicans Republican Party United States senators from Missouri 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers