John Toussaint Bernard (March 6, 1893August 6, 1983) was a
United States 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 ...
from
Minnesota
Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
.
[
][
]
Background
Bernard was born in 1893 in
Bastia
Bastia (, , , ; co, Bastìa ) is a commune in the department of Haute-Corse, Corsica, France. It is located in the northeast of the island of Corsica at the base of Cap Corse. It also has the second-highest population of any commune on the is ...
,
Corsica,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
. In 1907, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, who settled in
Eveleth, Minnesota
Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census.
U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth.
Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...
. He went to public schools in both France and in the U.S.
Career
Bernard worked as an iron-ore miner at the Spruce Mine from 1910 to 1916 or 1917.
In 1916 or 1917, Bernard enlisted in the
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
and served on the Mexican border. During
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 ...
, he served as an Army Corporal in the
125th Field Artillery. He then became a civilian employee in the Army and Navy Intelligence from 1917 to 1919. He served overseas fifteen months overseas.
After leaving the armed forces and returning home, Bernard found himself blacklisted on the
Mesabi Iron Range
The Mesabi Iron Range is a mining district in northeastern Minnesota following an elongate trend containing large deposits of iron ore. It is the largest of four major iron ranges in the region collectively known as the Iron Range of Minnesota ...
because of earlier efforts to
union
Union commonly refers to:
* Trade union, an organization of workers
* Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets
Union may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Music
* Union (band), an American rock group
** ''Un ...
ize workers.
Instead, he became a city fireman from 1920 to 1936.
Politics and activism
Bernard served as a delegate to the Minnesota State
Farmer-Labor Party conventions in 1936, 1938, and 1940. He was elected as a Farmer-Labor representative to the Seventy-Fifth
U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...
(January 3, 1937 - January 3, 1939).
He was the only U.S. Congressman, along with
Jerry J. O'Connell, who visited the
Second Spanish Republic
The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931, after the deposition of King Alfonso XIII, and was dissolved on 1 ...
in October 1937 to support the Soviet-backed
Republican faction, which was fighting against the German- and Italian-backed
Nationalist faction during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
.
He ran unsuccessfully for reelection in 1938 to the Seventy-Sixth Congress and again unsuccessfully for election in 1940 to the Seventy-Seventh Congress.
Bernard became engaged as a labor organizer, legislative director, and civil rights activist.
He had started working with the
Steel Workers Organizing Committee The Steel Workers Organizing Committee (SWOC) was one of two precursor labor organizations to the United Steelworkers. It was formed by the CIO ( Committee for Industrial Organization) on June 7, 1936. It disbanded in 1942 to become the United Stee ...
of the
CIO in 1937 and continued to 1942. He also worked with the
United Electrical, Radio, and Machine Workers of America
The United Electrical, Radio and Machine Workers of America (UE), is an independent democratic rank-and-file labor union representing workers in both the private and public sectors across the United States.
UE was one of the first unions to be c ...
from 1943 to 1954.
[
]
Personal life and death
Bernard met Josephine Dinois while working for the
Office of Naval Intelligence
The Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) is the military intelligence agency of the United States Navy. Established in 1882 primarily to advance the Navy's modernization efforts, it is the oldest member of the U.S. Intelligence Community and serve ...
in France. They married in 1928
and had at least one child, Marie.
[
]
Bernard moved to
Long Beach, Calif., where he lived until his death there on August 6, 1983.
Communism
Bernard's single congressional term is notable for his casting the sole vote against an arms embargo against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
during the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, link ...
:
Minnesota Congressman John T. Bernard fought throughout his life for working people against strong opposition. His outspoken and uncompromising views led him, on his second day in office, to cast the single "no" vote in Congress against the Spanish arms embargo. Bernard's vote proved farsighted as the Spanish Civil War became, in many ways, a "dress rehearsal" for World War II.[
]
Less known years later were his strong support for the
Communist-backed
Popular Front
A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault".
More generally, it is "a coalition ...
:
Bernard won election in the Farmer-Labor landslide of 1936 ... and quickly became the most enthusiastic and outspoken advocate of the Popular Front in Congress. Not even other Congressmen who sympathized with the Popular Front underlined their links to the Communist Party by inserting, as Bernard did, articles from the Communist Party's ''Daily Worker
The ''Daily Worker'' was a newspaper published in New York City by the Communist Party USA, a formerly Comintern-affiliated organization. Publication began in 1924. While it generally reflected the prevailing views of the party, attempts were ...
'' into the '' Congressional Record''.
While in office (1937–1939), Bernard's personal secretary in Washington was
Marion Bachrach,
sister of
John Abt
John Jacob Abt (May 1, 1904 – August 10, 1991) was an American lawyer and politician, who spent most of his career as chief counsel to the Communist Party USA (CPUSA) and was a member of the Communist Party and the Soviet spy network "Ware Gro ...
, chief counsel of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. ...
. Former Soviet
GRU
The Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, rus, Гла́вное управле́ние Генера́льного шта́ба Вооружённых сил Росси́йской Федера́ци ...
operative
Whittaker Chambers
Whittaker Chambers (born Jay Vivian Chambers; April 1, 1901 – July 9, 1961) was an American writer-editor, who, after early years as a Communist Party member (1925) and Soviet spy (1932–1938), defected from the Soviet underground (1938) ...
named both Bacharach and Abt among others as members of the
Ware Group
The Ware Group was a covert organization of Communist Party USA operatives within the United States government in the 1930s, run first by Harold Ware (1889–1935) and then by Whittaker Chambers (1901–1961) after Ware's accidental death on Augu ...
(his first spy network) during his testimony under subpoena to
HUAC on August 3, 1948. That testimony led to the
Hiss Case during 1949 and Hiss' conviction in January 1950. Bernard also employed Herman Griffith on his congressional staff. Griffith was a leading Popular Front activist and self-announced CPUSA member.
In 1952, Bernard testified under subpoena before
HUAC. For most questions, he asserted his
Fifth Amendment privilege. He also asserted his loyalty to America and willingness to defend it.
In 1977, Bernard accepted membership in the
Communist Party USA.
See also
*
Minnesota's congressional districts
Minnesota is currently divided into eight congressional districts, each represented by a member of the United States House of Representatives. After the 2010 census, the number of Minnesota's seats remained unchanged.
Minnesota statutes do not ...
*
List of United States congressional districts
Congressional districts in the United States are electoral divisions for the purpose of electing members of the United States House of Representatives. The number of voting seats in the House of Representatives is currently set at 435, wit ...
*
Ware Group
The Ware Group was a covert organization of Communist Party USA operatives within the United States government in the 1930s, run first by Harold Ware (1889–1935) and then by Whittaker Chambers (1901–1961) after Ware's accidental death on Augu ...
*
Marion Bacharach
References
External links
John Toussaint Bernard papers, 1934-1973Minnesota PALS
Bernard, John ToussaintBiographical Directory of the United States Congress (1774–Present)
Bernard, John Toussaint (1893–1983)MNopedia
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard, John
1893 births
1983 deaths
20th-century American politicians
American politicians of Italian descent
American people of Corsican descent
Communist Party USA politicians
Farmer–Labor Party members of the United States House of Representatives
French emigrants to the United States
Interwar-period spies
Minnesota Farmer–Laborites
Members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
People from Bastia
People from Corsica
People from Eveleth, Minnesota
People of the Office of Naval Intelligence
World War I spies for the United States