John Edward Raker (February 22, 1863 – January 22, 1926) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, serving eight terms from 1911 to 1926.

Life

He was born near Knoxville,

Knox County, Illinois Knox County is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 census, it had a population of 49,967. Its county seat is Galesburg. Knox County comprises the Galesburg, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Knox County was ...

, on February 22, 1863, and moved with his parents, Christian Raker and Mary E. (née Rambo) Raker, to

Lassen County, California Lassen County () is a county in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 32,730. The county seat and only incorporated city is Susanville. Lassen County comprises the Susanville, Calif ...

, in 1873. After attending public school and the State normal school at San Jose from 1882–1884, he studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1885 and began practicing law in Susanville. On December 6, 1886, he moved to

Alturas Alturas (Spanish language, Spanish for "Heights"; Achumawi language, Achumawi: ''Kasalektawi'') is a city and the county seat of Modoc County, California. Located in the Shasta Cascade region of Northern California, the city had a population of ...

. He was

District Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

Modoc County Modoc County () is a county in the far northeast corner of the U.S. state of California. Its population is 8,700 as of the 2020 census, down from 9,686 from the 2010 census. This makes it California's third-least populous county. The county seat ...

from 1895–1899, and Judge of the Superior Court of Modoc County from January 5, 1903, to December 19, 1910, when he resigned.

Political career

In 1898 he stood as a candidate for the California state senate, and was a superior court judge in California, from 1905 until 1910. Raker was chairman of the Democratic State central committee from 1908–1910. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1908. Elected as a Democrat to the sixty-second

United States 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 Washing ...

in 1911, and to the seven succeeding Congresses, he served from March 4, 1911, until his death in

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, ...

, on January 22, 1926. He represented the 1st District from 1911–13, and the 2nd District from 1913-26. Raker also introduced the legislation that created Lassen National Volcanic Park in 1916. In 1911, he tried unsuccessfully to introduce legislation for the creation of the

Redwood National and State Parks The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one national park and three state parks, cooperatively managed, located in the United States along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park (established 1968 ...

. In stark contrast, in the next session he was the main sponsor of what came to be known the

Raker Act The Raker Act was an act of the United States Congress that permitted building of the O'Shaughnessy Dam and flooding of Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park, California. It is named for John E. Raker, its chief sponsor. The Act, passed by ...

, passed in 1913 and signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson in 1914. The Act authorized the damming of the Tuolumne River and the flooding of the Hetch Hetchy Valley, which remain controversial to this day. In the sixty-fifth Congress, he held the office of Chairman of the

Committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

on Expenditures in the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

, and the Committee on Woman Suffrage.

Private life

He was a member of the

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

s and the Odd Fellows. He is buried at Susanville Cemetery in Susanville, California.

Family

He married Iva G. Spencer on November 21, 1889.

References

;Attribution *

External links