John Nathaniel Norton (May 12, 1878 – October 5, 1960) was an American

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 ...

politician.

Biography

Born on a farm near

Stromsburg, Nebraska Stromsburg is a city in Polk County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,028 as per the 2020 census. History Stromsburg was settled early in Nebraska history. A group of Swedish settlers from the town of Ockelbo arrived in the 1860 ...

, on May 12, 1878, Norton attended Bryant

Normal University A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

in Stromsburg. He graduated from

Nebraska Wesleyan University Nebraska Wesleyan University (NWU) is a private Methodist-affiliated university in Lincoln, Nebraska. It was founded in 1887 by Nebraska Methodists. As of 2017, it has approximately 2,100 students including 1,500 full-time students and 300 ...

in 1901 and the

University of Nebraska-Lincoln A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

in 1903. He served as clerk and recorder of

Polk County, Nebraska Polk County is a county in the U.S. state of Nebraska. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 5,214. Its county seat is Osceola. The county was formed in 1856, and was organized in 1870. It was named for President James K. Polk. ...

, from 1906 to 1909, and served as mayor of

Osceola, Nebraska Osceola is a city and the county seat of Polk County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 880 as of the 2010 census. History According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the first settlers of Osceola, which included the families of R ...

, from 1908 to 1909. Norton moved to a farm near

Polk, Nebraska Polk is a village in Polk County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 322 at the 2010 census. History Polk was platted in 1906 when the railroad was extended to that point. Geography Polk is located at (41.076243, -97.785010). Accordi ...

and farmed from 1910 to 1922. He was a member of the

Nebraska House of Representatives The Nebraska House of Representatives was the lower house of the Nebraska Legislature during the days when Nebraska Territory, Nebraska was a territory from 1854 to 1867 and then again when Nebraska was a state from 1867 until 1937. In 1934, Nebras ...

from 1911 to 1918. During this time he introduced a bill to establish a

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

legislature; the effort failed at the time, but Norton continued to advocate for the idea for two decades until it was finally enacted. Norton was a member of the State Constitutional Convention in 1919 and 1920, and became a

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua bro ...

and

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Generally in that type of school the th ...

lecturer in 1922. He was the Democratic nominee for

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

in 1924, as the Democratic

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

, Charles W. Bryan, was running for

Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...

. Both Norton and Bryan lost, and Norton returned to lecturing, continuing in that line of work until 1927. In 1926, Norton was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Seventieth Congress (March 4, 1927 – March 3, 1929), unsuccessfully running for reelection in 1928. In 1930, he was elected to the Seventy-second Congress (March 4, 1931 – March 3, 1933). He was defeated for renomination in 1932 by fellow incumbent Ashton C. Shallenberger, when the two were thrown together in

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

following Nebraska's loss of one U.S. House seat in

reapportionment Apportionment is the process by which seats in a legislative body are distributed among administrative divisions, such as states or parties, entitled to representation. This page presents the general principles and issues related to apportionme ...

. From June 1933 to December 1936, Norton was a representative and adviser to the

Agricultural Adjustment Administration The Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA) was a United States federal law of the New Deal era designed to boost agricultural prices by reducing surpluses. The government bought livestock for slaughter and paid farmers subsidies not to plant on part ...

. During this time, Norton saw one of his chief political goals accomplished: in 1934 voters in Nebraska approved a

constitutional amendment A constitutional amendment is a modification of the constitution of a polity, organization or other type of entity. Amendments are often interwoven into the relevant sections of an existing constitution, directly altering the text. Conversely, t ...

to take effect with the 1936 elections, abolishing the state House of Representatives and granting its powers to the state Senate, forming a unicameral legislature. (This was enacted with the help of U.S. Senator

George W. Norris George William Norris (July 11, 1861September 2, 1944) was an American politician from the state of Nebraska in the Midwestern United States. He served five terms in the United States House of Representatives as a Republican, from 1903 until 1913 ...

.) Norton was elected to the first "Unicameral" in 1936 and wrote the rules for the new governing body; he served one term in it, in 1937 and 1938. Norton became a special adviser in the

Federal Crop Insurance Corporation The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is a wholly owned government corporation managed by the Risk Management Agency of the United States Department of Agriculture. FCIC manages the federal crop insurance program, which provides U.S. farme ...

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, ...

, where he served from 1939 to 1948. He died in

on October 5, 1960, and was buried in Swede Plain Cemetery in Polk County, Nebraska. Norton's daughter, Evelyn Lincoln, was President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

's personal secretary, serving him both in the Senate and in the White House, for nearly 11 years. She was riding in the motorcade in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

on November 22, 1963, when Kennedy was assassinated.

References

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, John Nathaniel Democratic Party members of the Nebraska House of Representatives Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Nebraska Wesleyan University alumni University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumni 1878 births 1960 deaths People from Stromsburg, Nebraska Swedish-American culture in Nebraska Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska Mayors of places in Nebraska People from Osceola, Nebraska