JOHN BAER (1886-1970)
Famous Cartoonist & Youngest Man Ever Elected to Congress From
North Dakota

The youngest person ever elected to the U.S. Congress from North Dakota later became a famous political cartoonist. John Baer began his cartoon drawing with the Nonpartisan Leader newspaper and is given some of the credit for the rapid growth of the Nonpartisan League (NPL) in North Dakota. After he was defeated for reelection to Congress in 1921, Baer “rose to become America’s most widely known labor cartoonist.” One of his cartoons inspired Franklin Roosevelt to name his 1932 Presidential campaign slogan the “New Deal.”