Joseph Alfred Arner Burnquist
| Joseph Alfred Arner Burnquist | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 21st Attorney General of Minnesota | |
|
In office January 2, 1939 – January 3, 1955 |
|
| Preceded by | William S. Ervin |
| Succeeded by | Miles W. Lord |
| 19th Governor of Minnesota | |
|
In office December 30, 1915 – January 5, 1921 |
|
| Lieutenant |
George H. Sullivan Thomas Frankson |
| Preceded by | Winfield Scott Hammond |
| Succeeded by | J. A. O. Preus |
| 20th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota | |
|
In office January 7, 1913 – December 30, 1915 |
|
| Governor |
Adolph O. Eberhart Winfield S. Hammond |
| Preceded by | Samuel Y. Gordon |
| Succeeded by | George H. Sullivan |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
July 21, 1879 Dayton, Iowa |
| Died | January 12, 1961 (aged 81) Minneapolis, Minnesota |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Louise Cross |
| Alma mater | University of Minnesota Law School |
| Profession | Lawyer, politician |
Joseph Alfred Arner Burnquist (July 21, 1879 – January 12, 1961) was an American Republican politician. He served in the Minnesota State Legislature from 1909 to 1911, was elected the 20th Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota in 1912, and then served as the 19th Governor of Minnesota from December 30, 1915 to January 5, 1921. He became governor after the death of Governor Winfield Scott Hammond.
After leaving government for nearly 18 years to practice law, Burnquist returned to serve as Minnesota Attorney General from January 2, 1939 until January 3, 1955 — the second longest tenure of any individual to hold that position.
Joseph Alfred Arner Burnquist was born in Dayton, Iowa of Swedish descent and earned his law degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1905.
After a brief time practicing law in St. Paul, he entered politics as a state legislator in 1908.
During his second term as lieutenant governor, he succeeded Governor Hammond, who died in office.
Turbulent times surrounded America's entrance into World War I in 1917. Not all Americans supported U.S. involvement in a European war, and this feeling was heightened in Minnesota because of dissatisfaction among farmers and laborers, who were more concerned with domestic policy than with the conflict overseas. Supporters of the war, suspicious of radicals, pacifists, and the foreign-born, acted quickly to stifle dissent. Through the Public Safety Commission—which Burnquist created in 1917 to monitor public sentiment toward the war—he quashed pacifist demonstrations and denounced in his final inaugural message those "few socialistically and anarchistically inclined" who questioned America's involvement in "the world's baptism of blood." The commission, ostensibly nonpartisan, firmly opposed any action its conservative members considered suspect or un-American.
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