- John E. Kenna
John Edward Kenna (
April 10 ,1848 –January 11 ,1893 ) was an American politician who was a Senator fromWest Virginia from 1883 until his death.Kenna was born near St. Albans, in Kanawha County,
Virginia , which became part of the state of West Virginia in 1863. He had little education, and at the age of 16 he served in the "Iron Brigade" with GeneralJoseph O. Shelby in theConfederate States Army and was wounded. After returning home, he read law and was admitted to the bar in 1870. He became very active in the emerging Democratic Party of West Virginia.He rose from prosecuting attorney of Kanawha County in 1872 to Justice "pro tempore" of the county circuit in 1875, and to the
United States House of Representatives in 1876. While in the House he championedrailroad legislation and crusaded for aid for slack-water navigation to help the coal, timber, and salt industries in his state. These activities earned him a seat in theUnited States Senate in 1883, where he continued fighting for his two causes.Kenna became Democratic minority leader and emerged as a powerful and controversial speaker on the issue of the independence of the executive branch of the government. He forcefully defended President
Grover Cleveland on several issues and indicted the Senate Republican majority for failure to pass tariff reforms. His brilliant career was cut short with his sudden death at the age of 44 on January 11, 1893.In 1901, the state of West Virginia donated a marble statue of Kenna to the
U.S. Capitol 'sNational Statuary Hall Collection .External links
* [http://www.aoc.gov/cc/art/nsh/kenna.cfm Architect of the Capitol/Capitol Complex/Art/John E. Kenna]
* [http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=K000099 US Congress Biographical Directory]
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