Joshua H. Berkey was born in Tennessee and relocated to Wisconsin during his childhood. He pursued a career in business, eventually selling a drug store and working in the mining industry in Denver, Colorado. Berkey transitioned to farming in Kansas, where he founded a temperance newspaper. He remained active in the prohibition movement, delivering numerous lectures and running for political office on the Prohibition Party ticket. Berkey later entered the ministry, serving as a Christian minister in Wisconsin until his death.

Joshua H. Berkey's political identity is marked by an unwavering commitment to temperance and prohibition, which he believed would yield economic benefits. His unique ideological positioning combines a fervent advocacy for alcohol restriction with a strategic, highly localized approach to policy implementation. Berkey's rhetorical style is deeply rooted in religious conviction, as evidenced by his dual roles as a temperance newspaper publisher and a minister. His legislative efforts reveal an unexpected convergence with economic arguments, suggesting a calculated approach to protecting regional interests through moral frameworks.