Karl Earl Mundt
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Karl Earl Mundt (June 3, 1900 – August 16, 1974) was an American educator and a Republican member of the United States Congress, representing South Dakota in the United States House of Representatives from 1938 to 1948 and in the United States Senate from 1948 to 1973.
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[edit] Biography
Born in Humboldt, South Dakota, Mundt attended public schools in Humboldt, Pierre, and Madison, South Dakota, graduating from Madison High School in 1919. In high school, he excelled in oratory and debate, which became lifetime passions. After receiving a BA degree from Carleton College in 1923 with a major in economics, he became teacher and principal at Bryant High School in Bryant, South Dakota. As a first-year teacher he taught speech, psychology, sociology, and government, coached the debate, oratory, and extemporaneous speech teams, and began a school newspaper. After his first year, he was promoted to superintendent of Bryant schools, a position he held until 1927. As superintendent, he continued to coach debate and oratory.
In 1924, Mundt married Mary Elizabeth Moses, a college classmate who also taught at Bryant High School. In 1927, both Karl and Mary Mundt received MA degrees from Columbia University following four years of summer study there. Beginning in 1928, they both taught at Eastern State Normal School (now Dakota State University), continuing there until 1936. Karl headed the speech department and taught psychology and economics, while Mary taught drama and French.
In 1936, Mundt was the Republican candidate for the House of Representatives in South Dakota's First District, losing to Fred H. Hildebrandt. He won the seat in the 1938 election and was re-elected four times. In 1948, he was elected to the Senate seat previously held by Harlan J. Bushfield. He resigned his House seat on December 30, 1948, after being appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Vera C. Bushfield, who had succeeded her husband after his death in September 1948. Subsequently, he was reelected to the Senate in 1954, 1960 and 1966.
On 23 November 1969 he suffered a severe stroke and was subsequently unable to attend sessions of Congress, although he received extensive speech and physical therapy. His wife, Mary, led his staff in Mundt's place and refused calls for the crippled Senator to resign. Mundt was stripped of his committee assignments by the Senate Republican Conference in 1972, but he remained in office through the end of his term on January 3, 1973.[1][2] He did not seek reelection in 1972. He was succeeded in the Senate by James Abourezk.
Karl Mundt died in Washington, D.C., in 1974 of a heart ailment and is buried in Madison, South Dakota.
[edit] Accomplishments in the U.S. Congress
In the House of Representatives, Mundt sponsored and supported proposals for "Buy American" legislation, was a member of the Foreign Affairs committee from 1941 to 1948, and played a key role in encouraging the United States to join the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1945. He was a key proponent of the Voice of America, which was established as a result of the Smith-Mundt Act, signed into law in 1948. He was a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee from 1943 to 1948. HUAC's activities during this period included the Alger Hiss hearings, in which Mundt was a key participant. HUAC also initiated its investigations of the motion picture industry, resulting in the Hollywood blacklist. However, Mundt was unsuccessful in attempts to have HUAC continue investigating the Ku Klux Klan. In 1948, Mundt joined with Richard Nixon to introduce a bill to require registration of Communists in the United States and to bar Communists from holding public office; a modified version of the bill was passed in 1950 as the McCarran Act.
As a Senator, Mundt served on the Senate's Appropriations Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, Government Operations Committee, and Permanent Investigations Subcommittee, and he represented the Senate on the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Commission. In 1954, he chaired the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations for the Army-McCarthy Hearings. His accomplishments as a Senator included obtaining support for Missouri River projects, establishment of the EROS Data Center in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, agriculture programs, and Interstate highway construction in South Dakota.
[edit] National Forensics League
In 1925, Karl Mundt was a founder of the National Forensics League, a high school honor society promoting speech and debate activities. He served as the organization's national president from 1932 until 1971.[3]
[edit] Legacy
Karl Mundt's personal papers are archived at Dakota State University in Madison, where the campus library was named in his honor in 1969.[4] The Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota was named in his honor when it was established in 1974.
The Karl E. Mundt Foundation, established in Mundt's honor in 1963, awards prizes for essays and oratorical contests, sponsors seminars and public lectures, and helps support the annual Karl E. Mundt Debate Tournament and Karl E. Mundt Dakota Invitational Oral Interpretation Contest in South Dakota. The Karl E. Mundt Foundation has its offices at the Karl Mundt Library at Dakota State University.
Mundt's career was recently reexamined by political pundits after South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson suffered a bleeding brain aneurysm in December 2006. Mundt's extended absence from office may provide a critical precedent if Senator Johnson also requires a prolonged convalescence.
[edit] References
- ^ "S.D. recalls last empty Senate seat", Yahoo News (AP) 15 December 2006. (Link dead as of 15 January 2007)
- ^ "S.D. governor would name person to fill Johnson vacancy", USA Today 14 December 2006.
- ^ Jacob, Bruno E., "The NFL Year-by-Year", National Forensics League
- ^ Dakota State University, "Richard Nixon and the Dedication of the Mundt Library: An unusual event in a time of campus unrest"
[edit] External links
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Karl E. Mundt Archives Biography and information about the Senator's papers and memorabilia archived at Dakota State University (Primary source for information in this article)
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
| Preceded by Fred H. Hildebrandt |
United States Representative for the 1st Congressional District of South Dakota 1939–1948 |
Succeeded by Harold O. Lovre |
| Preceded by Vera C. Bushfield |
United States Senator from South Dakota 1948–1973 |
Succeeded by James Abourezk |
