Karl Earl Mundt
Encyclopedia
Karl Earl Mundt 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.
, Mundt attended public schools in Humboldt, Pierre
, and Madison
, graduating from Madison High School in 1919. In high school, he excelled in oratory
and debate
, which became lifetime passions. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts
degree from Carleton College
in Minnesota
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 Master of Arts
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 1st congressional district
, losing in a Democratic
year to Fred H. Hildebrandt
. He won the seat in the 1938 election, a year more favorable to Republicans, 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, having been 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. Mundt 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. He did not seek reelection in 1972, and was succeeded in the Senate by the Democrat James G. Abourezk.
Karl Mundt died in Washington, D.C.
, in 1974 of a heart ailment and is buried in Madison, South Dakota.
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
.
Mundt was also involved in what would become the McCarran Internal Security Act
of 1950. 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 the McCarran Act. He also introduced a modification to Title 50, criminalizing the passage of certain classified information to foreigners.
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
.
founded the National Forensic League
, a high school honor society
promoting speech and debate
activities. Karl Mundt served as the organization's national president from 1932 until 1971.
Karl Mundt was the primary sponsor of The Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Convention, held in the summer of 1957. It featured, 55 high school (mostly) seniors in Washington, DC
and Philadelphia, PA, as representatives of the (then) 48 states and seven territories in a "mock" constitutional convention. Bruno E. Jacob was instrumental in this effort. One of the participants, James Copeland, delegate from Michigan
, went on to be Executive Secretary of the National Forensic League from 1986 to 2003.
in Madison
, where the campus library was named in his honor in 1969. 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 reexamined by political pundits in 2006 after South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson suffered a bleeding brain aneurysm
in December of that year. Mundt's extended absence from office could have provided a critical precedent if Senator Johnson had required a prolonged convalescence.
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, representing South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
in the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1938 to 1948 and in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 1948 to 1973.
Biography
Born in Humboldt, South DakotaHumboldt, South Dakota
Humboldt is a town in Minnehaha County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 589 at the 2010 census.-History:The town was named after German scientist, explorer and diplomat Alexander von Humboldt.-Geography:...
, Mundt attended public schools in Humboldt, Pierre
Pierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
, and Madison
Madison, South Dakota
Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,474 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University.-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, graduating from Madison High School in 1919. In high school, he excelled in oratory
Oratory
Oratory is a type of public speaking.Oratory may also refer to:* Oratory , a power metal band* Oratory , a place of worship* a religious order such as** Oratory of Saint Philip Neri ** Oratory of Jesus...
and debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
, which became lifetime passions. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Carleton College
Carleton College
Carleton College is an independent non-sectarian, coeducational, liberal arts college in Northfield, Minnesota, USA. The college enrolls 1,958 undergraduate students, and employs 198 full-time faculty members. In 2012 U.S...
in Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
in 1923 with a major in economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
, he became teacher and principal at Bryant High School in Bryant
Bryant, South Dakota
Bryant is a city in Hamlin County, South Dakota, United States. It is part of the Watertown, South Dakota Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 456 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Bryant is located at ....
, South Dakota. As a first-year teacher he taught speech, psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, sociology
Sociology
Sociology is the study of society. It is a social science—a term with which it is sometimes synonymous—which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity...
, 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 Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
degrees from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
following four years of summer study there. Beginning in 1928, they both taught at Eastern State Normal School (now Dakota State University
Dakota State University
Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...
), 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 1st congressional district
South Dakota's 1st congressional district
South Dakota's 1st congressional district is now obsolete. It existed from 1913 to 1983.When South Dakota was admitted into the Union in 1889, it was allocated two congressional seats, both of which were elected state-wide at-large...
, losing in a Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
year to Fred H. Hildebrandt
Fred H. Hildebrandt
Fred Herman Hildebrandt was a member of the United States House of Representatives from South Dakota, serving three consecutive terms...
. He won the seat in the 1938 election, a year more favorable to Republicans, and was re-elected four times. In 1948, he was elected to the Senate seat previously held by Harlan J. Bushfield
Harlan J. Bushfield
Harlan John Bushfield was a politician from South Dakota. He was born in Atlantic, Iowa in 1882. He moved with his family to South Dakota in 1883, and attended the public schools in Miller, South Dakota. He graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University in 1901, and from the University of Minnesota Law...
. He resigned his House seat on December 30, 1948, having been appointed to the Senate to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Vera C. Bushfield
Vera C. Bushfield
Vera Cahalan Bushfield was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota. Born in Miller, South Dakota, she attended the public schools, graduated from the Stout Institute in Menomonie, Wisconsin and also attended Dakota Wesleyan University and the University of Minnesota.She was appointed on October 6, 1948,...
, who had succeeded her husband after his death in September 1948. Mundt was reelected to the Senate in 1954, 1960, and 1966.
On 23 November 1969 he suffered a severe stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
and was subsequently unable to attend sessions of Congress, although he received extensive speech and physical therapy
Physical therapy
Physical therapy , often abbreviated PT, is a health care profession. Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing quality of life and movement potential within the spheres of promotion, prevention, diagnosis, treatment/intervention,and rehabilitation...
. 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. He did not seek reelection in 1972, and was succeeded in the Senate by the Democrat James G. Abourezk.
Karl Mundt died in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in 1974 of a heart ailment and is buried in Madison, South Dakota.
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)UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
in 1945. He was a key proponent of the Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
, which was established as a result of the Smith-Mundt Act
Smith-Mundt Act
The US Information and Educational Exchange Act of 1948 , popularly referred to as the Smith–Mundt Act, specifies the terms in which the United States government can engage global audiences, also known as public diplomacy....
, signed into law in 1948. He was a member of the House Un-American Activities Committee
House Un-American Activities Committee
The House Committee on Un-American Activities or House Un-American Activities Committee was an investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. In 1969, the House changed the committee's name to "House Committee on Internal Security"...
from 1943 to 1948. HUAC's activities during this period included the Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss
Alger Hiss was an American lawyer, government official, author, and lecturer. He was involved in the establishment of the United Nations both as a U.S. State Department and U.N. official...
hearings, in which Mundt was a key participant. HUAC also initiated its investigations of the motion picture industry, resulting in the Hollywood blacklist
Hollywood blacklist
The Hollywood blacklist—as the broader entertainment industry blacklist is generally known—was the mid-twentieth-century list of screenwriters, actors, directors, musicians, and other U.S. entertainment professionals who were denied employment in the field because of their political beliefs or...
. However, Mundt was unsuccessful in attempts to have HUAC continue investigating the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...
.
Mundt was also involved in what would become the McCarran Internal Security Act
McCarran Internal Security Act
The Internal Security Act of 1950, , also known as the Subversive Activities Control Act or the McCarran Act, after Senator Pat McCarran , is a United States federal law of the McCarthy era. It was passed over President Harry Truman's veto...
of 1950. In 1948, Mundt joined with Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
to introduce a bill to require registration of Communists
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the United States and to bar Communists from holding public office; a modified version of the bill was passed in the McCarran Act. He also introduced a modification to Title 50, criminalizing the passage of certain classified information to foreigners.
As a Senator, Mundt served on the Senate's Appropriations Committee, Foreign Relations Committee
United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It is charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. The Foreign Relations Committee is generally responsible for overseeing and funding foreign aid programs as...
, 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
Army-McCarthy Hearings
The Army–McCarthy hearings were a series of hearings held by the United States Senate's Subcommittee on Investigations between April 1954 and June 1954. The hearings were held for the purpose of investigating conflicting accusations between the United States Army and Senator Joseph McCarthy...
. His accomplishments as a Senator included obtaining support for Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
projects, establishment of the EROS Data Center
Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science
The Center for Earth Resources Observation and Science is a United States Geological Survey data management, systems development, and research field center. It serves as the national archive of remotely sensed images of the Earth's land surface acquired by civilian satellites and aircraft...
in Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, agriculture programs, and Interstate highway construction in South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
.
The National Forensic League
In 1925, Karl Mundt and Bruno E. JacobBruno E. Jacob
Bruno Ernst Jacob was a professor at Ripon College in Wisconsin and founder of the National Forensic League. He served as the League's Executive Secretary from 1925 until his retirement in 1969...
founded the National Forensic League
National Forensic League
The National Forensic League is a non-partisan, non-profit educational honor society established to encourage and motivate American high school students to participate in and become proficient in the forensic arts: debate, public speaking and interpretation. NFL is the America's oldest and largest...
, a high school honor society
Honor society
In the United States, an honor society is a rank organization that recognizes excellence among peers. Numerous societies recognize various fields and circumstances. The Order of the Arrow, for example, is the national honor society of the Boy Scouts of America...
promoting speech and debate
Debate
Debate or debating is a method of interactive and representational argument. Debate is a broader form of argument than logical argument, which only examines consistency from axiom, and factual argument, which only examines what is or isn't the case or rhetoric which is a technique of persuasion...
activities. Karl Mundt served as the organization's national president from 1932 until 1971.
Karl Mundt was the primary sponsor of The Alexander Hamilton Bicentennial Convention, held in the summer of 1957. It featured, 55 high school (mostly) seniors in Washington, DC
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
and Philadelphia, PA, as representatives of the (then) 48 states and seven territories in a "mock" constitutional convention. Bruno E. Jacob was instrumental in this effort. One of the participants, James Copeland, delegate from Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, went on to be Executive Secretary of the National Forensic League from 1986 to 2003.
Legacy
Karl Mundt's personal papers are archived at Dakota State UniversityDakota State University
Dakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...
in Madison
Madison, South Dakota
Madison is a city in Lake County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 6,474 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Lake County and is home to Dakota State University.-Geography:Madison is located at ....
, where the campus library was named in his honor in 1969. The Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge
Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge
Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge is located mostly in the southern part of the U.S. state of South Dakota, with a small extension into northern Nebraska, and includes 1,085 acres The refuge is a part of the Lake Andes National Wildlife Refuge Complex and is managed by the U.S. Fish and...
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 reexamined by political pundits in 2006 after South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson suffered a bleeding brain aneurysm
Aneurysm
An aneurysm or aneurism is a localized, blood-filled balloon-like bulge in the wall of a blood vessel. Aneurysms can commonly occur in arteries at the base of the brain and an aortic aneurysm occurs in the main artery carrying blood from the left ventricle of the heart...
in December of that year. Mundt's extended absence from office could have provided a critical precedent if Senator Johnson had required a prolonged convalescence.
External links
- Karl E. Mundt Archives Biography and information about the Senator's papers and memorabilia archived at Dakota State UniversityDakota State UniversityDakota State University is a public university located in Madison, South Dakota. The university has a technology centric focus with programs in computer and information science, business, education, physical sciences, among other graduate and undergraduate programs...
(Primary source for information in this article)