Luther Youngdahl
Encyclopedia
Luther Wallace Youngdahl (May 29, 1896 June 21, 1978) was an American politician and judge from Minnesota
. He served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
from 1942 to 1946, then as Minnesota's 27th Governor from January 8, 1947 to September 27, 1951, and finally as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1951 until his death in 1978.
One of ten children of a Minneapolis grocer, Youngdahl was a promising student at Gustavus Adolphus College
, where he excelled in athletics and oratory and was active in campus government. Afterward, he attended William Mitchell College of Law
(then the Minnesota College of Law). In 1930 Governor Theodore Christianson
appointed the young lawyer to a municipal judgeship, the first of several judiciary positions he would hold before and after governing the state.
Politically, he was determined to rid the state of its pernicious gambling problem and he began, during the first of his three gubernatorial terms, by outlawing slot machine
s. Soon after dealing a sharp blow to racketeering, Youngdahl launched his "humanity in government" program. Appalled by the conditions of state mental hospital
s, Youngdahl introduced a more humane concept of care. His sincere efforts to improve the lot of troubled youth, enhance public education
, and give returning World War II veteran
s a financial boost earned this Republican administrator bipartisan respect and support. So popular was Youngdahl that he won each successive gubernatorial election by an ever-larger margin. That some conservatives found him "too liberal" didn't diminish his appeal or effectiveness.
Although Youngdahl, on the advice of his doctor, chose not to seek a fourth term as governor in 1952, he continued in public service as a federal judge
in Washington, D.C. appointed by President Harry Truman. In 1953, he dismissed perjury charges against Owen Lattimore
, a professor who had been charged with lying before a Senate Committee when he testified that he was unsympathetic to Communism. Youngdahl found that the indictment was too vague and that the prosecution would hinder free speech. In 1955, after new charges had been brought against Lattimore, Youngdahl again dismissed the charges on First Amendment grounds. After the United States Court of Appeals affirmed Youngdahl's decision, the case was dropped.
Long a believer in the benefits of rigorous exercise, Judge Youngdahl was still hearing cases and hiking four miles a day in his early eighties. He died in 1978 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
.
Youngdahl's son, Rev. L. William Youngdahl, was the subject of the documentary film A Time for Burning
about efforts to integrate an all-white Omaha church in the mid-1960s.
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...
. He served as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court
Minnesota Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota and consists of seven members. The court was first assembled as a three-judge panel in 1849 when Minnesota was still a territory. The first members were lawyers from outside of the region who were appointed by...
from 1942 to 1946, then as Minnesota's 27th Governor from January 8, 1947 to September 27, 1951, and finally as a judge for the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia from 1951 until his death in 1978.
One of ten children of a Minneapolis grocer, Youngdahl was a promising student at Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College
Gustavus Adolphus College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America located in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. A coeducational, four-year, residential institution, it was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans. To this day the school is firmly...
, where he excelled in athletics and oratory and was active in campus government. Afterward, he attended William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law
William Mitchell College of Law, or WMCL, is a private, independent law school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Accredited by the American Bar Association , it offers full and part-time legal education in pursuit of the Juris Doctor degree....
(then the Minnesota College of Law). In 1930 Governor Theodore Christianson
Theodore Christianson
Theodore Christianson was an American politician who served as the 21st Governor of Minnesota from January 6, 1925 until January 6, 1931.-Background:...
appointed the young lawyer to a municipal judgeship, the first of several judiciary positions he would hold before and after governing the state.
Politically, he was determined to rid the state of its pernicious gambling problem and he began, during the first of his three gubernatorial terms, by outlawing slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
s. Soon after dealing a sharp blow to racketeering, Youngdahl launched his "humanity in government" program. Appalled by the conditions of state mental hospital
Mental Hospital
Mental hospital may refer to:*Psychiatric hospital*hospital in Nepal named Mental Hospital...
s, Youngdahl introduced a more humane concept of care. His sincere efforts to improve the lot of troubled youth, enhance public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
, and give returning World War II veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
s a financial boost earned this Republican administrator bipartisan respect and support. So popular was Youngdahl that he won each successive gubernatorial election by an ever-larger margin. That some conservatives found him "too liberal" didn't diminish his appeal or effectiveness.
Although Youngdahl, on the advice of his doctor, chose not to seek a fourth term as governor in 1952, he continued in public service as a federal judge
United States federal judge
In the United States, the title of federal judge usually means a judge appointed by the President of the United States and confirmed by the United States Senate in accordance with Article II of the United States Constitution....
in Washington, D.C. appointed by President Harry Truman. In 1953, he dismissed perjury charges against Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore
Owen Lattimore was an American author, educator, and influential scholar of Central Asia, especially Mongolia. In the 1930s he was editor of Pacific Affairs, a journal published by the Institute of Pacific Relations, and then taught at Johns Hopkins University from 1938 to 1963...
, a professor who had been charged with lying before a Senate Committee when he testified that he was unsympathetic to Communism. Youngdahl found that the indictment was too vague and that the prosecution would hinder free speech. In 1955, after new charges had been brought against Lattimore, Youngdahl again dismissed the charges on First Amendment grounds. After the United States Court of Appeals affirmed Youngdahl's decision, the case was dropped.
Long a believer in the benefits of rigorous exercise, Judge Youngdahl was still hearing cases and hiking four miles a day in his early eighties. He died in 1978 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Youngdahl's son, Rev. L. William Youngdahl, was the subject of the documentary film A Time for Burning
A Time for Burning
A Time for Burning is a 1966 American documentary film which explores the attempts of the minister of Augustana Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska, to persuade his all-white congregation to reach out to "negro" Lutherans in the city's north side. The film was directed by San Francisco filmmaker...
about efforts to integrate an all-white Omaha church in the mid-1960s.