Mo Udall
Encyclopedia
Morris King "Mo" Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American
politician who served as a U.S. Representative
from Arizona
from May 2, 1961 to May 4, 1991. A former professional basketball
player with the old National Basketball League
Denver Nuggets
, noted for his liberal views, Mo Udall was a tall (6'5"), Lincolnesque
figure with a self-deprecating wit
and easy manner. Because of his wit, columnist James J. Kilpatrick
deemed him "too funny to be president
", which also ended up being the title of his autobiography
in the 1980s. Udall earned a law degree from the University of Arizona
in 1949. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
. He lost his right eye to a friend's pocket knife at the age of 6, while the two were attempting to cut some string, and wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. He attempted to enlist in the Army early in World War II, and almost succeeded, by covering his glass eye each time he was told to alternate during the eye exam. After he was medically cleared, another potential enlistee complained that he had been medically rejected for flat feet, while Udall had been cleared with a blind eye. This caused the examiners to retest Udall under closer scrutiny, and he was rejected. Later, medical standards changed and Udall served in the Army until the end of the war.
Later, Udall attended the University of Arizona
, where he was a star basketball
player and a member of Sigma Chi
Fraternity. He played for the Denver Nuggets
for one year following graduation as well as attending the University of Denver
school of law, and then returned to the University of Arizona for law school, where he graduated in 1949.
, the congressman for Arizona's second congressional district, located in the southern portion of the state, was appointed Secretary of the Interior
in the Kennedy
administration. Mo Udall won a special election for his brother's vacant seat by only 2,000 votes. He won the seat in his own right in 1962, and was reelected 13 more times. He only faced one close race, in 1978, when he was held to 52 percent of the vote.
During his tenure in Congress, Udall was best-noted for his championing of environmental
causes. He was also known for his devotion to campaign finance reform
and the welfare of Native Americans. He authored the Alaska Lands Act of 1980
, which doubled the size of the national park
s system, as well as legislation concerned with protecting archeological finds, enacting civil service
reform, legalizing Indian casino
s, and providing for the safe disposal of radioactive waste
.
In 1979, Udall was diagnosed with incurable Parkinson's disease
. While he managed to stay in Congress for another 12 years, by 1991 his health had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to resign
from Congress on May 4. He died on December 12, 1998 of complications from his illness.
In 1976, he ran for the Democratic nomination for President as a liberal alternative to Jimmy Carter
, the former Governor of Georgia
. Carter had gone from obscure maverick to front runner after a string of early caucus
and primary
victories, beginning in Iowa
and New Hampshire
. At the time of the Wisconsin
primary in April, most of the original 10 candidates had dropped out, leaving Udall, Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson
of Washington, Governor George Wallace
of Alabama
, and Carter. Udall looked set to win the primary and as the returns ticked in, it looked like he would win it. This might have slowed down the Carter momentum. Udall was projected the winner, exclaiming "Oh, how sweet it is". But as the election night progressed, Carter began chipping away at Udall's lead, eventually going into the lead.
Some newspapers actually proclaimed Udall the winner because of his lead the night before, not unlike the famous incident in the 1948 presidential election, in which the headline
s of the Chicago Tribune
erroneously proclaimed "Dewey
defeats Truman."
Carter's win was by 1%, which was no more than 7,500 votes. He won 37% to Udall's 36%, gaining one more convention delegate than Udall. Despite the small margins, Carter got the headlines and a further boost to his momentum, pulling away from Udall and the other candidates. In the end, Udall finished second in the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, Michigan, South Dakota, and Ohio primaries, and won the caucuses in his home state of Arizona, while running even with Carter in the New Mexico caucuses. Udall finished a distant second place to Carter at the Democratic National Convention, where his name was placed in nomination by Archibald Cox
, and Udall's speech received great applause from his supporters.
During the Michigan primary, the Carter campaign had Coleman Young
, the mayor of Detroit, accuse Udall of racism for belonging to the LDS church, which at the time, did not allow blacks to serve in the church's priesthood (since changed in 1978 by LDS Church President, Spencer W. Kimball
). Young's attack was at least somewhat unfair, since Udall had been a longtime critic of that church policy, and had ceased being an active member because of it. Carter's subsequent sweeping of the black vote in the Michigan primary was key to his crucial and narrow victory in Michigan.
Udall supported Senator Edward Kennedy
's challenge to President Carter in 1980, and Kennedy won the Arizona caucuses, one of only three wins for Kennedy in the west. Udall delivered the keynote speech at the 1980 Democratic convention, which was a typically witty Udall speech. Udall considered running for president again in 1984, but his illness kept him on the sidelines. At the convention that summer, Udall introduced his old foe, President Carter.
. It is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government, and among other functions, gives scholarship
s to students of environmental policy. In 2009, Congress added Mo's brother, Stewart Udall, into the foundation by renaming it the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.
Federal funds for Parkinson's research are designated through the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Act of 1997. The legislation funded a national network of "Centers of Excellence" to diagnose and treat Parkinson disease patients, and to refer patients into research protocols.
In 1996, Morris received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
from President Clinton.
Mo's son, Mark Udall
, was elected to the U.S. Congress from Colorado's 2nd district in 1998 and to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Mo's nephew Tom Udall
of New Mexico was also elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. His second cousin Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon was defeated for re-election the same year.
In Tucson, Arizona
, the main post office and a city park are named in his honor. Point Udall
on Guam
, considered the westernmost point of the United States, is also named for him.
Despite his years of service, the only political acquaintance who regularly visited him during his final years in a Veteran's hospital was his friend Senator John McCain
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician who served as a U.S. Representative
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 Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
from May 2, 1961 to May 4, 1991. A former professional basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
player with the old National Basketball League
National Basketball League (United States)
Founded in 1937, the National Basketball League, often abbreviated to NBL, was a professional men's basketball league in the United States. The league would later merge with the Basketball Association of America to form the National Basketball Association in 1949.- League history :The...
Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets (original)
This article is about the original Denver Nuggets NBL/NBA team from 1948-1950. For the current NBA team see Denver Nuggets.The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado, The United States of America...
, noted for his liberal views, Mo Udall was a tall (6'5"), Lincolnesque
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
figure with a self-deprecating wit
Wit
Wit is a form of intellectual humour, and a wit is someone skilled in making witty remarks. Forms of wit include the quip and repartee.-Forms of wit:...
and easy manner. Because of his wit, columnist James J. Kilpatrick
James J. Kilpatrick
James Jackson Kilpatrick was an American editorial columnist and grammarian. He was a legal abstractionist, a social conservative, and an economic libertarian according to Harvard ....
deemed him "too funny to be president
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
", which also ended up being the title of his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
in the 1980s. Udall earned a law degree from the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 1949. He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Early life
Mo Udall was born in St. Johns, Apache County, Arizona, a son of Levi Stewart UdallLevi Stewart Udall
Levi Stewart Udall was a U.S. lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was a member of the Udall political family....
. He lost his right eye to a friend's pocket knife at the age of 6, while the two were attempting to cut some string, and wore a glass eye for the rest of his life. He attempted to enlist in the Army early in World War II, and almost succeeded, by covering his glass eye each time he was told to alternate during the eye exam. After he was medically cleared, another potential enlistee complained that he had been medically rejected for flat feet, while Udall had been cleared with a blind eye. This caused the examiners to retest Udall under closer scrutiny, and he was rejected. Later, medical standards changed and Udall served in the Army until the end of the war.
Later, Udall attended the University of Arizona
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
, where he was a star basketball
Arizona Wildcats men's basketball
The Arizona Wildcats basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The team competes in the Pacific-12 Conference of NCAA Division I. They are currently coached by Sean Miller.Arizona has a long and rich...
player and a member of Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi
Sigma Chi is the largest and one of the oldest college Greek-letter secret and social fraternities in North America with 244 active chapters and more than . Sigma Chi was founded on June 28, 1855 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio when members split from Delta Kappa Epsilon...
Fraternity. He played for the Denver Nuggets
Denver Nuggets (original)
This article is about the original Denver Nuggets NBL/NBA team from 1948-1950. For the current NBA team see Denver Nuggets.The Denver Nuggets were a professional basketball team based in Denver, Colorado, The United States of America...
for one year following graduation as well as attending the University of Denver
University of Denver
The University of Denver is currently ranked 82nd among all public and private "National Universities" by U.S. News & World Report in the 2012 rankings....
school of law, and then returned to the University of Arizona for law school, where he graduated in 1949.
Political career
In 1961, his brother Stewart UdallStewart Udall
Stewart Lee Udall was an American politician. After serving three terms as a congressman from Arizona, he served as Secretary of the Interior from 1961 to 1969, under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B...
, the congressman for Arizona's second congressional district, located in the southern portion of the state, was appointed Secretary of the Interior
United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
in the Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
administration. Mo Udall won a special election for his brother's vacant seat by only 2,000 votes. He won the seat in his own right in 1962, and was reelected 13 more times. He only faced one close race, in 1978, when he was held to 52 percent of the vote.
During his tenure in Congress, Udall was best-noted for his championing of environmental
Environmentalism
Environmentalism is a broad philosophy, ideology and social movement regarding concerns for environmental conservation and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks to incorporate the concerns of non-human elements...
causes. He was also known for his devotion to campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform
Campaign finance reform is the common term for the political effort in the United States to change the involvement of money in politics, primarily in political campaigns....
and the welfare of Native Americans. He authored the Alaska Lands Act of 1980
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act was a United States federal law passed in 1980 by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on December 2 of that year....
, which doubled the size of the national park
National park
A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...
s system, as well as legislation concerned with protecting archeological finds, enacting civil service
Civil service
The term civil service has two distinct meanings:* A branch of governmental service in which individuals are employed on the basis of professional merit as proven by competitive examinations....
reform, legalizing Indian casino
Native American gambling enterprises
Native American gaming enterprises are gaming businesses operated on Indian reservations or tribal land in the United States. Indian tribes have limited sovereignty over these businesses and therefore are granted the ability to establish gambling enterprises outside of direct state...
s, and providing for the safe disposal of radioactive waste
Radioactive waste
Radioactive wastes are wastes that contain radioactive material. Radioactive wastes are usually by-products of nuclear power generation and other applications of nuclear fission or nuclear technology, such as research and medicine...
.
In 1979, Udall was diagnosed with incurable Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative disorder of the central nervous system...
. While he managed to stay in Congress for another 12 years, by 1991 his health had deteriorated to the point where he was forced to resign
Resignation
A resignation is the formal act of giving up or quitting one's office or position. It can also refer to the act of admitting defeat in a game like chess, indicated by the resigning player declaring "I resign", turning his king on its side, extending his hand, or stopping the chess clock...
from Congress on May 4. He died on December 12, 1998 of complications from his illness.
Presidential campaign
In 1976, he ran for the Democratic nomination for President as a liberal alternative to Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
, the former Governor of Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
. Carter had gone from obscure maverick to front runner after a string of early caucus
Caucus
A caucus is a meeting of supporters or members of a political party or movement, especially in the United States and Canada. As the use of the term has been expanded the exact definition has come to vary among political cultures.-Origin of the term:...
and primary
Primary election
A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
victories, beginning in Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. At the time of the Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
primary in April, most of the original 10 candidates had dropped out, leaving Udall, Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson
Henry M. Jackson
Henry Martin "Scoop" Jackson was a U.S. Congressman and Senator from the state of Washington from 1941 until his death...
of Washington, Governor George Wallace
George Wallace
George Corley Wallace, Jr. was the 45th Governor of Alabama, serving four terms: 1963–1967, 1971–1979 and 1983–1987. "The most influential loser" in 20th-century U.S. politics, according to biographers Dan T. Carter and Stephan Lesher, he ran for U.S...
of Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
, and Carter. Udall looked set to win the primary and as the returns ticked in, it looked like he would win it. This might have slowed down the Carter momentum. Udall was projected the winner, exclaiming "Oh, how sweet it is". But as the election night progressed, Carter began chipping away at Udall's lead, eventually going into the lead.
Some newspapers actually proclaimed Udall the winner because of his lead the night before, not unlike the famous incident in the 1948 presidential election, in which the headline
Headline
The headline is the text at the top of a newspaper article, indicating the nature of the article below it.It is sometimes termed a news hed, a deliberate misspelling that dates from production flow during hot type days, to notify the composing room that a written note from an editor concerned a...
s of the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
erroneously proclaimed "Dewey
Thomas Dewey
Thomas Edmund Dewey was the 47th Governor of New York . In 1944 and 1948, he was the Republican candidate for President, but lost both times. He led the liberal faction of the Republican Party, in which he fought conservative Ohio Senator Robert A. Taft...
defeats Truman."
Carter's win was by 1%, which was no more than 7,500 votes. He won 37% to Udall's 36%, gaining one more convention delegate than Udall. Despite the small margins, Carter got the headlines and a further boost to his momentum, pulling away from Udall and the other candidates. In the end, Udall finished second in the New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, New York, Michigan, South Dakota, and Ohio primaries, and won the caucuses in his home state of Arizona, while running even with Carter in the New Mexico caucuses. Udall finished a distant second place to Carter at the Democratic National Convention, where his name was placed in nomination by Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox
Archibald Cox, Jr., was an American lawyer and law professor who served as U.S. Solicitor General under President John F. Kennedy. He became known as the first special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal. During his career, he was a pioneering expert on labor law and also an authority on...
, and Udall's speech received great applause from his supporters.
During the Michigan primary, the Carter campaign had Coleman Young
Coleman Young
Coleman Alexander Young served as mayor of Detroit in the U.S. state of Michigan from 1974 to 1993. Young became the first African-American mayor of Detroit in the same week that Maynard Jackson became the first African-American mayor of Atlanta.-Pre-Mayoral career:Young was born in Tuscaloosa,...
, the mayor of Detroit, accuse Udall of racism for belonging to the LDS church, which at the time, did not allow blacks to serve in the church's priesthood (since changed in 1978 by LDS Church President, Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer W. Kimball
Spencer Woolley Kimball was the twelfth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from 1973 until his death in 1985.-Ancestry:...
). Young's attack was at least somewhat unfair, since Udall had been a longtime critic of that church policy, and had ceased being an active member because of it. Carter's subsequent sweeping of the black vote in the Michigan primary was key to his crucial and narrow victory in Michigan.
Udall supported Senator Edward Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
's challenge to President Carter in 1980, and Kennedy won the Arizona caucuses, one of only three wins for Kennedy in the west. Udall delivered the keynote speech at the 1980 Democratic convention, which was a typically witty Udall speech. Udall considered running for president again in 1984, but his illness kept him on the sidelines. At the convention that summer, Udall introduced his old foe, President Carter.
Legacy
In 1992, the US Congress founded the Morris K. Udall Scholarship and Excellence in National Environmental Policy FoundationMorris K. Udall Foundation
The Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation is an Executive Branch office of the United States Government. The Foundation was established by the Congress in 1992 to honor Morris Udall’s thirty years of service in the House of Representatives. Congress amended the name in 2009 to include...
. It is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government, and among other functions, gives scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
s to students of environmental policy. In 2009, Congress added Mo's brother, Stewart Udall, into the foundation by renaming it the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation.
Federal funds for Parkinson's research are designated through the Morris K. Udall Parkinson's Disease Research Act of 1997. The legislation funded a national network of "Centers of Excellence" to diagnose and treat Parkinson disease patients, and to refer patients into research protocols.
In 1996, Morris received the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
from President Clinton.
Mo's son, Mark Udall
Mark Udall
Mark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
, was elected to the U.S. Congress from Colorado's 2nd district in 1998 and to the U.S. Senate in 2008. Mo's nephew Tom Udall
Tom Udall
Thomas Stewart "Tom" Udall is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008,...
of New Mexico was also elected to the U.S. Senate in 2008. His second cousin Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon was defeated for re-election the same year.
In Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
, the main post office and a city park are named in his honor. Point Udall
Point Udall (Guam)
Point Udall is the westernmost point in the territorial United States, located on the Orote Peninsula of Guam. It lies at the mouth of Apra Harbor, on the end of Orote Peninsula, opposite the Glass Breakwater of Cabras Island which forms the northern coast of the harbor.-Naming:The point is named...
on Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, considered the westernmost point of the United States, is also named for him.
Despite his years of service, the only political acquaintance who regularly visited him during his final years in a Veteran's hospital was his friend Senator John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
.
Further reading
- Carson, Donald W., and Johnson, James W., 2004, Mo: The Life and Times of Morris K. Udall . Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press. (ISBN 0816524491)
External links
- Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation
- Biography - at the Political Graveyard
- Morris K. Udall manuscript collection, the Library of the University of ArizonaUniversity of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...