Carl Curtis

Carl Thomas Curtis (March 15, 1905 – January 24, 2000) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Nebraska. He served as a Republican in the United States House of Representatives (1939–1954) and later the United States Senate (1955–1979). He remains the second-longest-serving Senator from Nebraska.

Carl Curtis
United States senator from Nebraska
In office January 1, 1955 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	Hazel Abel
Succeeded by	J. James Exon
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 1st district
In office January 3, 1943 – December 31, 1954
Preceded by	Oren S. Copeland
Succeeded by	Phillip Hart Weaver
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 4th district
In office January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1943
Preceded by	Charles Gustav Binderup
Succeeded by	Arthur L. Miller
Personal details
Born	Carl Thomas Curtis (1905-03-15)March 15, 1905 Minden, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	January 24, 2000(2000-01-24) (aged 94) Lincoln, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Nebraska Wesleyan University

Early life

Curtis was born on his family's farm in Kearney County, Nebraska, near the county seat of Minden. He attended public schools and later attended Nebraska Wesleyan University, where he was a member of Theta Chi.[1] He studied law on his own and passed the bar exam. He began practicing law in Kearney County and served as the county attorney from 1931 to 1934.

Career

Curtis was elected to the House of Representatives in 1938 on an anti-Franklin D. Roosevelt and New Deal platform. He served in the House from 1939 until 1954, being reelected every two years.[2] Curtis ran for the United States Senate from Nebraska in 1954 and won the election, then after incumbent Sen. Hazel Abel resigned, he was appointed on January 1, 1955, getting a two-day jump on seniority. Incidentally, the fifteenth Senate term for Nebraska's Class 2 seat, which lasted from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1955, was unusual in that it saw six Senators serve. Curtis was the sixth and last of these. He was reelected three more times to six-year terms, serving from 1955 to 1979. Curtis voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[3] 1960,[4] 1964,[5] and 1968,[6] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[7] the Voting Rights Act of 1965,[8] and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.[9] Curtis was loyal to the Republican Party, particularly supporting its anti-communist stances and fiscal conservatism, which included opposition to social programs such as the New Deal and President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society.

During the 1963 investigation of bribery allegations against Democratic Party organizer Robert Baker, Curtis supposedly leaked a secret memorandum to advance his own positions.[10]

A close ally of both Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon, Curtis served as floor leader during the 1964 Republican National Convention, when Goldwater won the nomination.

During the early 1970s, Curtis supported President Richard Nixon's Vietnam War escalation policy, and remained loyal to him throughout the Watergate Scandal. On August 6, 1974, two days before Nixon resigned, he implored Congress not to panic. He warned that the United States would become like a "banana republic" if Nixon was ousted in favor of Vice President Ford, who in turn would then select someone to fill the vice presidential slot. He said "this would mean both Ford and the new Vice President would be men who hadn't been elected to their high office, but merely nominated by a President under procedures for filling the vice presidency when it is vacant."[11]

Curtis served as chairman of the Senate Republican Conference from 1975 to 1979.

Later life

Following his retirement, Curtis moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, where he practiced law, served as an officer of the conservative lobby the American Freedom Coalition, and gave occasional interviews to the media.

Curtis died in Lincoln on January 24, 2000, and is interred at Minden Cemetery in Minden, his longtime hometown. Following his death, he was praised on the Senate floor in a speech delivered by Strom Thurmond, a contemporary of Curtis's who was also elected to the Senate in 1954.

References

1. "CURTIS, Carl Thomas, (1905 - 2000)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
2. "Carl Thomas Curtis (1905-2000)". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved October 6, 2012.
3. "HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
4. "HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL".
5. "HR. 7152. PASSAGE".
6. "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES".
7. "S.J. RES. 29. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION BANNING THE POLL TAX AS PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
8. "TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965".
9. "CONFIRMATION OF NOMINATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT". GovTrack.us.
10. Phillips, Cabell (17 March 1964). "Baker Case Causes Senate Floor Fight". New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2014.
11. Rich, Spencer (August 7, 1974). "Resignation Urged By GOP Senators" (PDF). Washington Post. Retrieved November 17, 2019 – via The Weisberg Collection, Hood College, Frederick, Maryland.

External links

• United States Congress. "Carl Curtis (id: C001006)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• The Political Graveyard

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Charles Gustav Binderup	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 4th congressional district January 3, 1939 – January 3, 1943	Succeeded by Arthur L. Miller
Preceded by Oren S. Copeland	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Nebraska's 1st congressional district January 3, 1943 – December 31, 1954	Succeeded by Phillip Hart Weaver
U.S. Senate
Preceded by Hazel Abel	U.S. senator (Class 2) from Nebraska January 1, 1955 – January 3, 1979 Served alongside: Roman Hruska, Edward Zorinsky	Succeeded by J. James Exon
Party political offices
Preceded by Hazel Abel	Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Nebraska (Class 2) 1954, 1960, 1966, 1972	Succeeded by Donald Eugene Shasteen
Preceded by Norris Cotton	Chair of the Senate Republican Conference 1975–1979	Succeeded by Bob Packwood
Honorary titles
Preceded by Jennings Randolph	Most Senior Living U.S. Representative (Sitting or Former) May 8, 1998 – January 24, 2000	Succeeded by Edwin Arthur Hall