Carl Curtis

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	March 15, 1905 Minden, Nebraska
Died	January 24, 2000 (aged 94) Lincoln, Nebraska
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Nebraska Wesleyan University

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).

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 Senate from Nebraska in 1954 and won the election, then after incumbent Hazel Abel resigned, he was appointed on January 1, 1955 to the U.S. Senate, getting a 2-day jump on seniority. He was reelected three more times to six-year terms, serving from 1955 to 1979. He voted for the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 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 Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society.

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 investigation of bribery allegations against Robert Baker, Curtis supposedly leaked a secret memorandum to advance his own positions.^[3]

Curtis supported Nixon's Vietnam War escalation policy and remained loyal to him even during the height of the Watergate scandals, when Nixon was forced to resign as President. 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. Phillips, Cabell (17 March 1964). "Baker Case Causes Senate Floor Fight". New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2014.

External links

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