Henry C. Schadeberg
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's1st district
In office January 3, 1967 – January 3, 1971
Preceded by	Lynn E. Stalbaum
Succeeded by	Les Aspin
In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1965
Preceded by	Gerald T. Flynn
Succeeded by	Lynn E. Stalbaum
Personal details
Born	October 12, 1913 Manitowoc, Wisconsin, U.S.
Died	December 11, 1985(1985-12-11) (aged 72) Rockbridge Baths, Virginia, U.S.
Resting place	cremated
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Ruth Eleanor Hamilton ​ ​ (m. 1938⁠–⁠1985)​
Education	Carroll College (B.A.) Garrett Biblical Institute (B.D.)
Profession	Pastor
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy Reserve
Years of service	1943–1945 1951–1966
Rank	Captain, USNR
Unit	USSLouisville (CA-28)
Battles/wars	World War II Pacific War Philippines campaign Volcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign Korean War

Henry Carl Schadeberg (October 12, 1913 – December 11, 1985) was an Americanprotestant minister andRepublican politician from southeastWisconsin. He was a member of theU.S. House of Representatives for four terms, representingWisconsin's 1st congressional district from 1961 to 1965, and from 1967 to 1971. Schadeberg was an unabashed conservative and a stridentanti-communist.

Henry Schadeberg was born and raised inManitowoc, Wisconsin. He graduated from Manitowoc'sLincoln High School in 1931. Schadeberg was active in his church and church community from an early age.^[1] He went toCarroll College in 1934.^[2] While in college, he began preaching at aCongregational church inEast Troy, Wisconsin.^[3] After completing hisbachelor's degree in 1938, he became pastor serving threeMethodist churches in easternWalworth County, Wisconsin. He went on to attendGarrett Biblical Institute inEvanston, Illinois, where he earned hisBachelor of Divinity degree in 1941.^[2]

After completing his second degree, he moved to northern Wisconsin, where he was pastor of the Methodist church inOconto. After a year, he returned to southern Wisconsin, preaching in centralRock County.^[4] In 1943, he was elected the first president of the Evansville Ministerial Association.^[5]

In the fall of 1943, he enlisted in theUnited States Navy to serve as achaplain inWorld War II, and was commissioned as alieutenant junior grade.^[6][7] He was initially assigned to chaplain to a group of African American sailors managing a naval ammunition depot in Virginia. He was deployed in the Summer of 1944 to thePacific War with the cruiserUSSLouisville (CA-28), and served with the first phase of thePhilippines campaign. He returned to Wisconsin on shore leave in the Spring of 1945, but returned to theLouisville during theVolcano and Ryukyu Islands campaign. AfterV.J. Day, Schadeberg was appointed chaplain to AdmiralGeorge D. Murray in theMariana Islands group. He was awarded a commendation in the Fall of 1945 and returned to the United States in December.^[8][9]

After the war, he began preaching at historic Plymouth Congregational Church inBurlington, Wisconsin, and became chaplain of the localAmerican Legion post. He was formally installed as pastor of Plymouth Church in the Fall of 1946^[10] and also continued reserve duties as chaplain for the BurlingtonCivil Air Patrol.^[9][11] In addition to his normal pastoral duties, he was outspoken about political issues of the day. He spoke against racial prejudice that he had encountered through his service in Virginia,^[12] and framed theCold War competition as a moral crusade. He frequently gave speeches about "Americanism" and other patriotic ideas which later framed his political philosophy.^[13]

In 1952, he was formally recalled to active duty in the Navy due to theKorean War.^[14] After re-training, he was assigned as senior chaplain atUnited States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, inMaryland, where he was promoted tolieutenant commander. His family joined him there shortly after his arrival. He remained in Maryland until the conclusion of his active duty service in September 1953.^[15] He remained in the Navy Reserve until 1966, rising to the rank ofcaptain.

In 1957, he was appointed chairman of the local committee to direct community efforts to integrate the staff and personnel of the plannedR.I. Bong Air Force Base into Burlington society. The base, however, was never completed.^[16] Schadeberg remained active in the American Legion and continued blending patriotic messages with his pastoral duties. Later in 1957, he was elected moderator of the Milwaukee Association of Congregational Ministers,^[17] and the next year became president of the Burlington chapter ofRotary International.^[18]

In the Fall of 1959, Schadeberg announced he would run for Congress, seeking theRepublican Party nomination to challenge incumbent DemocratGerald T. Flynn inWisconsin's 1st congressional district. Republicans were widely expected to win the seat; Flynn was in his first term and had won a very narrow victory in the 1958 Democratic wave election after Republicans had held the 1st congressional district almost continuously since the founding of the party.^[19]

Schadeberg first faced a contested Republican primary against attorneys Richard Harvey Jr. and Edward Zahn Jr. Zahn was also a former assistant to then-Labor SecretaryJames P. Mitchell in the Eisenhower administration.^[20] Zahn and Harvey both criticized Schadeberg for lacking understanding of law and congressional process, but Schadeberg described that as an asset and suggested government didn't need more professional politicians. Schadeberg prevailed with 47% of the vote, assisted by a large volunteer campaign organization.^[21][22] In the general election, Schadeberg asserted his belief in small government and attacked the welfare state as "creeping socialism".^[23] Schadeberg won the election with 53% of the vote, unseating Flynn.^[22]

In the87th Congress, Schadeberg quickly aligned himself with the conservative faction of Republicans andDixiecrats.^[24] Throughout the term he frequently wrote or spoke in Wisconsin with fiery attacks on socialism, encouraging voters to elect more conservatives.^[25] He was assigned to theHouse Un-American Activities Committee and theHouse Veterans' Affairs Committee.^[26] By 1961, the House Un-American Activities Committee had become a political lightning rod due after theHollywood blacklist, the downfall ofJoe McCarthy, and a recentpolice riot at a committee hearing held atSan Francisco City Hall. There were calls to abolish the committee in 1961, which Schadeberg rejected, impugning the patriotism of those who would call for the committee's discontinuation.^[27] In the 1962 election, Schadeberg faced a rematch with Gerald Flynn, who accused Schadeberg of blocking civil rights legislation with his conservative allies.^[28] Schadeberg prevailed again by a similar margin.^[29]

During the88th Congress, Schadeberg voted against theClean Air Act.^[30] And, although he publicly expressed disagreements with parts of theCivil Rights Act of 1964, he ultimately voted in favor.^[31]

In 1963, the76th Wisconsin Legislature passed a congressional redistricting act. The new map made only one change to Schadeberg's congressional district, but it was significant for his election chances—Green County was entirely removed from the district. At the time, Green County was described as a bank of reliable Republican votes.^[32][33] Later that year, Schadeberg was urged by the Wisconsin Young Republicans to run forUnited States Senate in 1964 against incumbent DemocratWilliam Proxmire, but he ultimately chose to run for re-election instead.^[34] In the 1964 general election, he faced Racine state senatorLynn E. Stalbaum. Stalbaum, running as a moderate Democrat, attacked Schadeberg for blanket opposition to most of the agenda of presidents Kennedy and Johnson, and often attempted to link him to the Republican presidential nominee that year, Arizona U.S. senatorBarry Goldwater.^[35][36] The 1964 election, another Democratic wave year, resulted in a landslide against Goldwater and Republican incumbents; Stalbaum defeated Schadeberg with 51.5% of the vote, roughly 5,500 votes ahead of Schadeberg.^[37]

After leaving office, Schadeberg immediately organized a lobbying and congressional affairs office, called Research and Public Affairs Services, Inc.^[38] He continued to make strident anti-communist speeches in the district, but attempted to moderate his public image.^[39][40] He did not initially commit to running again, but actively warned other Republicans away from entering the primary.^[41] Schadeberg officially entered the race in March 1966, and faced no opposition in the primary.^[42][43] Schadeberg received early support from Republican House minority leaderGerald Ford, and began attacking congressional Democrats for increased spending, "rubber stamping" Johnson's agenda, and mishandling of theVietnam War.^[44] White backlash against theVoting Rights Act of 1965, which Stalbaum voted for, was also a significant motivating issue in the campaign, despite the fact that Schadeberg also indicated he would have voted for the law. The 1966 rematch was another very close election, with Schadeberg prevailing with 51% of the vote.^[43]

Stalbaum returned for another rematch in 1968 resulting in a similarly close election; Schadeberg won his fourth term.^[45] Following the death ofMartin Luther King Jr., Schadeberg infamously blamed urban rioting on foreign communist infiltration.^[46]

In 1970, however, Republicans early identified Schadeberg as facing a difficult re-election. Yale-educated economics professorLes Aspin emerged as his general election opponent, after narrowly defeating environmentalistDoug La Follette and former congressman Gerald Flynn in the Democratic primary. This was Aspin's second run for elected office after serving as a campaign manager and legislative staffer to U.S. Senator William Proxmire, as an aide to theCouncil of Economic Advisers under Kennedy, and as an appointee in the Department of Defense under Johnson. Aspin was a vigorous campaigner and a fiscal conservative, and demonstrated a mastery of foreign policy and military issues.^[47] But Aspin focused his message on the economy and inflation challenges, attacking the Nixon administration for mismanaging the economy.^[48] Aspin, who was 25 years younger than Schadeberg, also emphasized a message of new leadership and new ideas.^[49] Schadeberg doubled down on law and order rhetoric and traditional values, but avoided engaging on other issues.^[50] Aspin won the election with nearly 61% of the vote—a lopsided victory in the normally competitive district.^[51]

After leaving Congress, Schadeberg worked as a pastor for five years inGreenville, Michigan, before retiring to a farm inRockbridge Baths, Virginia. He died of natural causes at his home, there, on December 11, 1985.^[52]

Henry Schadeberg was the youngest of nine children born to George Schadeberg and his wife Rosa Clara (née Brockhoff). George Schadeberg was a masonry contractor and served seven years on the Manitowoc school board and 17 years on the county board of supervisors. He also served on the county board of appeals and served as an undersheriff and justice of the peace.^[53] All four of Henry's grandparents wereGerman American immigrants.

Henry Schadeberg married Ruth Eleanor Hamilton, of Waukesha, on June 18, 1938. Ruth was also a Carroll College graduate and, during college, was president of the national society ofphrateres. She subsequently worked as a teacher and was active in theAmerican Association of University Women.^[54] They had four children and were married for 47 years before Henry's death in 1985.^[46]

• List of members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

• United States Congress."Henry C. Schadeberg (id: S000108)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

• 1913 births
• 1985 deaths
• People from Manitowoc, Wisconsin
• People from Walworth County, Wisconsin
• People from Evansville, Wisconsin
• Politicians from Rock County, Wisconsin
• People from Oconto, Wisconsin
• People from Burlington, Wisconsin
• People from Greenville, Michigan
• People from Rockbridge County, Virginia
• American Methodist clergy
• American Congregationalist ministers
• United States Navy chaplains
• United States Navy personnel of World War II
• United States Navy personnel of the Korean War
• Carroll University alumni
• Garrett–Evangelical Theological Seminary alumni
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• Virginia Republicans
• 20th-century Wisconsin politicians
• American people of German descent
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• Members of the House Un-American Activities Committee

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata