Usher L. Burdick | |
|---|---|
 Burdickc. 1953 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota'sat-large district | |
| In office January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1959 | |
| Preceded by | Charles R. Robertson |
| Succeeded by | Quentin Burdick |
| In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1945 | |
| Preceded by | James H. Sinclair |
| Succeeded by | Charles R. Robertson |
| 8th Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota | |
| In office 1911–1913 | |
| Governor | John Burke |
| Preceded by | Robert S. Lewis |
| Succeeded by | Anton Kraabel |
| Member of theNorth Dakota House of Representatives from the 18th district | |
| In office 1907–1911 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Usher Lloyd Burdick (1879-02-21)February 21, 1879 Owatonna, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | August 19, 1960(1960-08-19) (aged 81) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
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| Alma mater | University of Minnesota Law School |
Usher Lloyd Burdick (February 21, 1879 – August 19, 1960) was a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota. He was the father ofQuentin Burdick.
Burdick was born inOwatonna, Minnesota, the son of Lucy (Farnum) and Ozias Perry Warren Burdick.[1] His parents were farmers. Burdick moved with his parents toDakota Territory in 1882. He graduated from theNorth Dakota State Normal School atMayville in 1900.
He was deputy superintendent of schools ofBenson County from 1900 to 1902. He graduated fromUniversity of Minnesota Law School in 1904, playing football as well as teaching school in a business college while attending the university. He was admitted to the state bar in 1904 and commenced practice inMunich, North Dakota.
He served as a member of theNorth Dakota House of Representatives from 1907 to 1911, serving as speaker in 1909. He moved toWilliston in 1907 and continued the practice of law. He was the eighthlieutenant governor of North Dakota from 1911 to 1913, state's attorney ofWilliams County from 1913 to 1915, and served as assistant United States district attorney for North Dakota from 1929 to 1932. Burdick also engaged in livestock breeding and farming and was an author.
In 1911, as lieutenant governor, Burdick presided over the impeachment trial of JudgeJohn F. Cowan, which was the first impeachment trial in state history. Cowan was found not guilty.[2][3]
In 1932, Burdick was elected president of theFarmers' Holiday Association, an association which advocated strikes for farmers, and which took radicaldirect action against farm foreclosures. Burdick was an unsuccessful candidate for theRepublican nomination to the73rd Congress in 1932, in which he favoredFranklin D. Roosevelt to be elected president and the repeal ofProhibition.
Burdick was elected as a Republican to the74th Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1945). While in Congress he supported manyNew Deal programs. He also was supportive of Native American issues. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1944, but was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination forUnited States Senator for North Dakota. He was an unsuccessful Independent candidate for election in 1944 to the79th Congress. Burdick was elected to the81st Congress and to the four succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1959). He was the only Republican congressional representative to vote against theCommunist Control Act which banned the Communist party. In 1958, afraid that he might be defeated for re-election in the Republican primary, Burdick offered to withdraw his candidacy if theDemocratic-NPL Party agreed to support his sonQuentin as the party candidate. Quentin then received the party endorsement in April, and won the election in November.[4] Burdick voted in favor of theCivil Rights Act of 1957.[5]
On Feb. 28, 1958, nearly three years after the death of his first wife, Emma, Burdick—then 79—married his 30-year-old secretary, Jean Rodgers.[6]
On August 19, 1960, only eleven days after his son Quentin was sworn into the United States Senate, Burdick died at age 81 inWashington, D.C., and was interred on his ranch atWilliston, North Dakota.
| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota 1911–1913 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota's at-large congressional district 1935–1945 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNorth Dakota's at-large congressional district 1949–1959 | Succeeded by |
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| Lieutenant governors | ||
| One seat at-large (1889–1903) |   | ||||||
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| Two seats at-large (1903–1913) |
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| Three districts (1913–1933) |
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| Two seats at-large (1933–1963) |
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| Two districts (1963–1973) |
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| One seat at-large (1973–present) | |||||||
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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