Walter Judd | |
|---|---|
 Judd in 1946 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1963 | |
| Preceded by | Oscar Youngdahl |
| Succeeded by | Donald M. Fraser |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Walter Henry Judd (1898-09-25)September 25, 1898 Rising City, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Died | February 13, 1994(1994-02-13) (aged 95) Mitchellville, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | University of Nebraska (BS,MD) |
| Awards | Presidential Medal of Freedom (1981) |
Walter Henry Judd (September 25, 1898 – February 13, 1994), also known asI-te Chou (Chinese:周以德), was an American politician and physician, best known for his battle in Congress (1943–63) to define theconservative position onChina as all-out support for the Nationalists underChiang Kai-shek and opposition to the Communists underMao Zedong. After the Nationalists fled to Formosa (Taiwan) in 1949, Judd redoubled his support.[1]
Judd was born inRising City, Nebraska, the son of Mary Elizabeth (Greenslit) and Horace Hunter Judd.[2] After training with theROTC for theUnited States Army near the end ofWorld War I, he earned hisM.D. degree from theUniversity of Nebraska in 1923.
After earning his medical degree from the University of Nebraska, Judd became the traveling secretary for theStudent Volunteer Movement. From 1925 through 1931, Judd was amedical missionary in China, sent to assistEdward Bliss. He worked first in small clinic a backwater town, then became head of a large hospital in a sizable city.
From 1931 to 1934, he worked at theMayo Clinic inRochester, Minnesota. Then, in 1934, he returned to China as a missionary physician until 1938, when he returned toMinnesota.
Upon his return the United States, he did not urge Americans to beisolationists. Instead, Judd encouraged support ofChina againstJapanese aggression.
In 1942, Judd was elected to theU.S. Congress fromMinnesota, where he became a powerful voice in support of China. He served for 20 years from 1943 until 1963 in the78th,79th,80th,81st,82nd,83rd,84th,85th,86th, and87th congresses. Judd voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957 and1960,[3][4] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.[5]
Judd was known for his eloquent oratory and expertise in U.S. foreign policy. He spoke at civic and political gatherings around the nation. He was a good friend of SenatorHarry S. Truman, and together they spent two weeks in 1943 making speeches in support of the United Nations, doubling up in hotel rooms at night. In Congress, Judd supported liberal international program such as theTruman Doctrine, theMarshall Plan, andNATO. He called for removal of ethnic and racial restrictions in the immigration laws. He was an outspoken anti-communist and critic of U.S.rapprochement with China at the expense ofTaiwan.[6] In the early 1950s, Judd helped organize the Committee of One Million, a citizens' group dedicated to keeping the People's Republic of China out of the United Nations.[7]
Judd gave the keynote address at the1960 Republican National Convention, which met in Chicago to nominate theNixon-Lodgeticket.
In 1962, Judd was defeated for reelection by liberal DemocratDonald M. Fraser. The District had been redrawn after the 1960 census, making it heavilyDemocratic.[8] Judd's defeat worked to increasePassman's power on the foreign aid subcommittee. He was the last person to attempt to run for president on a major party ticket to have been born in the 19th century, though he did not make it past the primaries. In 1964, Judd's name was placed in nomination at theRepublican National Convention for President and he received a smattering of votes.
According to biographer Yanli Gao:[9]
Judd was both a Wilsonian moralist and a Jacksonian protectionist, whose efforts were driven by a general Christian understanding of human beings, as well as a missionary complex. As he appealed simultaneously to American national interests and a popular Christian moral conscience, the Judd experience demonstrated that determined courageous advocacy by missionaries did in fact help to shape an American foreign policy needing to be awakened from its isolationist slumbers.
In 1981, he received thePresidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian award. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, he was actively involved in the Council Against Communist Aggression in Washington, D.C.
The Fund for American Studies, an educational and internship program that works in partnership withGeorge Mason University, annually presents the Walter Judd Freedom Award in cooperation with the Center for International Relations to recognize individuals who have advanced the cause of freedom in the United States and abroad. Past recipients have included former United States PresidentRonald Reagan,Jack Kemp,Jeane Kirkpatrick, and George J. Viksnins, a professor emeritus atGeorgetown University.
On February 13, 1994, Judd died of cancer inMitchellville, Maryland, aged 95.[10] He is interred with his wife, Miriam, at Blue Valley Cemetery inSurprise, Nebraska.
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Booknotes interview with Lee Edwards onMissionary for Freedom, September 2, 1990,C-SPAN |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota's 5th congressional district 1943–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Keynote Speaker of theRepublican National Convention 1960 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
