Stewart Lee Udall was an
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician. After serving three terms as a
congressmanThe United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from
ArizonaArizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, he served as
Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
from 1961 to 1969, under Presidents
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
.
Early life and career
Born January 31, 1920, in Saint Johns, Arizona, to
Levi Stewart UdallLevi Stewart Udall was a U.S. lawyer who served as Chief Justice of the Arizona Supreme Court. He was a member of the Udall political family....
(1891–1960) and Louise Lee Udall (1893–1974). He had five siblings: Inez, Elma,
MorrisMorris King "Mo" Udall was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961 to May 4, 1991...
, Eloise, and David Burr. As a young boy Stewart worked on the family farm in St. Johns. Stewart was remembered by his mother as a child with tremendous energy and an unquenchable curiosity.
Stewart Udall attended the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
for two years until
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He served four years in the Air Force as an enlisted gunner on a
B-24 LiberatorThe Consolidated B-24 Liberator was an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and a small number of early models were sold under the name LB-30, for Land Bomber...
, flying fifty missions over Western Europe from Italy with the 736th Bomb Squadron, 454th Bomb Group, for which he received the Air Medal with three Oak Leaf Clusters. He returned to the
University of ArizonaThe University of Arizona is a land-grant and space-grant public institution of higher education and research located in Tucson, Arizona, United States. The University of Arizona was the first university in the state of Arizona, founded in 1885...
in 1946, where he played guard on a championship basketball team and attended law school. In 1947, Udall, along with his brother Mo, helped integrate the University of Arizona cafeteria. Mo and Stewart were respected student athletes (and Mo was student body president) at the time. On their way to lunch at the Student Union one day, they saw a group of black students eating their lunch outside. Black students were allowed to buy food in the cafeteria but had to eat outside. They invited a black freshman, Morgan Maxwell Jr., to share their table in the cafeteria, helping calm some long simmering racial issues surrounding segregation at the University.
Udall received his law degree and was admitted to the Arizona bar in 1948. He began his law practice in Tucson shortly thereafter. Udall became increasingly active in public service, being elected to the School Board of Amphitheater Public Schools (District 10) in Tucson in June 1951. As a school board member, he participated in desegregating the Amphitheater School District before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in
Brown v. Board of EducationBrown v. Board of Education of Topeka, 347 U.S. 483 , was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that declared state laws establishing separate public schools for black and white students unconstitutional. The decision overturned the Plessy v. Ferguson decision of 1896 which...
. Udall was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona's Second District in 1954. He served with distinction in the House for three terms on the Interior and Education and Labor committees.
Secretary of the Interior
Udall served as
Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
under Presidents
John F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
and
Lyndon B. JohnsonLyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
from 1961 to 1969.
Under his leadership, the Interior Department aggressively promoted an expansion of federal public lands and assisted with the enactment of major environmental legislation. Among his accomplishments, Udall oversaw the addition of four national parks, six national monuments, eight national seashores and lakeshores, nine national recreation areas, 20 national historic sites, and 56 national wildlife refuges, including
Canyonlands National ParkCanyonlands National Park is a U.S. National Park located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab and preserves a colorful landscape eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green River, and their respective tributaries. The park is divided into four districts:...
in Utah,
North Cascades National ParkNorth Cascades National Park is a U.S. National Park located in the state of Washington. The park is the largest of the three National Park Service units that comprise the North Cascades National Park Service Complex. Several national wilderness areas and British Columbia parkland adjoin the...
in Washington, Redwood National Park in California, and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail stretching from Georgia to Maine.
Udall played a key role in the enactment of environmental laws such as the Clear Air, Water Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts and Amendments, the Wilderness Act of 1964, the
Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966In the United States the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 was the predecessor to the Endangered Species Act.Passed by Congress, this act permitted the listing of native U.S animal species as endangered and for limited protections upon those animals.This Act caused the Secretary of the...
, the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, the Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1965, the National Trail System Act of 1968, and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.
Soon after becoming the Secretary of Interior, Udall told the
Washington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
owner,
George Preston MarshallGeorge Preston Marshall was the owner and president of the Washington Redskins of the National Football League from 1932 until his death in 1969.-Contributions:...
, that he had to integrate the football team as every other franchise in the NFL had already done, or risk being evicted from the Washington, D.C., stadium, which was federally owned. Marshall integrated the team in 1962.
During Udall's tenure as Secretary of the Interior, in September 1962, he was summoned unexpectedly into a meeting with Soviet Premier
Nikita KhrushchevNikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
while on a tour of the
Soviet UnionThe Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
. It was during this meeting that Khrushchev famously hinted at his secret deployment of nuclear missiles to Cuba by telling Udall: "It's been a long time since you could spank us like a little boy. Now we can swat your ass." This was a prelude to the
Cuban Missile CrisisThe Cuban Missile Crisis was a confrontation among the Soviet Union, Cuba and the United States in October 1962, during the Cold War...
.
Udall also helped spark a cultural renaissance in America by setting in motion initiatives that led to the Kennedy Center, Wolf Trap Farm Park, the National Endowments for Arts and the Humanities, and the revived
Ford's TheatreFord's Theatre is a historic theater in Washington, D.C., used for various stage performances beginning in the 1860s. It is also the site of the assassination of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln on April 14, 1865...
. Upon Udall's recommendation President Kennedy asked former U.S. Poet Laureate
Robert FrostRobert Lee Frost was an American poet. He is highly regarded for his realistic depictions of rural life and his command of American colloquial speech. His work frequently employed settings from rural life in New England in the early twentieth century, using them to examine complex social and...
to read an original poem at his inauguration, establishing a precedent for that occasion.
A pioneer of the environmental movement, Udall warned of a conservation crisis in the 1960s with his best-selling book on environmental attitudes in the United States, The Quiet Crisis (1963). In the book, he wrote about the dangers of pollution, overuse of natural resources, and dwindling open spaces. Along with Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, The Quiet Crisis is credited with creating a consciousness in the country leading to the environmental movement. Udall was a staunch supporter of
Rachel CarsonRachel Louise Carson was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement....
and her work. Stewart Udall once stated, "Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man."
Udall also had the foresight, when he was Secretary of the Interior, to spearhead the use of NASA satellites to produce images of Earth from space for scientific research, leading to development of the Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS) center at the U.S. Geological Survey. Over the course of more than 40 years, that program has mapped the Earth from space, showing the physical changes to the planet.
Energy policy
During the energy crisis in the 1970s, Udall advocated the use of solar energy as one remedy to the crisis. In October 1972, Udall published a seminal article in
The Atlantic MonthlyThe Atlantic is an American magazine founded in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1857. It was created as a literary and cultural commentary magazine. It quickly achieved a national reputation, which it held for more than a century. It was important for recognizing and publishing new writers and poets,...
, called "The Last Traffic Jam." The article contained arguments for the proposition that "less is more" and foresaw problems with U.S. transportation and energy policy and competition with emerging markets for scarce resources. In 1974, Udall, along with Charles Conconi and David Osterhout, wrote
The Energy Balloon, discussing the United States' energy policies.
Later years
After leaving government service in 1969, Udall taught for a year at the School of Forestry at
Yale UniversityYale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
as a Visiting Professor of Environmental Humanism. He later devoted his time to writing books and articles about environmental issues and to practicing law. In 1971, he published
America's Natural Treasures: National Nature Monuments and Seashores about America's national parks, monuments, and reserves.
In 1979, he left Washington to return to the West. In 1980, Udall was elected to the Central Arizona Water Conservation District Board and commissioned as a member of the Arizona Parks Task Force. Udall was presented with the Ansel Adams Award in 1986, the Wilderness Society's highest conservation award. He was also awarded the United Nations Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement. Udall received the Common Cause Public Service Achievement Award for his lifelong protection of the environment and defense of American citizens who were victims of nuclear weapons testing.
In 1987, he published
To the Inland Empire: Coronado and our Spanish Legacy, which retraces the trails of Spanish explorer
Francisco Vasquez de CoronadoFrancisco Vásquez de Coronado y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, who visited New Mexico and other parts of what are now the southwestern United States between 1540 and 1542...
as he searched for the "golden cities" of Cibola in what is now Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. Udall published
The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation in 1988, a revised edition with nine new chapters of
The Quiet Crisis (1963). In 1990, he co-authored
Beyond the Mythic West, which examines effects of change upon the inhabitants and land of the western United States. In 1998, he published
The Myths of August: A Personal Exploration of Our Tragic Cold War Affairs with the Atom.
One of Udall's last essays was his "
Letter to My Grandchildren", written with his wife Ermalee, which asked for their grandchildren's assistance in advocating for protection of the Earth. This letter resulted in Udall being contacted by the
VillageTown Stewards who asked that they videotape the thoughts in that letter, since it was more likely that the generation of his grandchildren watch internet videos than read letters. Udall agreed, and the video can be seen on line at http://villageforum.com/images/stories/videos/stewart-u.jpg. This video was then transcribed and adapted to a chapter of a book,
Life Liberty Happiness. Udall also agreed to serve as Chairman Emeritus of the VillageTown Stewards. The video was filmed coincidentally on the Summer Solstice 2009, and Udall died nine months later on the Spring equinox. His public memorial was held on the Summer Solstice 2010. It is believed this video was the last recording of Udall's views.
In November 2009, Congress enacted legislation to honor Stewart Udall by renaming the Morris K. Udall Foundation as the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation, in recognition of the historic Interior Secretary's
contributions. The Udall Foundation, an independent federal agency, was created initially to honor the legacy of the late Morris Udall, who represented Southern Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives for 30 years. Stewart Udall, who also represented Southern Arizona in Congress from 1955 to 1961, is Morris Udall's older brother. The two worked together on many environmental and Native American initiatives while Stewart Udall was Secretary of the Interior and Morris Udall a member of Congress. Congress recognized that the Udall legacy was really a shared legacy, rooted in the work of the Udall brothers that dominated environmental reform for three decades.
Death
Stewart L. Udall died peacefully at his home in the foothills of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in the early hours of the Spring Equinox, March 20, 2010, at the age of 90, surrounded by his family. After his death, President Obama noted, "For the better part of three decades, Stewart Udall served this nation honorably. Whether in the skies above Italy in
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, in Congress or as Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall left an indelible mark on this nation and inspired countless Americans who will continue his fight for clean air, clean water and to maintain our many natural treasures." President Barack Obama, March 20, 2010.
Legacy
On June 8, 2010, the President of the United States signed legislation to designate the United States Department of the Interior Building as the "Stewart Lee Udall Department of the Interior Building."
Family
Stewart Udall was married to Ermalee Webb (died 2001) with whom he had four sons (
TomThomas Stewart "Tom" Udall is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008,...
, Scott, Denis and Jay) and two daughters (Lynn and Lori).
He was the brother of U.S. Representative and 1976 presidential candidate
Mo UdallMorris King "Mo" Udall was an American politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961 to May 4, 1991...
; he served as Mo's campaign manager during the Democratic
primary electionA primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....
, which Mo lost to
Jimmy CarterJames Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
. Stewart Udall's son
Tom UdallThomas Stewart "Tom" Udall is the junior United States Senator from New Mexico and a member of the Democratic Party. He had represented as a member of the United States House of Representatives since 1999. Udall was elected as the junior United States senator from New Mexico on November 4, 2008,...
and nephew
Mark UdallMark Emery Udall is the senior United States Senator from Colorado and a member of the Democratic Party. From 1999 to 2009, Udall served in the United States House of Representatives, representing . He also served a term in the Colorado House of Representatives.Born in Tucson, Arizona, he is the...
(Mo's son), both former members of the U.S. House of Representatives, were elected to the United States Senate from New Mexico and Colorado, respectively, in 2008.
Books Written by Stewart L. Udall
- The Quiet Crisis, 1963
- 1976: Agenda for Tomorrow, 1968
- America's Natural Treasures: National Nature Monuments and Seashores, 1971
- To the Inland Empire: Coronado and our Spanish Legacy, 1987
- The Quiet Crisis and the Next Generation, 1988 (Revised edition with nine new chapters of The Quiet Crisis (1963))
- In Coronado's Footsteps, 1991
- The Myths of August:--A Personal Exploration of Our tragic Cold War Affair with the Atom, 1994
- Majestic Journey, 1995, (Reissued To the Inland Empire under new title)
- The Forgotten Founders: Rethinking The History Of The Old West, 2002
Books Co-Authored by Stewart L. Udall
- A Heritage Restored: America's Wildlife Refuges, 1969, Murphy Robert William, Stewart L. Udall (Foreword)
- The Energy Balloon, 1974, with Charles Conconi and David Osterhout
- Beyond the Mythic West, 1988, with Patricia Nelson Limerick, Charles F. Wilkinson
- Arizona, Wild & Free, 1993, with nephew Randy Udall for the Arizona Game and Fish Department
- National Parks of America, 1993, David Muench with contributors James R. Udall and Stewart L. Udall
- The Wilderness from Chamberlain Farm: A Story Of Hope For The American Wild, 2001, Dean B. Bennett, Stewart L. Udall (Foreword)
- Death, Daring, & Disaster - Search and Rescue in the National Parks, 2005, Charles R. "Butch" Farabee Jr., Stewart L. Udall (Foreword)
- The Navajo People and Uranium Mining, 2007, with editors Doug Brugge, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie-Lewis, Stewart L. Udall (Foreword)
- Life Liberty Happiness - A journey from Blandville to a VillageTown, 2010, Claude Lewenz, and Michael Henderson, Stewart L. Udall (co-authors)
Books about Stewart L. Udall & Ermalee Udall
- Legacies of Camelot: Stewart and Lee Udall, American Culture, and the Arts, 2008, by L. Boyd Finch
Other information
- Point Udall
Point Udall at the east end of St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands is the easternmost point in the United States including territories and insular areas. It was named for Stewart Udall, United States Secretary of the Interior under Presidents John F...
, the easternmost place in the United States, was named for him.
- Udall was featured in the Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
' documentary for PBS, The National Parks: America's Best IdeaThe National Parks: America's Best Idea is a 2009 documentary film for television, DVD and companion book by director/producer Ken Burns and producer/writer Dayton Duncan which features the United States National Park system and traces the system's history...
.
- Udall's death left W. Willard Wirtz
William Willard Wirtz was a former U.S. administrator, cabinet officer, attorney, and law professor. He served as the Secretary of Labor between 1962 and 1969 under the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. At the time of his death, he was the last living member of...
as the last surviving member of John F. Kennedy's cabinet. Wirtz died on April 24, 2010. Udall was the last surviving original member of Kennedy's cabinet.
See also
- Leopold Report
The Leopold Report, officially known as Wildlife Management in the National Parks, is a 1963 paper composed of a series of ecosystem management recommendations that were presented by the Special Advisory Board on Wildlife Management to United States Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. Named...
- Navajo Nation: Lung cancer
- The Navajo People and Uranium Mining
The Navajo People and Uranium Mining is a non-fiction book edited by Doug Brugge, Timothy Benally, and Esther Yazzie-Lewis; it uses oral histories to tell the stories of Navajo Nation miners and families in the uranium mining industry. The foreword is written by Stewart L. Udall, former U.S. House...
- Lee-Hamblin family
The Lee-Hamblin family is a political family rooted in the American West. It is intertwined closely with the Udall family, and most, though not all the notable Lees are also Udall descendants. There are no known links to the political Lee family of Virginia....
External links