Karl E. Mundt Collection
Scope and Contents
The Karl Mundt Collection contains materials that represent the breadth of Senator Mundt's life and career. The approximate period of time covered by these materials is from Mundt's birth in 1900, to the death of his wife, Mary Moses, in 1985. In addition to Mundt's Congressional papers, the collection includes personal effects, family heirlooms, a reference library, and various other ephemera and memorabilia related to the Senator and the impact of his work.
The document collection is arranged into fifteen distinct records groups, and further divided into series and sub-series that reflect specific topics and subjects that are addressed by the materials in those series. In total the Karl Mundt Collection includes over 1,500 document boxes totaling nearly 700 linear feet, containing approximately two million individual documents. The media collection consists of over 300 audiovisual recordings, 6,000 photographs, paintings, and 100 scrapbooks. In addition to those materials, the collection holds approximately 270 three-dimensional artifacts, and over 1,200 bound volumes.
Dates
- 1900 - 1990
Conditions Governing Access
The Karl Mundt Collection is open to research, and no special permissions are necessary to access its materials. Researchers requiring extended access to the collection are asked to contact the archivist to make arrangements.
The document portion of the collection is available on microfilm via inter-library loan.
Conditions Governing Use
Copyright status for some collection materials may be unknown. Responsibility and potential liability based on copyright infringement for any use rests exclusively and solely with the user.
Biographical / Historical
Born in 1900, Karl Earl Mundt was an educator and Republican congressman representing South Dakota in the House of Representatives from 1939-1948 and the Senate from 1948-1973. Mundt graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Carleton College in Minnesota. He worked as a teacher and principle at Bryant High School in Bryant, South Dakota in 1923, becoming Superintendent of Bryant schools one year later. In 1928, Mundt taught at Eastern State Normal School (DSU) until 1936 when he began running for congress. After losing in 1936, Mundt was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1938 and later became a senator in 1948.
As a house representative of South Dakota, Mundt was a primary advocate of the Voice of America (VOA) and in encouraging the U.S. in joining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Mundt was an active member of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HOAC) during the Alger Hiss hearings and investigations of the film industry (he attempted to have HOAC investigate the Ku Klux Klan but failed). Mundt voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts, the 24th Amendment, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the Supreme Court. Mundt served on the Appropriations Committee, Foreign Relations Committee, Government Operations Committee, and Permanent Investigations Subcommittee, and he represented the Senate on the Intergovernmental Relations Advisory Commission. He also chaired the subcommittee for the Army-McCarthy Hearings. His accomplishments include obtaining support for Missouri River projects, establishment of the EROS Data Center, agriculture programs, and interstate highway construction in South Dakota.
DSU's library was dedicated to Mundt in 1969 and currently holds his donated papers. Mundt died in 1974 from heart ailments.
Extent
672 Linear Feet
Language of Materials
English
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Dakota State University Archives Repository