Burdick, Quentin N. (Quentin Northrup), 1908-1992

Source: Quentin N. Burdick, Late a Senator from North Dakota: Memorial Addresses Delivered in Congress. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1992. "Quentin Northrop Burdick was born in Munich, North Dakota on June 19, 1908. His parents were Usher L. Burdick and the former Emma C. Robertson of Park River. The family moved to Williston when he was 2. Quentin Burdick enjoyed breaking wild ponies on his father's ranch in Williston. He was president of his class and captain of Williston High School's undefeated football team in his senior year. He continued his football career at the University of Minnesota, where he blocked for future Hall-of-Famer Bronko Nagurski. Besides football and wrestling honors, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Science, Literature and the Arts and graduated from law school with a Letters of Law degree. Both his parents had received degrees from the University of Minnesota. Mr. Burdick entered law practice in Fargo with his father in 1932. As head of the North Dakota Holiday Association which advised farmers to take a holiday against foreclosures, Usher Burdick told farmers who couldn't afford an attorney to go see his son, who could help them stall for time. In 1934, Usher Burdick was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served 10 terms, from 1934 to 1944 and 1948 to 1958. Mr. Burdick married Marietta Janecky of New Prague, Minnesota, in March 1933. They had four children-Jonathan, Jan Mary, Jennifer and Jessica. "Young Burdick" quickly became immersed in politics, becoming active in the new Non-Partisan League (NPL), which was allied with the Republicans until 1956. The progressive-populist group nominated him for State's Attorney twice, in 1934 and 1940, and for State Senator from Cass County in 1936. He ran for Lt. Governor as a Republican in 1942. He lost all four races.

Thinking that the NPL was dividing the State's progressive vote, Quentin Burdick began to advocate filing in the Democratic column. He lost his fifth campaign, this time as a Democratic candidate for Governor. In 1956, both the Democrats and the NPL endorsed Quentin Burdick as their candidate for the U.S. Senate. It was his sixth and final defeat. In 1958, the same year he lost his wife to cancer, he received the Democratic-NPL endorsement for Congress and became the first Democrat to be elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from North Dakota. Congressman Burdick was rightfully proud of his role in switching the NPL to the Democratic column and bringing order to North Dakota politics. Congressman Burdick focused on agriculture and water projects. He was appointed to serve on the House Interior Committee. He sought that assignment to promote the Garrison Diversion Project to provide North Dakota with Missouri River water to compensate the State for losses associated with the construction of the Garrison Dam, which provided flood control for downstream states. He never lost that commitment to Garrison Diversion. After serving less than two years in the House of Representatives, Quentin Burdick ran in a June 1960 special election to fill the unexpired term of the late U.S. Senator William "Wild Bill" Langer. It was a close election, with the winning edge coming in the late returns from the Indian reservations. Mr. Burdick beat John Davis by just 1,118 votes. Nine days after winning the special election, Senator-elect Burdick married Jocelyn Birch Peterson of Fargo and adopted her two children, Leslie and Birch. They had one son, Gage, who was killed in a tragic accident. Senator Burdick served on the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee from 1960 to 1973. He transferred from the Labor and Welfare Committee to the Senate Judiciary Committee in 1963, where he was a leader in rewriting bankruptcy legislation. He served on the Post Office and Civil Service Committee and would have become chairman in 1977, the year the committee was dissolved. He switched over to the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

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