Peter Norbeck

Peter Norbeck
United States Senator from South Dakota
In office March 4, 1921 – December 20, 1936
Preceded by	Edwin S. Johnson
Succeeded by	Herbert E. Hitchcock
9th Governor of South Dakota
In office January 2, 1917 – January 4, 1921
Lieutenant	William H. McMaster
Preceded by	Frank M. Byrne
Succeeded by	William H. McMaster
11th Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
In office 1915–1917
Governor	Frank M. Byrne
Preceded by	E. L. Abel
Succeeded by	William H. McMaster
Personal details
Born	(1870-08-27)August 27, 1870 Clay County, South Dakota
Died	December 20, 1936(1936-12-20) (aged 66) Redfield, South Dakota
Political party	Republican
Religion	Lutheranism

Peter Norbeck (August 27, 1870 – December 20, 1936) was an American politician from South Dakota. After serving one term as the ninth Governor of South Dakota, Norbeck was elected to three consecutive terms as a United States Senator. Norbeck was the first native-born Governor of South Dakota to serve in office. He is best remembered as "Mount Rushmore's great political patron", for promoting the construction of the giant sculpture at Mount Rushmore and securing federal funding for it.^[1]

Biography

Norbeck was the oldest of six children born to immigrants George (born in Jämtland, Sweden) and Karen (Larsen) Norbeck, who was Norwegian. At the time of Peter's birth, his family was living in a dugout on the family's 160 acres (0.65 km²), located eight miles (13 km) northeast of Vermillion, Dakota Territory. He attended the public schools and the University of South Dakota at Vermillion.^[2] In 1895 he was a contractor and driller of deep water, oil, and gas wells. He moved to Redfield, South Dakota in 1900 and added agricultural pursuits.

In June, 1901 he married Lydia Theresa Anderson^[3] and they had three daughters, Nellie, Ruth, and Selma (aka Sally); and one son, Harold.^[4]

Career

On May 9, 1908, Norbeck ran for the South Dakota State Senate from Spink County. After being elected to the first of three terms, he joined Coe Crawford's inner circle of Progressives. In 1914, Norbeck reluctantly accepted Governor Frank Byrne's invitation to run for Lieutenant Governor on the Republican ticket; they ended up winning.

In 1916, Norbeck ran for governor and beat Democratic candidate W.T. Rinehart, becoming the ninth Governor of South Dakota. He served in that office from 1917 to 1921.

In 1920, Norbeck was easily elected United States Senator. He won the election with 50% of the vote, running against a Democrat and two fairly strong independent candidates; the Democrat finished third. Norbeck was re-elected to the Senate in 1926 and 1932. Norbeck made a number of contributions to South Dakota's tourism industry. He worked with sculptor Gutzon Borglum to help him create his huge sculpture at Mount Rushmore, convinced presidents Calvin Coolidge and Franklin D. Roosevelt to support it, and shepherded through Congress multiple bills to provide federal money for it.^[1] He encouraged the development of the Iron Mountain Road in the Black Hills. He also pushed for the development of Sylvan Lake, Needles Highway, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, Wind Cave National Park, and the Game Sanctuary in the Black Hills.^[5]

As outgoing Republican chairman during the last months of the Herbert Hoover presidency, Norbeck appointed Ferdinand Pecora as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate's Committee on Banking and Currency. The Committee investigated the Wall Street Crash of 1929.

Death

Norbeck died of cancer in Redfield, South Dakota during his third term as United States Senator in 1936.^[3] He is interred at Bloomington Church Cemetery, Platte, South Dakota.^[2]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Norbeck.

• Peter Norbeck at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the Weekly South Dakotan website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at the South Dakota State Historical Society website
• Entry for Peter Norbeck at Infoplease.com

Governors and Lieutenant Governors of South Dakota Governors Mellette Sheldon Lee Herreid Elrod Crawford Vessey Byrne Norbeck McMaster Gunderson Bulow Green Berry Jensen Bushfield Sharpe G.T. Mickelson Anderson Foss Herseth Gubbrud Boe Farrar Kneip Wollman Janklow G.S. Mickelson Miller Janklow Rounds Daugaard Lieutenant Governors Fletcher Hoffman Herreid Hindman Kean Snow McDougall Shober Byrne Abel Norbeck McMaster Gunderson Forney Covey Coyne J. Grigsby Whitney Ustrud Peterson McMurchie A. Miller S. Grigsby Terry Houck Lindley Bottum Boe Overpeck Abdnor Dougherty Wollman Hansen W. Miller Kirby Hillard Daugaard Michels

United States Senators from South Dakota Class 2 Pettigrew Gamble Sterling McMaster Bulow H. Bushfield V. Bushfield Mundt Abourezk Pressler T. Johnson Rounds Class 3 Moody Kyle Kittredge Crawford E. Johnson Norbeck Hitchcock Pyle Gurney Case Bottum McGovern Abdnor Daschle Thune

Chairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Banking and Currency (1913–1970) Owen McLean Norbeck Fletcher Wagner Tobey Maybank Capehart Fulbright Robertson Sparkman Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (1970–) Sparkman Proxmire Garn Proxmire Riegle D'Amato Gramm Sarbanes Gramm Sarbanes Shelby Dodd Johnson Shelby