Luther Wallace Youngdahl (May 29, 1896 – June 21, 1978) was an American judge and politician who served as the 27th governor of Minnesota and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the District of Columbia The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (in case citations, D.D.C.) is a United States district court, federal district court in Washington, D.C. Along with the United States District Court for the District of Hawaii and ...

Education and career

Born on May 29, 1896, in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, Youngdahl graduated from Minneapolis South High School. He then received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1919 from

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota, United States. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavu ...

and a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

in 1921 from the Minnesota College of Law (now Mitchell Hamline School of Law). He served as a Second Lieutenant in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was an assistant city attorney for Minneapolis from 1921 to 1924 and in private practice from 1924 to 1930. He was a judge of the Minneapolis Municipal Court from 1930 to 1936 and of the Minnesota District Court for the Fourth Judicial District from 1936 to 1942. He was an associate justice of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

from 1942 to 1946. A member of the Republican Party, he was the governor of Minnesota from January 8, 1947, to September 27, 1951. As governor, one of Youngdahl's biggest concerns was mental health, and he made reforms to Minnesota's mental health care system. In October 1949, Youngdahl burned more than 300 straitjackets and restraints. He also increased funding for public education, expanded public housing, increased benefits for war veterans, created activities to improve the health of young people, desegregated the state's National Guard, passed anti-discrimination laws in employment, and banned slot machines and strengthened anti-liquor laws, despite the legislature's opposition.

Federal judicial service

Youngdahl was a popular governor who won reelection easily in 1950, but as early as 1949 he expressed to a friend his desire to return to the judiciary, this time at the federal level. Believing that Youngdahl would be the strongest candidate the Republicans could run against him when he sought reelection in 1954, upon learning of Judge Thomas Alan Goldsborough's death from a heart attack, Minnesota's junior U.S. senator,

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

, proposed nominating Youngdahl to Goldsborough's now-vacant seat on the

in a meeting with President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

on July 2, 1951. Noting that Youngdahl was the only governor who had written a letter commending him for his recent decision to fire General

Douglas MacArthur Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American general who served as a top commander during World War II and the Korean War, achieving the rank of General of the Army (United States), General of the Army. He served with dis ...

, Truman agreed to the suggestion. After meeting with Youngdahl on July 5, Truman appointed him the next day to the vacancy on the D.C. district court. The

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

confirmed Youngdahl on August 28, 1951, and he received his commission the next day. He assumed senior status on May 29, 1966, his 70th birthday. As a senior judge, Youngdahl advocated education and job training for incarcerated criminals and less crowded programs to rehabilitate drug users, believing that harsh punishments failed to reduce crime. In an address to Congress in 1971, Youngdahl praised Democrats for supporting revenue sharing and decentralization and Republicans for their proposed

Family Assistance Plan The Family Assistance Plan (FAP) was a welfare program introduced by President of the United States, President Richard Nixon in August 1969, which aimed to implement a negative income tax for households with working parents. The FAP was influence ...

, which would have guaranteed families a minimum income. He said both parties needed to rise above partisan politics and work together. He died on June 21, 1978, at his home in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

at the age of 82 after suffering from a "lingering illness", and was interred in

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is the largest cemetery in the United States National Cemetery System, one of two maintained by the United States Army. More than 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington County, Virginia. ...

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Education and career

Federal judicial service

References

Further reading