Morris King Udall (June 15, 1922 – December 12, 1998) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. representative from Arizona from May 2, 1961, to May 4, 1991.

He was a leading contender for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, but ultimately lost to eventual president, Jimmy Carter.

"[2] While in high school, despite the lost eye, Udall was a star athlete in basketball, and in football as quarterback leading an undefeated team.

He commanded an all-black squadron for two years in Louisiana, an experience of which Udall later said, "That really shaped my life," because he had "fought their fights with them... over local discrimination."

[3] After the war, Udall completed his bachelor's degree at the University of Arizona, where he was a star basketball player (team co-captain), President of the Associated Student Government, and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.

[5][2][4] He once said that his physical stature and one eye kept him from ever having a date in high school, and led to his use of self-deprecating humor to survive.

[4] Known for his humor, his irreverent and casual style (particularly his colorful western wear and cowboy boots), and his ethics, Udall was summarized by leading political journalist James M. Perry as "funny, smart, down-to-earth, honest, sassy, patient.

After a mid-decade redistricting ordered as a result of Wesberry v. Sanders, his district absorbed some outer portions of the Phoenix area.

He also served as ranking member of the Committee of the Post Office and Civil Service, chairman of the Office of Technology Assessment and was a member of the Committee on Foreign Affairs[1][4] Udall first gained national political notice for a speech October 23, 1967, in Tucson at a major regional civic meeting, with an audience of 2,800—largely civic leaders, mostly supportive of President Johnson's policy on the Vietnam War.

Despite their leanings, Udall gave a firm and direct speech calling the nation's involvement in Vietnam "a mistaken and dangerous road."

The speech drew a standing ovation, and reverberated nationwide, drawing national media and political attention, and initiating the Democratic Party's gradual split over the war.

[5] From the beginning of his work on the Interior committee in 1961, Udall had been interested in limiting the controversial practice of strip mining, blamed for massive destruction of wilderness and extensive environmental damage, particularly across the American West.

However, it took several years of wrangling with industry, Congress and administrations (Republican President Gerald R. Ford vetoed the legislation twice), before he was able to pass a limited bill, into law (signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter), which constrained the strip-mining of coal, and forced the reclamation of millions of acres of strip-mined areas.

[2][5][3] Udall helped write and pass the Alaska Lands Act of 1980, and landmark 1982 legislation addressing nuclear waste management.

[4] Udall challenged the arcane and Byzantine rules and protocols of the House of Representatives, demanding a reduction in the ability of powerful leaders to covertly control legislation and dominate committees.

[2][3][5] Udall gained early national political notoriety for being the first congressman in the 20th century to challenge a sitting Speaker of the House for his seat.

[2] Udall sought to change the Post Office Department from a purely governmental agency into a semiprivate organization (today, it is: the U.S.

[1][2][4] Because of having lost his eye as a child due to inadequate family finances, he strongly believed that people should have access to competent medical care regardless of their financial condition.

On the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Udall opposed Reagan administration policies toward Central America.

[4] In 1976, Udall ran for the Democratic nomination for President as a liberal alternative to Jimmy Carter, the former Governor of Georgia.

[2][5][8] Carter had gone from obscure maverick to front runner after a string of early caucus and primary victories, beginning in Iowa and New Hampshire.

At the time of the Wisconsin primary in April, most of the original 10 candidates had dropped out, leaving Udall, Senator Henry "Scoop" Jackson of Washington, Governor George Wallace of Alabama, and Carter.

[9] They had been wrong before, in the 1948 presidential election, in which the headlines of the Chicago Tribune erroneously proclaimed "Dewey Defeats Truman."

During the Michigan primary Coleman Young, the mayor of Detroit, accused Udall of racism for belonging to the LDS church.

[12] It is an agency of the executive branch of the federal government, and among other functions, gives scholarships to students of environmental policy.

By Mo Udall's own account, Pat had become unsatisfied with her life caused by her illnesses and disinterest in politics.

Unwilling to undergo psychological counseling due to social stigma, she finally acquiesced and filed for divorce in 1966.

Mo Udall, who was opposed to the divorce, did not object to the dissolution of the marriage,[clarification needed] mainly because he was more focused on politics than on his family.

Both the Udalls later regretted the divorce, explaining that the marriage ended because Pat had failed to get counseling or help and had simply acquiesced to pressure[from whom?]

Mo Udall's second cousin, Republican Senator Gordon Smith of Oregon, was defeated for re-election the same year.