For November, the South Dakota State Historical Society’s virtual “History Talks” speaker series features historians Sean Flynn and Paul Higbee. The duo are contributors to the new book, “The Plains Political Tradition: Essays on South Dakota Political Culture, volume 4,” edited by Jon K. Lauck and Paula M. Nelson.
This free virtual event will be held Nov. 17 at 7 p.m. CST on Zoom. To register, go to sdhsf.org/events. “History Talks” is a monthly program of the South Dakota Historical Society Press and the South Dakota Historical Society Foundation.
The book includes 10 essays on diverse aspects of the region’s political history, from nonindigenous settlement patterns to campaign strategies to the shaping of state budgets. These essays reflect a broad definition of political culture and encompass a wide variety of eyewitness and scholarly perspectives that help readers to better understand South Dakota’s singular historical experience.
Higbee and Flynn examine two mid-twentieth century South Dakota politicians who figured largely in national politics. Flynn’s article, “The Eastern Establishment on Trial: Karl Mundt, ‘Inland’ Republicanism, and the Hiss Case,” showcases Mundt’s central role on the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC). Higbee’s subject is Mundt’s congressional colleague Francis Case, whose interest in bringing water to the arid plains was also held by Texas Democrat Lyndon Johnson. By comparing the two politicians in his article, “Two Senators and South Dakota Politics in Comparative Perspective,” Higbee highlights the ways in which Case shaped modern politics in South Dakota.
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