Frederick Delbert Schwengel (May 28, 1906April 1, 1993) was a Republican

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from southeastern

Iowa Iowa () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States, bordered by the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west. It is bordered by six states: Wisconsin to the northeast, Illinois to the ...

Personal background

Born on a farm near

Sheffield, Iowa Sheffield is a city in Franklin County, Iowa, United States. The population was 1,130 at the time of the 2020 census. History Sheffield was platted in 1874, and it was named for a personal friend of the founder's. Sheffield was incorporated in 1 ...

, to

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

immigrants, Schwengel attended the rural schools in West Fork Township and high schools in Chapin and Sheffield. He graduated from Northeast Missouri Teachers College at

Kirksville, Missouri Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 census. Kirksville is home to two colleges: Truman State University and A.T. Still University. ...

, in 1930 where he was an undergraduate member of

Phi Sigma Epsilon Phi Sigma Epsilon () was a North American social fraternity that operated for 75 years (February 20, 1910 – August 14, 1985) until its merger with the Phi Sigma Kappa () fraternity. In 1985, the majority of Phi Sigma Epsilon chapters participat ...

fraternity, and attended graduate school at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

Iowa City Iowa City, offically the City of Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is the home of the University of Iowa and county seat of Johnson County, at the center of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the time ...

from 1933 to 1935. To this day,

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presiden ...

displays a collection of Schwengel's personal collection of Abraham Lincoln historical artifacts that were donated by Schwengel's wife, Ethel, after his death in 1993. Schwengel had founded the

United States Capitol Historical Society The United States Capitol Historical Society (USCHS) is an organization chartered by the United States Congress, beginning in 1962, to educate the public on the heritage and history of the United States Capitol, as well as its institutions and thos ...

in 1962, and continued to serve as its president after his defeat, until 1993. Early in his career, he served as national president of

fraternity. He also was a founder and president of the Republican Heritage Foundation. He also served as the President of the Iowa Chamber of Commerce and chairman of the National Civil War Centennial Commission and the Joint Sessions of Congress for the Lincoln Sesquicentennial. He served in the

Missouri National Guard The Missouri National Guard (MONG), commonly known as the Missouri Guard, is a component of the Army National Guard and Missouri State Department of the National Guard. It is composed of Army and Air National Guard units. The Department office is ...

from 1929 to 1936. He served as athletic coach and instructor of history and political science in public schools of

Shelbina, Missouri Shelbina is a city in southern Shelby County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,613 at the 2020 census. History Shelbina was platted in 1857 when the railroad was extended to that point. The name "Shelbina" is derived from Shelby Co ...

, and Kirksville, Missouri, from 1930 to 1937. He engaged in the insurance business in

Davenport, Iowa Davenport is a city in and the county seat of Scott County, Iowa, United States. Located along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state, it is the largest of the Quad Cities, a metropolitan area with a population of 384,324 and a ...

, from 1937 to 1954.

State offices

Schwengel was elected to the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

in 1944, serving five consecutive terms, from 1945 to 1955. He also served as member of the Iowa Development Commission from 1949 to 1955. As a member of the U.S. House, Schwengel was a member of the Public Works Committee, District of Columbia and House Administration, Republican Task Force on Minority Staffing, and the Wednesday Group.

Congress

In 1954, the Congressman in

Iowa's 1st congressional district Iowa's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Iowa that covers its northeastern part, bordering the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois, and the Mississippi River. The district includes the cities o ...

Thomas E. Martin Thomas Ellsworth Martin (January 18, 1893June 27, 1971) was a United States representative and Senator from Iowa. Martin, a Republican, served in Congress for 22 consecutive years, from January 1939 to January 1961. Born in Melrose, Iowa, he a ...

, ran for the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

. Schwengel ran and won the Republican nomination for the seat, and easily defeated John J. O'Connor in the general election. He won re-election in the following four elections. However, in the 1964 Democratic landslide, Schwengel (like all but one of Iowa's Republican U.S. House members) was defeated. He lost to University of Iowa political science Professor

John R. Schmidhauser John Richard Schmidhauser (January 3, 1922 – February 21, 2018) was an American politician. He served one term as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from southeastern Iowa, defeating incumbent Republican Fred Schwengel in ...

by fewer than 4,000 votes. But Schmidhauser, like many members of the 1964 freshman class, served only one term; in 1966 Schwengel ran again for his former seat and defeated Schmidhauser by fewer than 5,000 votes, then defeated him again in 1968 by a wider margin. In all, Schwengel served eight terms in Congress. In 1970 Schwengel narrowly defeated Iowa legislator

Edward Mezvinsky Edward Maurice Mezvinsky (; born January 17, 1937) is an American politician and lawyer from Iowa. He is a former U.S. Representative and felon. A Democrat, he represented Iowa's 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives fo ...

by only 765 votes. Redistricting before the 1972 election shifted several Republican areas out of the 1st district, so when Mezvinsky ran against Schwengel a second time in 1972, he won with 53 percent of the vote. While in Congress, Schwengel was known as one of the more moderate members of the Republican House caucus. While conservative on fiscal issues, he was very pro-labor and pro-civil rights, and was a strong supporter of separation of church and state. Schwengel voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Ja ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...

, and

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Reportedly, his opposition to school prayer contributed to his 1974 defeat.

After Congress

Schwengel had founded the Capitol Historical Society in 1962, and continued to serve as its president after his defeat, until 1993. He also was a founder and president of the Republican Heritage Foundation. Schwengel received the first JM Dawson Award from the

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty Founded in 1936, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty (BJC) is a national faith-based organization which focuses on upholding the historic Baptist principle of religious liberty. With a staff of attorneys, scholars, ministers and mo ...

in 1986 for, among other things, his stance against school prayer in 1970 that eventually led to his defeat from Congress. His collegiate fraternity,

, participated in a merger with

Phi Sigma Kappa Phi Sigma Kappa (), colloquially known as Phi Sig or PSK, is a men's social and academic fraternity with approximately 74 active chapters and provisional chapters in North America. Most of its first two dozen chapters were granted to schools in ...

in 1985. At the onset, Schwengel was strongly supportive of this merger, and influential in the decision as a much-loved past president and ritual author for Phi Sigma Epsilon. At its completion, Schwengel agreed to serve as an Historian for the combined fraternity and as a trustee of the PSK Foundation. Schwengel died on April 1, 1993, in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county is ...

. The Interstate 80 bridge crossing the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

near

is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schwengel, Frederick Delbert 1906 births 1993 deaths American people of German descent Republican Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Truman State University alumni University of Iowa alumni People from Franklin County, Iowa Politicians from Davenport, Iowa Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Iowa 20th-century American politicians