By Ron Wilson, director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development at Kansas State University
“Ad Astra Per Aspera.” To the Stars through Difficulty, is the Kansas motto. Ad Astra is also the name of the bronze statue of a Kaw Indian that stands atop the Kansas state capitol dome.
Today we’ll meet a Kaw Nation descendant who achieved amazing heights in the world of government. He was the first person of color to be vice president or president of the United States, and he came from Kansas.
Last week we met the multi-talented Deb Goodrich, historian and writer. She is the Garvey Texas Foundation Historian-in-Residence at the Fort Wallace Museum in the rural community of Wallace, population 41 people. Now, that’s rural.
Goodrich is also the author of a wonderful new book titled, From the Reservation to Washington: The Rise of Charles Curtis.
Goodrich moved to Kansas in 1992. As a history buff, she was given a tour of the Historic Topeka Cemetery by a friend. One of the headstones they passed was engraved with the name “Charles Curtis.”
Goodrich remembers the tour guide saying: “He was vice president under Herbert Hoover, a U.S. senator, a congressman, Shawnee County attorney, a Kaw Indian.”
Goodrich had never heard of him. “I’ve been researching him ever since,” Goodrich said. After years of research, Goodrich produced her fascinating book in 2024. The book’s first printing already sold out.
Curtis’ life is an amazing American success story. It is also a microcosm of our society’s challenges in dealing with multiculturalism.
He was born in Topeka in 1860. His mother was Kaw and French and his father was white. His mother died when he was only three years old and he went to live with his grandparents. He later joined his family on the Kaw Indian reservation near Council Grove. He loved racing horses and was later a successful jockey.
When the Kaw were attacked by their mortal enemies, the Cheyenne, young Charley and an interpreter hurried to Topeka to inform the Governor of this attack. He would go back to the reservation. Ultimately, his grandmother told him that he should return to Topeka to get his formal education. This would change his life.
Charley Curtis got a job with a law firm, studied the law, passed the bar exam, and became an attorney. He rose through the ranks of politics as a lifelong Republican, first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1893. He became the first Kansas Senator elected by popular vote and then the first Majority Leader of the United States Senate. He was selected as Herbert Hoover’s running mate and elected to the vice presidency in 1928.
How could a biracial boy from a poor reservation achieve such heights?
“It is not a very likely success story,” Goodrich said. Curtis’ ability, hard work, intellect and personality served him well.
He learned the very difficult task of navigating both the white man’s world and the native world – while enduring challenges from both. In the Senate, he was nicknamed “The Indian.” In championing assimilation and benefits for natives, he was later criticized for losing tribal sovereignty.
“I want people to know who Charley Curtis is,” Goodrich said. “I (also) want the Kaw Nation and Kansans to know who Charley Curtis is. There is so much to admire about him. As a man of mixed blood, he had to navigate between these two worlds. He worked hard for women’s rights. He wanted people to have a say in their destiny.”
From the Reservation to Washington: The Rise of Charles Curtis is a well-written, informative, and entertaining book about a remarkable Kansan. The book is available from major booksellers.
Ad Astra – To the Stars through Difficulty. Just as the Kaw Indian statue stands atop the Kansas state capitol, Charles Curtis would reach the top levels of American politics.
We commend Deb Goodrich for making a difference by chronicling the remarkable story of Charles Curtis. He is one Kansan who achieved the heights through difficulty.
Audio and text files of Kansas Profiles are available at https://www.huckboydinstitute.org/kansas-profiles/. For more information about the Huck Boyd Institute, interested persons can visit http://www.huckboydinstitute.org.
