Hubert
Humphrey, the
son of pharmacist, was born in Wallace, South Dakota on 27th May,
1911. Educated at the University of Minnesota, Humphrey was forced
to abandon his studies when his father's business collapsed in 1932.
After helping his father to resurrect the family business Humphrey
returned to university and finally graduated in 1939.
Humphrey was an active member of the Democratic
Party and worked as campaign manager for Franklin
D. Roosevelt in Minnesota during the 1944 presidential election.
The following year Humphrey was elected mayor of Minneapolis.
A strong supporter of civil rights,
Humphrey became a leading member of the American
Democratic Action pressure group. In the 1948 Democtatic National
Convention in 1948, Humphrey supported Harry
S. Truman and his Fair Deal proposals included legislation on
civil rights, fair employment practices and opposition to lynching.
When Truman won the Democratic Party
nomination, Southern Democrats formed the States' Rights Democratic
Party (Dixiecrats) and Storm Thurmond
was chosen as its presidential candidate.
Humphrey was elected to the Senate in 1948. Over the next fifteen
years Humphrey was closely association with many progressive causes
including the formation of a Peace Corps,
the creation of a Food for Peace program and legislation favoring
trade unions, African Americans and the unemployed.
During the period known as McCarthyism
(1950-1954) members of the Republican
Party and conservative members of the Democratic
Party, accused Humphrey of being "soft on Communism".
However, Humphrey had always fought Communist
Party influence in progressive organizations such as the American
Democtatic Action.
Humphrey was defeated by John F. Kennedy
in his attempt to become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate
in 1960. He also failed in 1964, but the victor, Lyndon
Baines Johnson selected him as his vice president and was able
to influence the decision introduce the Voting
Rights Act (1965) and the Immigration
Act (1965) acts.
In 1968 Humphrey was chosen as the party's presidential candidate
against Richard Nixon of the Republican
Party. With progressive forces in the country unhappy with Humphrey's
support of the Vietnam War, and with George
Wallace collecting over 9 million votes in the South, it was no
surprise when he failed to win the election. Nixon won 31,770,237
votes against 31,270,533 for Humphrey.
After working as professor of public affairs at the University of
Minnesota for two years, Humphrey was once again elected to the Senate
in 1970. Hubert Humphrey died of cancer on 13th January, 1978.
(1)
Hubert Humphrey, speech at a meeting of the National Alliance of Businessmen
at Long Island
the day after the assassination of Martin
Luther King (5th April, 1968)
Last night, Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr., died a martyr's death. His death snatched from American life
something rare and precious, the living reminder that one man can
make a difference - that one man, by the force of his character, the
depth of his convictions, and the eloquence of his voice - can alter
the course of history. What a testimonial to individualism, what a
testimonial to dignity and to human purpose - for Martin Luther King
had the courage to challenge the intolerance, the injustice, inadequacies
and inequities of the society in which he lived - a nation that he
loved - a nation of which he was a citizen - and a nation for which
he prayed and worked.
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