Hubert Humphrey

Hubert H. Humphrey (1911 - 1978) was a leading New Deal liberal Democrat of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, serving as Vice President under Lyndon Johnson from 1965 to 1969. He was defeated for the presidency by Republican Richard M. Nixon in 1968. As senator from Minnesota he spoke for all the liberal causes,, especially on behahalf of organized labor and civil rights. He helped purge the Democratic party of its far-left elements in the 1940s and supported the containment policy in the Cold War. He tried but failed to win the Democratic presidential nomination in 1960, 1972, and 1976.

Hubert Humphrey
38th Vice-President of the United States
Term of office 20 January 1965 - 20 January 1969
Political party	Democratic
President	Lyndon B. Johnson
Preceded by	Lyndon B. Johnson
Succeeded by	Spiro Agnew
Born	May 27, 1911 Wallace, South Dakota
Died	January 13, 1978 Waverly, Minnesota
Spouse	Muriel Buck Humphrey
Religion	United Church of Christ/United Methodist

Career=

Humphrey was born in Wallace, South Dakota, the son of a small-town druggist. His family shared in the hardships of the drought and Great Depression of the late 1920s and early 1930s, thus shaping Humphrey's liberal political philosophy. He entered the University of Minnesota in 1929, but withdrew in his sophomore year because of financial hardship and was not able to resume his studies for six years. In 1939 Humphrey graduated, magna cum laude, and in 1940 he reecived a master's degree in political philosophy at Louisiana State University, where he subsequently taught. He later taught at the University of Minnesota and at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. While teaching, he became active in Minnesota politics. Democrats had merged with the far-left "Farmer Labor" party in the state, and Humphrey served as state DFL campaign chairman for the Roosevelt-Truman ticket in 1944. In 1945, at the age of 34, Humphrey was elected mayor of Minneapolis, a post in which his efficiency and volubility attracted statewide attention.

Senate

He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1948, becoming the first Democrat to win a Senate election in the state. He was reelected in 1954 and 1960. Humphtrey was an outspoken liberal on any and all issues. As a member of the Foreign Relations Committee he was known for his "Food for Peace" and multilateral disarmament proposals, as well as for his sponsorship of farm and welfare measures.

Underfunded, he was defeated by John F. Kennedy for the presidential nomination in 1960. As Senate majority whip in 1961-64, Humphrey proved efficient in organizing support for the passage of major legislation, especially Johnson's liberal Great Society. He had been one of the most zealous advocates of a strong civil rights bill ever since his successful effort in 1948 to write an unprecedented civil rights plank into the platform of the Democratic Party. To assure passage of the Civil Rights bill in 1964, Humphrey permitted Republicans such as Everett Dirksen to take credit for the bill by turning active sponsorship over to them. He also actively supported the Peace Corps, urban renewal, federal aid to education, and the nuclear test ban treaty.

Vice president

In 1964 he was selected by Lyndon B. Johnson as vice president. His advice was completely ignored by Johnson, 1965-1968. Privately, he was increasingly dissatisfied with Johnson's handling of the Vietnam War, but told no one.

1968

When Johnson was forced to pull out of the 1968 election, Humphrey became the choice of labor unions, Democratic party officials, and cuty machines. He won the nomination without entering any primaries. After an intense campaign, in the closing days he repudiated Johnson's policy on the Vietnam War, thus winning back some disaffected voters on the far-left. Meanwhile his unions allies managed to undercut George Wallace's appeal to white enthics. Once far behind Nixon, Humphrey almost caught up, but failed.

Senate again

He won election to the Senate again in 1970 and 1976, then died in office.