Hubert Humphrey and the 1964 election

Résumé du document

Humphrey and Johnson entered the Senate in 1949. While Johnson entered as a Southern conservative, Humphrey stood as a champion of civil rights. Indeed, Humphrey who served as Mayor of Minneapolis from 1945 to 1949 gained notoriety by becoming one of the founders of the liberal anti-communist Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and erasing Minneapolis' previous reputation as "the anti-Semitism capital of America". However, what gave him national fame was the role he played at the National Democratic Convention of 1948. Trying to avoid a split of the Democratic Party and satisfied the Southern conservatives who defended a "states' rights" position, Truman's supporters adopted a moderate civil rights plank.

Extraits

[...] Therefore, Johnson progressively tried to convince Humphrey that they shared some of the same goals and interests. He had to convince Humphrey that he was not going to win a civil rights fight by splitting the Democratic Party but that he needed to establish a compromise between the two senatorial camps. c. Johnson and Humphrey were also both very ambitious and both wanted to become President of the US. Therefore, Johnson succeeded to convince Humphrey that strengthening his position, Humphrey was strengthening his own position as well in order to become President. [...]

[...] Hubert Humphrey et les élections de 1964 I will briefly talk about Hubert Humphrey and the role he played in the 1964 election. At first, I will present Humphrey and the relationship he had with Lyndon Johnson who would be elected President of the United States in Humphrey and Johnson both entered the Senate in 1949: but as a Southern conservative for Johnson and as a champion of civil rights for Humphrey. a. Indeed, Humphrey who served as Mayor of Minneapolis from 1945 to 1949 gained notoriety by becoming one of the founders of the liberal anti-communist Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) and erasing Minneapolis's previous reputation as anti-Semitism capital of America”. [...]

[...] Indeed, in the summer of 1964, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was organized by the coalition of civil rights groups with the purpose of challenging Mississippi's all-white and anti-civil rights delegation. The MFDP claimed the seats for delegates for Mississippi, because the official Mississippi delegation had been elected by a primary in which blacks were excluded. Johnson, was convinced that acceding to the MFDP challenge would ruin any chance he might have of carrying Southern states in the general election. He wanted to overcome the chiasm between the party's ardent liberals and defiant conservatives. Therefore, he needed to find a compromise Humphrey would then be the tool of this compromise. [...]

[...] However, since the spring of 1951, Humphrey became the protégé of Johnson who progressively helped Humphrey's acceptance by the Southerners, putting an end to Humphrey's isolation. b. At that time, Humphrey was acknowledged by the Northern liberals as their leader, while Johnson remained largely viewed as a typical southern conservative. Therefore, Johnson saw Humphrey as the bridge to the Northern liberals he needed to become President. However, since the National Democratic Convention of 1948, Hubert Humphrey had become the very symbol of unwillingness to compromise. [...]

[...] Indeed, Humphrey failed twice the Democratic presidential nomination, once in 1952 and once in 1960 against J. F. Kennedy. Therefore, in 1964, he thought that becoming Johnson's vice-president could help him to become President at the next elections. Then, Humphrey who was ordered by Johnson to resolve the Mississippi crisis supported a compromise with other liberal leaders. This compromise was accepted by the Credentials Committee but not by the MFDP which was then perceived as unreasonable and lost a lot of its supports among the Liberals and the members of the Democratic Party. [...]