What's New

This is the twelfth installment of our NHPRC funded project to digitize Hubert H. Humphrey's speech text files. In this last month of the project we focus on the years 1973-1978, the closing chapter of Humphrey's life.

On January 22, 1973 Lyndon Johnson died of a heart attack. That same day Humphrey responded to his death in these remarks and talked about Johnson's ardent desire to end the war in Vietnam, saying: "I think that was his heartache that he could not find the peace, but I want to say that as he leaves us now the peace that he sought is in our grasp and is taking place in Paris." The next day National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and North Vietnamese Leader Le Duc Tho signed a ceasefire agreement at the Paris Peace Accords that would earn both a Nobel Peace Prize, though the war would continue for years after.

President Nixon's second term in office collided with the Watergate scandal in 1973, a story that began the summer before and exposed questionable campaign fund raising practices in both political parties. Humphrey was not immune to public scrutiny. In this speech in October of 1973, which was re-printed in the Congressional Record, Humphrey addressed the AFL-CIO concerning the resignation of the attorney and deputy attorney general, the firing of special prosecutor Archibald Cox and the mounting pressure to begin impeachment hearings. Humphrey cautioned every American "not to fall prey to the abuse of rhetoric, just as the President has fallen prey to the abuse of power. We must act responsibly, with full adherence to legal procedures."

In an interview following Nixon's August of 1974 resignation, Humphrey characterized the event as "a personal tragedy for the President and a new hope for the nation" in this interview. He commended the democratic process by noting that "this unprecedented event has occurred not with disorder or disunity or with violence, but with rigorous devotion to the processes of law mandated by our Constitution."

Humphrey had other more personal concerns during this time. He was treated for bladder cancer by undergoing intensive X-ray treatments for eight weeks that left him in incredible pain for hours at a time. Becoming anemic before Christmas necessitated admittance to the hospital for over two weeks and required multiple blood transfusions. Throughout he continued to work and travel, even going as far as Europe and China.

During 1973 Humphrey was re-admitted to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs. During the later part of his Senate career Humphrey gave a multitude of speeches on expanding the Food for Peace program in developing countries, a proposal backed by then Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. In November 1974 Humphrey traveled to Rome for the World Food Conference to promote the development of a World Food Information System.

In January 1975 Humphrey poked fun at himself during the Alfalfa Club annual dinner saying: "I have been orbiting the White House longer than all the astronauts who orbited the moon." Though his speech also made fun of two other Minnesotans who "orbited" around the White House, Harold Stassen and Walter Mondale, Humphrey's political prospects were looking very positive for the 1976 election year.

In the end, Humphrey decided not to run for president in 1976. He made the decision after long conversations with his wife and family. He cited the lack of an organization, committee and campaign funds in his announcement. As late as the night before his announcement, however, he told his doctor that he would run. A note in the file that accompanied his noncandidacy announcement sheds light on his state of mind at the time he made this decision. The note reads: "Mrs. Humphrey called: Whatever you decide in this meeting is fine with her. Whatever you want to do tonight is alright with her."

It was difficult for Humphrey not to seek the presidency. Nominating his protege Walter Mondale for the vice presidency, however,

made him immensely proud. In these remarks at the Democratic National Convention in July of 1976 Humphrey declared that Mondale would be "a source of strength to our next president, Jimmy Carter. He will be loyal and he will be frank." In fact, Mondale asked Humphrey's advice prior to accepting the nomination and Humphrey advised him to take the job. During Mondale's tenure, the role of the vice president became more of a partnership with the president and many of the obstacles that Humphrey had experienced with Johnson were removed.

During the same Democratic National Convention Humphrey also delivered one of his most memorable quotes. Often thought of as part of one of his 1977 speeches and mis-dated as such, his statement in Madison Square Garden has been characterized as the liberal mantra of the democratic party:

The ultimate moral test of any government is the way it treats three groups of its citizens. First, those in the dawn of life -- our children. Second, those in the shadows of life -- our needy, our sick, our handicapped. Third, those in the twilight of life -- our elderly.

By the end of 1976 Humphrey's cancer had returned. Spending months in the hospital again and undergoing operations from which he would remarkably recover, he simultaneously won re-election to the Senate that November and even tried for Majority Leader Robert Byrd's job, though a bout of the flu forced him to concede.

His cancer, however, turned out to be terminal. Welcoming Humphrey in the Senate Chambers, Senator Robert Byrd (among others) paid tribute to him saying: "Some men attempt to alter the course of history, or bend the direction of their era, through thunder and threat; they launch armies, marshal forces and foster plots, Hubert Humphrey has changed our own time through the impact of his personality, the exertion of his energy, the vibrancy of his spirit, the exercise of his intellect, and the compassion of his heart. Consequently, he is a man whose influence will reverberate for generations, in America and around the world."

At a reception for Humphrey in the House of Representatives in November Arizona Congressman Morris Udall said of Humphrey: "We have all kidded about your oratory. The plain fact is that this man is the premier political stump orator of this generation. A Hubert Humphrey speech always made you feel good. You laughed a little bit, you cried, and you felt good about yourself and good about your country... You really practice the politics of joy, Hubert."

Hubert H. Humphrey died on January 13, 1978. One of his last requests was to invite Nixon to attend funeral services that were to be held for him in Washington. It was a gesture meant to bring Nixon back from political exile, and would be Nixon's first public appearance after his resignation. Humphrey's body lay in state at the Capitol both in Washington and in St. Paul. President Carter, Gerald Ford, Nelson Rockefeller and Lady Bird Johnson were among the mourners at his services.

At the service in St. Paul Vice President Mondale said: "While he was an international figure and a national figure, as we in Minnesota well knew, he was always a Minnesotan, and always a son of the prairie. There was something in this land and its lakes and, especially its people, that fed the springs of love, the strains of ideas, the torrents of enthusiasm, and which nurtured the special genius and the immense humanity of Hubert Humphrey... He was a special man in a special place, and I know he would want me to say today: Thank you, Minnesota."

These speech texts, as well as all of Humphrey's speeches from 1941-1978 are linked to the inventory of his Speech Text Files. We have now finished the textual part of this project. Look for the first set of Humphrey's digitized audio files in September!

This project was awarded the support of a $46,000 grant from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) administered by the National Archives.

Learn more about how the NHPRC helps preserve records of enduring national historical value and promotes their public access and interpretation through archival and documentary programs.