Calls for greater morality in government and among politicians are a fixture of American political culture. Although there is no lack of opinion on what political morality means and how it might be achieved, few commentators have considered these questions in practical terms. In this major contemporary analysis of the life and work of Hubert H. Humphrey, Charles L. Garrettson examines Humphrey's career to provide an explanatory approach to the application of religious or moral principles to political practice. He does so without reducing this theme to sentiment or cynicism. Humphrey's life and career constituted a striking and often conflicted amalgam of personal idealism and political realism. His ideals came literally from Main Street, America and on them he rode straight to Washington, D.C. to fulfill an exalted and selfless dream of public service. His years there, however, coincided with one of the most significant, tumultuous, and challenging times in American history: the 1960s-a tune not noted for its emphasis on Main Street values. Garrettson perceives a profound irony at the center of Humphrey's life; the very source of strength that brought him his greatest triumph and joy-his role in the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and thus the vice presidency-also brought him his greatest failure and grief--the presidential campaign of 1968 and his vulnerability on the issue of the Vietnam War. Combining biography, history, and theoretical analysis, "Hubert H. Humphrey and the Politics of Joy "is built around essential defining questions: is morality principally a matter of belief or action; or is it instead a consistent, though admittedly tenuous, balancing of both. In testing Humphrey's life and career against these questions, Garrettson provides a necessary exercise in social science and a profound reflection on what it means to be moral in the political world.

This book offers a comprehensive examination of Hubert Humphrey's civil rights rhetoric. The editor showcases Humphrey's civil rights speeches from 1948 to 1964, most of which have never been published. Because it was common for Humphrey to use speeches containing similar strains of thought in a given month or year, the speeches in this text will provide a sound representation of all of Huphrey's speeches during this period. The study begins with Humphrey's first national plea to the 1948 Democratic National Convention. Next, readers are taken through Humphrey's entrance into the U.S. Senate, and his asking for national morality and national action. Humphrey's remarks exemplify his development of national arguments in support of the 1964 Civil Rights Amendment and his ideas for the direction of this movement. Comments by Humphrey and others are included in order to provide additional framework for the study of his rhetoric. This thoroughly edited and carefully selected set of essays will enlighten readers to one of the greatest accomplishments of Humphrey's public life--his contribution to civil rights. This book will appeal to students and scholars of rhetoric, speech communication, political science and history.

S. Doc. 103-34. Compiled by Jo Anne McCormick Quatannens, Diane B. Boyle, editorial assistant, prepared under the direction of Kelly D. Johnston, Secretary of the Senate. Lists scholarly works that profile the lives and legislative service of senators and their autobiographies and other published works.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a 1964 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, was an ordained minister, gifted orator, and charismatic leader who championed African Americans, civil rights, moral courage, and a truly free America. Dr. King was assassinated in 1968 at age 39, but not before he had changed the world with his inspirational wisdom and words.