A former professor of political science, Hubert Humphrey entered government service in 1935 as an employee of the Works Progress Administration. He served two terms as mayor of Minneapolis before his election to the U. S. Senate. An astute organizer, he brought Labor and Democrat parties together in Minnesota. As a delegate to the 1948 Democratic convention, he used his “evangelical oratory” to get President Truman’s civil rights program in the platform.

By 1961 Humphrey was the Senate majority leader and helped win approval of the Nuclear Test Treaty of 1963 and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was elected as President Johnson’s running mate in 1964.

In 1968, after the defeat in primaries of Eugene McCarthy and the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, Humphrey easily won the Democratic nomination. He was known as “The Middle Western Fire-Breathing Liberal.” Although he carried only thirteen states, Humphrey lost by only one per cent in the popular vote to Richard M. Nixon. He returned to the Senate in the next election.