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Biography
American

Hubert Humphrey

1911 — 1978

American politician who served as the 38th Vice President of the United States under Lyndon Johnson and was the 1968 Democratic presidential nominee, losing narrowly to Richard Nixon. Humphrey's 1948 speech at the Democratic National Convention — demanding that the party 'get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights' — was a defining moment of the civil rights movement's political history. His writings and speeches are collected as documents of mid-century American liberalism.

Past sales0
PeriodPostwar & Postmodern
NationalityAmerican
1. Biography

A short life of the author

Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (1911–1978) was a U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Vice President under Lyndon Johnson (1965–1969), and the Democratic presidential nominee in 1968. His political career was defined by his advocacy for civil rights, arms control, and the social programs of the Great Society.

His 1948 speech at the Democratic National Convention — which led to the adoption of a strong civil rights plank and provoked the Dixiecrat walkout — is considered one of the most consequential speeches in American political history. As Vice President, he was constrained by loyalty to Johnson’s Vietnam policy, which cost him the 1968 election against Nixon.

His memoir, The Education of a Public Man (1976, Doubleday), written while he was dying of cancer, reflects on a career spent at the centre of American liberalism.

Collecting Humphrey

The Education of a Public Man (1976, Doubleday) first editions bring $20–$50. Humphrey’s speeches, campaign ephemera, and signed correspondence are collected by specialists in American political history. Signed books are available but not common.