Eugene McCarthy: His 1968 Campaign Forced a President From Office

Eugene McCarthy was a quiet and mentally gifted lawmaker from Minnesota.  As a young man, he was interested in being a religious worker -- or a baseball player.

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McCarthy taught social sciences in public high schools for a few years.  Then he taught economics, education and sociology at two colleges in Minnesota.  He married another teacher, Abigail Quigley.  They would later have four children.

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During World War Two, Eugene McCarthy worked as a technical aide for a military intelligence office of the War Department.  He became active in the Democratic Party after the war.

In nineteen fifty-eight, McCarthy defeated a Republican Party Senator and won a seat in the United States Senate.  Two years later, he became famous by speaking at the Democratic Party's national nominating convention.  He nominated Adlai Stevenson for president.  But the Democrats chose John F. Kennedy as their candidate.

In nineteen sixty-four, McCarthy easily won re-election to a second term in the Senate.  He served in the Senate for a total of twelve years.

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In nineteen sixty-seven, opposition to the war the United States was fighting in Vietnam was growing.  It had begun to harm President Lyndon Johnson's popular and political support.  In October, thousands of demonstrators marched in Washington, D.C. to protest the increasing conflict.

Eugene McCarthy was a leader of the anti-war movement.  McCarthy announced he would show his opposition to the war and to President Johnson.  He asked Democrats for their support in the party's presidential primary elections in nineteen sixty-eight.  "There is only one thing to do -- take it to the country!" he declared.

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Nineteen sixty-eight was a difficult year for the nation.  It was filled with surprises, tragedy, violence and sadness.  The primary election in New Hampshire was the first step of the presidential nominating process.

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On March thirty-first, President Johnson spoke to Americans about the war in Vietnam and his efforts to limit it.  At the end of his speech, President Johnson surprised the nation.  He announced that he would not seek or accept the nomination of his party for another term as president.

After the riots, Vice President Hubert Humphrey decided to seek the presidential nomination.  Traditional Democrats supported him.  McCarthy won Democratic primaries in four states.

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After losing the fight for the nomination, McCarthy did not offer to help Vice President Humphrey.  In fact, he did not express support for the Democratic candidate until a few days before the election.  The next year he gave up his seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.  He separated from his wife of twenty-four years.  He also announced he would not seek reelection to the Senate in nineteen seventy.

After retiring from the Senate, McCarthy moved to Rappahannock County, Virginia.  He lived alone near the Blue Ridge Mountains.  He wrote books, poetry and stories for newspapers.

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McCarthy was a candidate for President four other times.  But he was not taken seriously as a candidate.  McCarthy became increasingly critical of the two-party system and traditional politicians, even Democrats.  In nineteen eighty, he supported the Republican candidate, Ronald Reagan, for president over the Democrat, President Jimmy Carter.

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Eugene McCarthy died in two thousand five in Washington.  He was eighty-nine years old.

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This program was written by Shelley Gollust.  It was produced by Caty Weaver.  I'm Barbara Klein.

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