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Pivotal Moments in American History
Into the Bright Sunshine: Young Hubert Humphrey and the Fight for Civil Rights
From one of the country's most distinguished journalists, a revisionist and riveting look at the American politician whom history has judged a loser, yet who played a key part in the greatest social movement of the 20th century.
As Samuel G. Freedman points out, Hubert Humphrey's public life began and ended in disgrace. Humphrey started out as an outlier in the post-war Democratic Party and ended the same--as the man who lost his bearings during the Vietnam War and then lost the presidency to Richard Nixon. Freedman therefore has not written a hagiography of Humphrey. Instead, he uses the stock characterization of Humphrey to illuminate his most triumphant early career, when his early efforts to promote racial justice not only transformed the Democratic Party (with its hardcore Dixiecrat, anti-integrationist element) but the nation as well. Humphrey was "woke" before anyone else in his party and he dragged them into the light. As Freedman shows, Humphrey's 1948 speech to the Democratic Convention electrified the nation. At the age of 37--younger than Beto O'Rourke, Andrew Gillum, and Stacey Abrams are today--he picked up the mantle of civil rights and carried it forward. Here is the Humphrey few know, and,
after reading Freedman's book, no one will forget.
As Samuel G. Freedman points out, Hubert Humphrey's public life began and ended in disgrace. Humphrey started out as an outlier in the post-war Democratic Party and ended the same--as the man who lost his bearings during the Vietnam War and then lost the presidency to Richard Nixon. Freedman therefore has not written a hagiography of Humphrey. Instead, he uses the stock characterization of Humphrey to illuminate his most triumphant early career, when his early efforts to promote racial justice not only transformed the Democratic Party (with its hardcore Dixiecrat, anti-integrationist element) but the nation as well. Humphrey was "woke" before anyone else in his party and he dragged them into the light. As Freedman shows, Humphrey's 1948 speech to the Democratic Convention electrified the nation. At the age of 37--younger than Beto O'Rourke, Andrew Gillum, and Stacey Abrams are today--he picked up the mantle of civil rights and carried it forward. Here is the Humphrey few know, and,
after reading Freedman's book, no one will forget.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published July 15, 2023
80 people are currently reading
2789 people want to read
About the author
Samuel G. Freedman
20 books60 followersSamuel G. Freedman is a columnist for The New York Times and a professor at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. He is the author of seven acclaimed books, most recently "Breaking The Line," and has been a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 53 reviews
June 23, 2024
Absolutely fantastic book—one of the best works of nonfiction I’ve read this year. The author must have poured a massive amount of effort into the research, because the story is just so vividly detailed it feels like you’re there. As someone who got my start in DFL politics in Minnesota—and whose Dad loved to remind me that he knocked on doors for Hubert Humphrey when he ran for mayor—this book offered fascinating accounts of moments I’d only ever heard described orally, like HH’s work to unite the Democratic and the Farmer-Labor parties and his 1948 Democratic convention speech. The narrative is surefooted and well-developed, and the underlying history is so timely and important that I found myself wondering how it was possible that I hadn’t read half a dozen books on this subject before. It’s worthy. Highly recommend!
January 2, 2024
Holy smokes! What a book. I loved learning more about the history of the Twin Cities in the context of Humphrey’s early career. Super compelling writing made this a can’t-put-it down experience for me. Important history that resonates (in hopeful and not so hopeful ways) with current issues.
I’m getting copies for all my TC friends.
I’m getting copies for all my TC friends.
September 25, 2023
This is a well researched and written biography of Hubert Humphrey's early years, culminating in 1948 at age 37, when he delivered the speech at the Democratic Party's nominating convention that cemented a civil rights plank into the Party's platform and set a new course for Democrats going forward. Although it is mostly a political biography, Freedman also does a fine job describing Humphrey's growing up years in Doland and Huron South Dakota, including scenes of how brutal the Depression years were for farmers and residents of small towns on the prairie, and how this experience shaped Humphrey in his ardent support for FDR and the New Deal as he witnessed how government programs were used to help make living conditions better for people.
The book also sheds a damning light on how bigoted the city of Minneapolis was regarding its Black and Jewish residents. It was a Northern version of Jim Crow when it came to job opportunities and where Blacks and Jews could live. When Humphrey became mayor in 1945 he set out to combat these conditions, particularly hiring practices. The book left me with a lot of admiration for Humphrey and his concern that government should work for everyone. With a nod to Archie and Edith Bunker and a slight change to a line in their All in the Family theme song, I think "Mister, we could use a man like Hubert Humphrey again."
The book also sheds a damning light on how bigoted the city of Minneapolis was regarding its Black and Jewish residents. It was a Northern version of Jim Crow when it came to job opportunities and where Blacks and Jews could live. When Humphrey became mayor in 1945 he set out to combat these conditions, particularly hiring practices. The book left me with a lot of admiration for Humphrey and his concern that government should work for everyone. With a nod to Archie and Edith Bunker and a slight change to a line in their All in the Family theme song, I think "Mister, we could use a man like Hubert Humphrey again."
November 19, 2025
"My friends, to those who say that we are rushing this issue of civil rights, I say to them we are 172 years late!"
Hubert Humphrey's memory is intimately colored by his support of the Vietnam War, the disastrous 1968 Democratic National Convention, and his humiliating loss to Richard Nixon—but before he was ever a national public political figure, Humphrey was a dedicated ideologue in the fight against America's unjust racial order. Freedman's Into the Bright Sunshine is an exceptional biography of Humphrey, the upbringing that built his passionate belief in human equality, and his at-the-time radical work within Minneapolis and the national Democratic party to advance civil rights. But more than a biography of Humphrey, Into the Bright Sunshine is just as much about the ubiquitous prevalence of anti-Black racism and antisemitism within Minneapolis before World War II and the figures like Cecil Newman & Sam Scheiner who dedicated their lives to ridding their home city of those twin prejudices. This book was inspiring, heartbreaking, and a beautiful tribute to a flawed man who nevertheless did so much to fight the brutal system of institutional racism within the United States.
Hubert Humphrey's memory is intimately colored by his support of the Vietnam War, the disastrous 1968 Democratic National Convention, and his humiliating loss to Richard Nixon—but before he was ever a national public political figure, Humphrey was a dedicated ideologue in the fight against America's unjust racial order. Freedman's Into the Bright Sunshine is an exceptional biography of Humphrey, the upbringing that built his passionate belief in human equality, and his at-the-time radical work within Minneapolis and the national Democratic party to advance civil rights. But more than a biography of Humphrey, Into the Bright Sunshine is just as much about the ubiquitous prevalence of anti-Black racism and antisemitism within Minneapolis before World War II and the figures like Cecil Newman & Sam Scheiner who dedicated their lives to ridding their home city of those twin prejudices. This book was inspiring, heartbreaking, and a beautiful tribute to a flawed man who nevertheless did so much to fight the brutal system of institutional racism within the United States.
November 17, 2024
This was a fantastic biography. Easily the best I've read of Humphrey, but also my favorite biography ever.
Not only a great look into an (often overlooked) part of Humphrey's career, this book is also a fascinating glimpse into 1900s Minneapolis, Minnesota in general, and a disturbingly relevant examination of prejudice, social hierarchies as a foundation of fascism, and the contradiction of America's promises.
What I loved most about this book, however, was that it gave me hope. Humphrey was an unlikely hero, but a hero nonetheless. Humphrey stood for his cause in a time when there were very few allies. And in a distressing Era of American politics, it's figures like Humphrey who remind me that we still have a chance. That there are still heroes.
As a Minnesotan, I'm biased. But despite being born over 20 years after his death, I've always felt a kinship with and admiration for Humphrey which makes him my favorite of our politicians. You can imagine the delight I felt upon learning that he gave his famous 1948 speech, of which this book is named after, on my birthday- July 14th. Thanks, Hubert.
Not only a great look into an (often overlooked) part of Humphrey's career, this book is also a fascinating glimpse into 1900s Minneapolis, Minnesota in general, and a disturbingly relevant examination of prejudice, social hierarchies as a foundation of fascism, and the contradiction of America's promises.
What I loved most about this book, however, was that it gave me hope. Humphrey was an unlikely hero, but a hero nonetheless. Humphrey stood for his cause in a time when there were very few allies. And in a distressing Era of American politics, it's figures like Humphrey who remind me that we still have a chance. That there are still heroes.
As a Minnesotan, I'm biased. But despite being born over 20 years after his death, I've always felt a kinship with and admiration for Humphrey which makes him my favorite of our politicians. You can imagine the delight I felt upon learning that he gave his famous 1948 speech, of which this book is named after, on my birthday- July 14th. Thanks, Hubert.
July 21, 2025
Both a brief mini-biography of Humphrey and a primer on the early struggle for civil rights, I found a lot to learn in Freedman's book. Many of the individuals he brings forward are those that that worked courageously, tirelessly and without great acclaim in one of the most honorable endeavors Americans have pursued. It is so easy to forget the world of the early and mid 1900's that being reminded of it is a splash of cold water in the face. The arrogant wailing today against "DEI", "wokeism" and "immigrants" completely forgets that less than 100 years ago America was lynching a man because he was black or denying a job to a woman was Jewish. It ignores the fact bigotted "populists" formed a pseudo-military group styled on the Nazi's and called them the "Silver Shirts". Their job was to enforce terror so that America might have a "spiritual and political renewal" by eradicating the non-Christian, the non-white, the non-American born.
Humphrey was never one of my heroes. Through Feedman's book, however, I came to have greater respect and appreciation for him. The book this very well written and can easily be completed. It is worth a readers time and I think will be one the reader was glad to have picked up.
Humphrey was never one of my heroes. Through Feedman's book, however, I came to have greater respect and appreciation for him. The book this very well written and can easily be completed. It is worth a readers time and I think will be one the reader was glad to have picked up.
December 15, 2023
I’m glad that Hubert Humphrey got the treatment of a fairly major book, especially one that focuses on the best fight he fought in his life, civil rights, which in my opinion gets incredibly unfairly overshadowed by Vietnam. In my view, Hubert Humphrey is one of the most extraordinary figures in political history, and he deserves so much more than to be remembered as a spineless loser, like the likes of Hunter S. Thompson and others of the New Left intellectuals like to paint him as. So this book automatically gets a plus rating, because we need to change the narrative around Hubert Humphrey, and this book makes an effective case about his extraordinary humanitarian efforts before he became Johnson’s VP.
As for the book itself, it was also very good. It should be noted that this is much more of a character study of Humphrey than a study of the political world which led specifically to the Democratic Party embracing his civil rights plank in 1948. I expected more of the latter, but upon reading it is more of a former, and that is fine. Just adjust your expectations accordingly. Plus Freedman goes into extensive detail about the politics of Humphrey’s Minneapolis, which is more interesting than I would have expected.
It should also be noted that, this being more of a character study of Hubert Humphrey, the majority of the book was spent building up to his fateful civil rights efforts at the 1948 Democratic Convention, rather than spending most of the ink in the book covering the convention itself. That is where my only major criticism of the book comes into place. Hubert Humphrey was a national figure for 30 years, and he did a lot for civil rights (I would argue as much as any white man in American history, save for Abe Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson), but Freedman only covers a few years of his being on the national stage. Freedman spends so much time on Humphrey’s youth and events that made him into the person that he became, that this almost feels like a biography that finishes even before Humphrey reached the apex of his life. I think this would be much better suited as a longer book, detailing Humphrey’s entire career in national politics fighting for civil rights, rather than just his work at the 1948 convention. If this book would have followed that premise, I think the book had the potential to be great, to be the gold standard of Hubert Humphrey biographies. Alas, it fell a little bit short of that. Maybe a second volume could come in the future, there is certainly enough material to work with to fill another 400 pages.
Other than that, however, the book was very well written and enjoyable to read. The arguments I felt were solid (although as already established I am admittedly predisposed to accept pro-Hubert Humphrey arguments) and not stretches by any means. Freedman managed to capture the breathless excitement of the climax of the story, Humphrey’s fight for the pro-civil rights platform at the 1948 Democratic Convention, fighting against pretty much every force imaginable, including the southern base of the Democratic Party, unions, and President Truman himself. It takes skill to convey just how exciting those old convention floor fights were, and Freedman does this as well as anyone I’ve read. You can tell how much painstaking research Freedman put in, and it paid off for sure.
I would highly recommend this book. Hubert Humphrey’s story is one well worth telling, and Freedman, as I said before, gives him the credit he deserves that can hopefully inspire people to think that better things are possible. Two thumbs up.
Edit: Whoops! I did not realize that this book was a part of the series: Pivotal Moments of American History. That would explain why Freedman only covered up to the 1948 convention which, I would agree, is indeed a pivotal moment in American history, in fact a moment that fundamentally changed America for the better. My recommendation of a second volume still stands, however, I think it would be a worthwhile effort.
As for the book itself, it was also very good. It should be noted that this is much more of a character study of Humphrey than a study of the political world which led specifically to the Democratic Party embracing his civil rights plank in 1948. I expected more of the latter, but upon reading it is more of a former, and that is fine. Just adjust your expectations accordingly. Plus Freedman goes into extensive detail about the politics of Humphrey’s Minneapolis, which is more interesting than I would have expected.
It should also be noted that, this being more of a character study of Hubert Humphrey, the majority of the book was spent building up to his fateful civil rights efforts at the 1948 Democratic Convention, rather than spending most of the ink in the book covering the convention itself. That is where my only major criticism of the book comes into place. Hubert Humphrey was a national figure for 30 years, and he did a lot for civil rights (I would argue as much as any white man in American history, save for Abe Lincoln and Lyndon Johnson), but Freedman only covers a few years of his being on the national stage. Freedman spends so much time on Humphrey’s youth and events that made him into the person that he became, that this almost feels like a biography that finishes even before Humphrey reached the apex of his life. I think this would be much better suited as a longer book, detailing Humphrey’s entire career in national politics fighting for civil rights, rather than just his work at the 1948 convention. If this book would have followed that premise, I think the book had the potential to be great, to be the gold standard of Hubert Humphrey biographies. Alas, it fell a little bit short of that. Maybe a second volume could come in the future, there is certainly enough material to work with to fill another 400 pages.
Other than that, however, the book was very well written and enjoyable to read. The arguments I felt were solid (although as already established I am admittedly predisposed to accept pro-Hubert Humphrey arguments) and not stretches by any means. Freedman managed to capture the breathless excitement of the climax of the story, Humphrey’s fight for the pro-civil rights platform at the 1948 Democratic Convention, fighting against pretty much every force imaginable, including the southern base of the Democratic Party, unions, and President Truman himself. It takes skill to convey just how exciting those old convention floor fights were, and Freedman does this as well as anyone I’ve read. You can tell how much painstaking research Freedman put in, and it paid off for sure.
I would highly recommend this book. Hubert Humphrey’s story is one well worth telling, and Freedman, as I said before, gives him the credit he deserves that can hopefully inspire people to think that better things are possible. Two thumbs up.
Edit: Whoops! I did not realize that this book was a part of the series: Pivotal Moments of American History. That would explain why Freedman only covered up to the 1948 convention which, I would agree, is indeed a pivotal moment in American history, in fact a moment that fundamentally changed America for the better. My recommendation of a second volume still stands, however, I think it would be a worthwhile effort.
December 9, 2023
As with many Vice Presidents, Hubert H. Humphrey has drifted into the obscurity of the "almost" some fifty to sixty years after his heyday. "Into the Bright Sunshine..." manages to resurrect the times and experiences that brought Humphrey to national prominence and within a heart beat of the pinnacle of American politics. Samuel G. Freedman has chosen avoid a full biographical sketch here, choosing instead to enlighten the reader on Humphrey's roots and rise within the Democratic party, closing his narrative with the pivotal speech on behalf of a Civil Rights plank that Humphrey delivered at he Democrats's convention in 1948. This book introduces us to many names and events lost to history but also mentions names like President Truman, Strom Thurmond, and others who were players in the dramatic election of 1948. At times compelling, at times academic, "Into the Bright Sunshine..." is not a heart pounding read but it has its moments and gives us an up close and personal glimpse of the legendary Happy Warrior from Minnesota.
July 5, 2024
Samuel G Freedman shares the well-researched, multiple view account of Hubert Humphrey’s 1948 Democratic National Convention speech that moved the Democratic Party from a focus on States Rights to Civil Rights.
Freedman beautifully and meticulously elevates those who fought with and alongside (some simultaneously) Humphrey to ensure that the United States core values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL are protected in law and practice. It is painful to read about the long history of exclusion, destruction, and hurt that people in Minneapolis upheld (and in some cases are still prevalent today) based solely on a persons skin color or heritage.
I chose this book because I want to learn more about Minnesota politicians. It was a greater gift to learn more about Cecil E. Newman of the Minneapolis Spokesman Recorder, Rabbi Samuel Deinard of the Jewish Weekly, and other Minnesotans who aided, fought, challenged, and/or supported Humphrey to shape Minnesota civil rights evolution and then influence the U.S. civil rights movement.
Freedman beautifully and meticulously elevates those who fought with and alongside (some simultaneously) Humphrey to ensure that the United States core values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for ALL are protected in law and practice. It is painful to read about the long history of exclusion, destruction, and hurt that people in Minneapolis upheld (and in some cases are still prevalent today) based solely on a persons skin color or heritage.
I chose this book because I want to learn more about Minnesota politicians. It was a greater gift to learn more about Cecil E. Newman of the Minneapolis Spokesman Recorder, Rabbi Samuel Deinard of the Jewish Weekly, and other Minnesotans who aided, fought, challenged, and/or supported Humphrey to shape Minnesota civil rights evolution and then influence the U.S. civil rights movement.
Read
September 16, 2023The minneapolis girlies should read this one
September 7, 2023
One of the best books I’ve read this year. I knew literally nothing about Humphrey before this and his story as well as this section of American history. A very engaging and readable story that covers the early parts of Humphrey’s life but also uncovers a relatively unknown, to me at least, part of the fight for civil rights. A story the touches on poverty, civil rights, human rights and trying to do what is right.
August 24, 2023
This is an excellent book, full of interesting information and history. Not at all "dry" but made you interested in what would happen next. "Read" the Audible edition, and very well narrated.
June 30, 2025
While Hubert Humphrey is on the cover, this book is more about the fight for civil rights within the Democratic Party than it is about this unique man. Much of the earlier portion of the book covers the usual topics of a biography – Humphrey’s childhood, his courting of his wife, explains how he moved to Minnesota, and experiences that caused him to be more concerned about civil rights but, the author goes off repeatedly on the path of how the civil rights struggle caused struggle within the Democratic Party with the climax Humphrey’s famous civil rights speech at the 1948 Democratic Party Convention. While writing this unique book, Freedman includes so many interesting tidbits of history including:
• How one trip to Washington DC, planned to attend a Boy Scout jamboree that was cancelled, made a significant mark on a young Humphrey. He was able to see President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation come to life. While reading about his experiences, I thought of my own visit to DC the first time with my mom and, while I never lived or worked in DC, it made a difference in the work I did. It also shows how important it is for our system to have internships to allow those who do not come from wealthy families to also be able to live out those dreams through paid internships on Capitol Hill, nonprofits, and unions.
• Freedman addresses how different Jews and Blacks were treated in Minneapolis than in St. Paul, a city a short streetcar ride away. While the larger city had laws that looked good, there was purposely no enforcement, so citizens of Minneapolis lived a different, much more unfair life. That was good research and helped explain how Humphrey had some guts for taking up civil rights as part of his mayoral plank.
• Immigration patterns explained by Freedman was instructional. He spoke about how the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia brought many Jews to America – and Minneapolis – because of the antisemitic laws passed in 1881. Eastern European Jews flooded into the cold city moving from a population of 6,000 in 1900 to over 16,000 by the 1930’s.
• Later, Hitler’s rise brought a renewed attack on Jews in our own country with the German American Bund organizing chapters, media, and outspoken leaders of antisemitism. Freedman provides a first-rate account of how Jew haters took control largely because others did not take them seriously in this rural state, as occurred in many areas of the world.
• A. Philip Randolph’s contribution to the civil rights movement is explained well in this book, a fitting tribute. Having come from the labor movement and even read a book on this civil rights leaders work, it was still good to read about his accomplishments.
• While being pushed to run for Governor and Senator, Mayor Humphrey decided to run for Senate in part because the Governor’s brother was his own handpicked chair of his civil rights board. It was an illustration of how politics work.
• For those who have not read much about the discrimination against African Americans in establishing the New Deal programs, this book outlines how laws like Social Security, Public Housing, and even the G.I. Bill purposely excluded African Americans.
• Freedman did an excellent job disclosing how disastrous Truman’s re-election battle looked as he approached the convention with others lining up to steal his nomination and the political pundits already declaring Truman more dead than Roosevelt. The leaders of both the AFL and CIO skipped the convention, convinced the party’s nominee was going down in flames.
The book chronology how Humphrey learned more outside the classroom about Jews and Blacks at Louisiana State University than in the school, starting with the train trip where African American customers had to move to a much less desired train car at the dividing line of the Civil War; Blacks had to move to the ‘Jim Crow car” behind the locomotive and travel along with the smoke of the train and without the food provided in the other cars. For the first time, Humphrey met Jews and learned more about their plight.
It was interesting how Humphrey struggled financially, personally and repeatedly as he tried to set up programs without the funding and evidently rather ignorant that he was skipping that step. His political expediency that he often exhibited came to haunt him when he backed Johnson’s Viet Nam war later in his life and tarnished his progressive record forever. Late during WWII, he went from speaking about the importance of the war to trying to join to look good to voters as he planned to become a politician. Earlier in life, he brought together the Farmer-Labor party and Democratic Party in a move that still helps the Democrats nationally to make his largely rural state a strong performer for the Democrats.
The lead up to his famous speech was worth the price of reading the entire book. The author speaks about how Humphrey tried to secure the votes for a more progressive view of civil rights at the convention without securing the support. He points out that the Cleveland-based Railroad Trainmen passed on giving support because the leader knew his Southern members would object. Failing to secure the votes while shuffling from room to room, the author points out that Humphrey was considering backing down; the national party leader threatened him and Humphrey wanted to win the senate seat that year. His wife’s constant push might have made all the difference. The party leader from New York also spoke to the 37-year-old politician and assured him New York’s votes. Finally, a women colleague argued that Humphrey should use President Truman’s own words in selling a stronger version of civil rights since Truman made a speech earlier that year than instantly backed down from his unpopular position. Like other books on civil rights in the 1930s and ‘40’s, the book addressed the power of southern, racist Democrats within the party and especially within the committee leadership in the Senate.
While Randolph attacked from the outside, preaching to Blacks that they should not register for the draft – a highly controversial approach – and picketed the convention, Humphrey and a few of his friends attacked from the inside. It’s often a winning formula and might have helped give Humphrey the courage and provide evidence to others who were voting but not engaged in the fight a reason to vote for a stronger civil rights platform.
This book makes the reader feel like they are in Philadelphia looking over Humphrey’s shoulders when he was finally convinced at 5 am the day of the minority reports to take the plunge. It illustrates that people we view as brave and unrelenting also have their doubts and personal ambitions that might be in jeopardy if they do the right things. It also shows the power of fighting from within to dramatically changing the course of an organization. The pendulum doesn’t swing to a side of more justice, it has to be pushed and that’s what this young man did that day, reluctantly.
This book illustrates the actual speech and reaction. The author gave credit to Humphrey’s wife for her husband making a shorter speech, something he rarely did. He was more focused and, while nervous, had the right tone to move the necessary votes. Equally important to the 15,000 conventioneers was the 60 million Americans listening to his speech, testing their own bigotry with adding a simple, common-sense paragraph to the party’s platform. His amendment won by 651.5 to 582.5. Equally historic was his push led the Southern bigots to walk out of the convention hall and over the next two decades move into the Republican Party. It was amazing to read how “Bull Connor” was chair of the Alabama Party delegation, the same man who claimed world-wide fame by turning to violence against peaceful demonstrators for civil rights.
Reading how Humphrey had doubts and “didn’t want to ruin my career, to go from mayor ‘pipsqueak’ to oblivion,” causing him to reconsider his values was fascinating. The author indicates that Truman’s decision to bring back Executive Order 9980 to require equal treatment and opportunities for those who serve as because of the party’s surprised decision.
The book ended quickly after that famous speech that made Humphrey a powerhouse within his party. He helped Truman win his state as he won his senate seat. The book briefly spoke about Humphrey’s closing days with cancer, being upbeat until the end and dying at just 66-years-old.
Freedman might have had a more compelling book had he brought out more about Humphrey’s drive and strange caution versus his conviction learned through life experiences. As a kid, I always thought it was strange that this guy who seemed to have guts and a strong moral compass would sit back and witness the killing of so many Americans and others in an endless war. Freedman raises Humphrey’s own personal drive, his selfish focus on career over even family vacations, and political calculations that might hold him back from the next office. Had Freedman spared us some details and going off on path’s away from the actual story by using research he uncovered that did not progress the story line, perhaps we would have learned a more compelling lesson. It was also disappointing that the book did not include the story about how Humphrey called hospital presidents in the South as Vice President telling them they were receiving considerable funds with the newly enacted Medicaid law but needed to desegregate their hospitals. That story would have fit well in this book.
• How one trip to Washington DC, planned to attend a Boy Scout jamboree that was cancelled, made a significant mark on a young Humphrey. He was able to see President Roosevelt’s New Deal legislation come to life. While reading about his experiences, I thought of my own visit to DC the first time with my mom and, while I never lived or worked in DC, it made a difference in the work I did. It also shows how important it is for our system to have internships to allow those who do not come from wealthy families to also be able to live out those dreams through paid internships on Capitol Hill, nonprofits, and unions.
• Freedman addresses how different Jews and Blacks were treated in Minneapolis than in St. Paul, a city a short streetcar ride away. While the larger city had laws that looked good, there was purposely no enforcement, so citizens of Minneapolis lived a different, much more unfair life. That was good research and helped explain how Humphrey had some guts for taking up civil rights as part of his mayoral plank.
• Immigration patterns explained by Freedman was instructional. He spoke about how the assassination of Tsar Alexander II of Russia brought many Jews to America – and Minneapolis – because of the antisemitic laws passed in 1881. Eastern European Jews flooded into the cold city moving from a population of 6,000 in 1900 to over 16,000 by the 1930’s.
• Later, Hitler’s rise brought a renewed attack on Jews in our own country with the German American Bund organizing chapters, media, and outspoken leaders of antisemitism. Freedman provides a first-rate account of how Jew haters took control largely because others did not take them seriously in this rural state, as occurred in many areas of the world.
• A. Philip Randolph’s contribution to the civil rights movement is explained well in this book, a fitting tribute. Having come from the labor movement and even read a book on this civil rights leaders work, it was still good to read about his accomplishments.
• While being pushed to run for Governor and Senator, Mayor Humphrey decided to run for Senate in part because the Governor’s brother was his own handpicked chair of his civil rights board. It was an illustration of how politics work.
• For those who have not read much about the discrimination against African Americans in establishing the New Deal programs, this book outlines how laws like Social Security, Public Housing, and even the G.I. Bill purposely excluded African Americans.
• Freedman did an excellent job disclosing how disastrous Truman’s re-election battle looked as he approached the convention with others lining up to steal his nomination and the political pundits already declaring Truman more dead than Roosevelt. The leaders of both the AFL and CIO skipped the convention, convinced the party’s nominee was going down in flames.
The book chronology how Humphrey learned more outside the classroom about Jews and Blacks at Louisiana State University than in the school, starting with the train trip where African American customers had to move to a much less desired train car at the dividing line of the Civil War; Blacks had to move to the ‘Jim Crow car” behind the locomotive and travel along with the smoke of the train and without the food provided in the other cars. For the first time, Humphrey met Jews and learned more about their plight.
It was interesting how Humphrey struggled financially, personally and repeatedly as he tried to set up programs without the funding and evidently rather ignorant that he was skipping that step. His political expediency that he often exhibited came to haunt him when he backed Johnson’s Viet Nam war later in his life and tarnished his progressive record forever. Late during WWII, he went from speaking about the importance of the war to trying to join to look good to voters as he planned to become a politician. Earlier in life, he brought together the Farmer-Labor party and Democratic Party in a move that still helps the Democrats nationally to make his largely rural state a strong performer for the Democrats.
The lead up to his famous speech was worth the price of reading the entire book. The author speaks about how Humphrey tried to secure the votes for a more progressive view of civil rights at the convention without securing the support. He points out that the Cleveland-based Railroad Trainmen passed on giving support because the leader knew his Southern members would object. Failing to secure the votes while shuffling from room to room, the author points out that Humphrey was considering backing down; the national party leader threatened him and Humphrey wanted to win the senate seat that year. His wife’s constant push might have made all the difference. The party leader from New York also spoke to the 37-year-old politician and assured him New York’s votes. Finally, a women colleague argued that Humphrey should use President Truman’s own words in selling a stronger version of civil rights since Truman made a speech earlier that year than instantly backed down from his unpopular position. Like other books on civil rights in the 1930s and ‘40’s, the book addressed the power of southern, racist Democrats within the party and especially within the committee leadership in the Senate.
While Randolph attacked from the outside, preaching to Blacks that they should not register for the draft – a highly controversial approach – and picketed the convention, Humphrey and a few of his friends attacked from the inside. It’s often a winning formula and might have helped give Humphrey the courage and provide evidence to others who were voting but not engaged in the fight a reason to vote for a stronger civil rights platform.
This book makes the reader feel like they are in Philadelphia looking over Humphrey’s shoulders when he was finally convinced at 5 am the day of the minority reports to take the plunge. It illustrates that people we view as brave and unrelenting also have their doubts and personal ambitions that might be in jeopardy if they do the right things. It also shows the power of fighting from within to dramatically changing the course of an organization. The pendulum doesn’t swing to a side of more justice, it has to be pushed and that’s what this young man did that day, reluctantly.
This book illustrates the actual speech and reaction. The author gave credit to Humphrey’s wife for her husband making a shorter speech, something he rarely did. He was more focused and, while nervous, had the right tone to move the necessary votes. Equally important to the 15,000 conventioneers was the 60 million Americans listening to his speech, testing their own bigotry with adding a simple, common-sense paragraph to the party’s platform. His amendment won by 651.5 to 582.5. Equally historic was his push led the Southern bigots to walk out of the convention hall and over the next two decades move into the Republican Party. It was amazing to read how “Bull Connor” was chair of the Alabama Party delegation, the same man who claimed world-wide fame by turning to violence against peaceful demonstrators for civil rights.
Reading how Humphrey had doubts and “didn’t want to ruin my career, to go from mayor ‘pipsqueak’ to oblivion,” causing him to reconsider his values was fascinating. The author indicates that Truman’s decision to bring back Executive Order 9980 to require equal treatment and opportunities for those who serve as because of the party’s surprised decision.
The book ended quickly after that famous speech that made Humphrey a powerhouse within his party. He helped Truman win his state as he won his senate seat. The book briefly spoke about Humphrey’s closing days with cancer, being upbeat until the end and dying at just 66-years-old.
Freedman might have had a more compelling book had he brought out more about Humphrey’s drive and strange caution versus his conviction learned through life experiences. As a kid, I always thought it was strange that this guy who seemed to have guts and a strong moral compass would sit back and witness the killing of so many Americans and others in an endless war. Freedman raises Humphrey’s own personal drive, his selfish focus on career over even family vacations, and political calculations that might hold him back from the next office. Had Freedman spared us some details and going off on path’s away from the actual story by using research he uncovered that did not progress the story line, perhaps we would have learned a more compelling lesson. It was also disappointing that the book did not include the story about how Humphrey called hospital presidents in the South as Vice President telling them they were receiving considerable funds with the newly enacted Medicaid law but needed to desegregate their hospitals. That story would have fit well in this book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Want to read
July 15, 2023From the Wall Street Journal (7/15/2023, Richard Aldous) "This is a big claim to make of the man and the moment, so it is to Mr. Freedman’s credit that by and large he makes his case thoughtfully and persuasively. It helps that he is such a fine writer, telling his story with clarity and empathy."
August 21, 2023
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop món quà cho làn da
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop chống lão hóa hiệu quả
Giúp làn da khắc phục hiệu quả tình trạng da khô
Giúp phục hồi những làn da bị hư tổn
Dưỡng ẩm và nuôi dưỡng làn da
Dưỡng sáng, dưỡng trắng, chống oxy hóa
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop sự kết hợp tuyệt vời
Vitamin C chống lão hóa và dưỡng sáng
Arbutin thần dược kích trắng hiệu quả đối với da
Hyaluronic Acid cấp ẩm sâu vào làn da
Ceramide phục hồi hàng rào bảo vệ da
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop món quà của làn da
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop được rất nhiều cộng đồng yêu thích việc chăm sóc làn da tại Việt Nam đánh giá là một sản phẩm tuyệt vời, một sản phẩm quốc dân. Có thể nói đây chính là một món quà tuyệt vời dành tặng cho làn da của mọi người ở trong thời kỳ nắng nóng ngày một gia tăng làm cho các tia UV chiếu rọi vào làn da, dễ dẫn đến việc bị lão hóa ở làn da diễn ra. Thế nhưng, sau khi sử dụng kem dưỡng này có thể nhanh chóng và dễ dàng ngăn ngừa, bảo vệ làn da khỏi các tình trạng xấu như thế diễn ra.
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop chống lão hóa hiệu quả
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop là một sự đầu tư rất nhiều và dài hạn của thương hiệu trong quá trình nghiên cứu và phát triển sản phẩm. Với việc kết hợp rất nhiều thành phần tuyệt vời, chất lượng trong việc dưỡng da, đặc biệt chính là khả năng chống lão hóa ở các thành phần này chính là trọng yếu. Thế nên có thể nói đây là một sản phẩm sinh ra để giúp làn da của chúng ta có thể ngăn ngừa hiệu quả quá trình lão hóa diễn ra ở trên làn da.
Tìm hiểu kem dưỡng ẩm body tại đây: https://www.thebodyshop.com.vn/kem-duong-am-toan-than-kem-duong-am-cho-body
Ngoài ra, chính là vào việc kết hợp thêm vào trong quá trình nghiên cứu và phát triển sản phẩm này các khoa học công nghệ hiện đại, nhờ đó mà sản phẩm này đã có thể mang đến một hiệu quả vượt trội hơn hẳn các loại kem dưỡng thể tương tự hiện hành trên thị trường mỹ phẩm làm đẹp tại Việt Nam. Thế nên có thể nói rằng sản phẩm này chắc chắn sẽ mang đến các sự biến đổi rất tích cực khi được sử dụng trên làn da, đặc biệt chính là khả năng chống lão hóa của sản phẩm này chính là trọng tâm, ngoài ra còn một số công dụng khác như là:
Giúp làn da khắc phục hiệu quả tình trạng da khô
Giúp phục hồi những làn da bị hư tổn
Dưỡng ẩm và nuôi dưỡng làn da
Dưỡng sáng, dưỡng trắng, chống oxy hóa
Các công dụng thần kỳ mà kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop mang lại cho làn da rất khó có thể miêu tả được hết một cách rõ ràng. Thế nhưng có một điều chắc chắn rằng đây là một sản phẩm với chất lượng vượt trội, hơn hết chính là khả năng chống lão hóa vô cùng thần kỳ ở trong sản phẩm này.
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop sự kết hợp tuyệt vời
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop chính là một sản phẩm tuyệt vời mang đến cho làn da của người sử dụng rất nhiều sự thay đổi tích cực không ngờ đến. Đây có thể nói là do việc sản phẩm này sở hữu cho mình các thành phần chất lượng cho việc dưỡng da và việc ứng dụng công nghệ tiên tiến trong quá trình phát triển sản phẩm, nên mới có thể tạo thành một sản phẩm lượng như thế.
Hơn hết có thể nói rằng kem dưỡng ẩm body là một sự kết hợp tuyệt vời đến hoàn hảo. Khi mà sản phẩm này sở hữu cho mình những thành phần thường được thấy ở trong các sản phẩm tốt nhất trong việc dưỡng da và chống lão hóa. Cùng với việc ứng dụng công nghệ tiên tiến đã làm cho các thành phần này phát huy được tối đa được công dụng mà nó mang đến cho làn da khi được sử dụng. Có thể nói đến một số thành phần tuyệt vời ở bên trong sản phẩm này như là:
Vitamin C chống lão hóa và dưỡng sáng
Arbutin thần dược kích trắng hiệu quả đối với da
Hyaluronic Acid cấp ẩm sâu vào làn da
Ceramide phục hồi hàng rào bảo vệ da
Tất cả những thành phần ở trên, ở bên trong sản phẩm này đều là các thành phần vô cùng tuyệt vời nhất, chất lượng nhất. Nhờ đó mà khi sử dụng sản phẩm này sẽ mang đến được cho làn da của người sử dụng các công dụng vô cùng thần kỳ. Có thể ví kem dưỡng này sinh ra đã trở thành một món quà đặc biệt dành tặng cho làn da.
Kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop món quà của làn da
Sản phẩm kem duong am body The Body Shop chính là một món quà tuyệt vời nhất dành cho làn da của chúng ta. Đặc biệt chính là vào trong thời điểm thời tiết nắng nóng gia tăng, tác hại từ tia UV gây ảnh hưởng vô cùng xấu đối với làn da của rất nhiều người, thì kem dưỡng này chính là một giải pháp cứu cánh dành cho tất cả mọi người.
Qua đây có thể nói kem dưỡng ẩm body là một món quà thật sự, bất cứ ai cũng nên sở hữu cho mình một sản phẩm chất lượng như thế này. Đặc biệt chính là những chị em phụ nữ, hay những ai thường xuyên tiếp xúc với ánh sáng mặt trời thì việc sở hữu cho mình món quà này chính là một điều đúng đắn nhất.
Thế nên hãy nhanh chóng sở hữu cho bản thân mình sản phẩm kem dưỡng ẩm body The Body Shop để có thể vừa giúp làn da được nuôi dưỡng từ sâu bên trong, giúp làn da luôn tươi tắn và trẻ trung. Hay biết được ai đang đắn đo tìm kiếm cho mình một sản phẩm dưỡng thể vừa có thể bảo vệ toàn vẹn được sự lão hóa ở làn da diễn ra bởi sự tác động nguy hại từ môi trường bên ngoài, thì hãy ngay lập tức giới thiệu cho họ sản phẩm này.
November 12, 2023
incredibly good book
This is, without hesitation, the best-written history book I’ve read in the last twenty years. It is so well-written that the fight for the 1948 Democratic convention platform reads with the same anticipation as an action hero meeting the Foe in the climax and denouement. In this case, the foe was white ambivalence and the specter of Dixiecrats dividing the nation. Again.
This book not about HH as a white savior but rather a meticulously researched tale of how the Democrats became the party of Civil Rights, solidifying the switch of platforms begun in 1908 with Teddy Roosevelt. Furthermore, this book reminds us that the Civil Rights Movement began rhetorically and in substantial causation with both Black and Jewish oppression in the North. Without the twin catalysts of the Holocaust and Soviet Union propaganda about illiberal democracy and hypocrisy, it’s unclear whether Truman could have been convinced to follow through on a platform painstakingly constructed by HH and his multicultural allies. HH created the atmosphere in 1948 for the Black vote to choose Democrats and thus unexpectedly put Truman over Dewey in 1948. From the beginning until now, the one issue central to the soul of America is whether Black people are human. Everything else in American history and politics flows from that question that should never had to be asked.
I think everyone who is interested in true human equality (and some of that was achieved in law if not spirit in 1964 and 1965) should read this book to see how we got to where we were in the early Civil Rights Movement when multicultural allies produced a multicultural outcome (and the damage and triumph done and achieved since then). I’ve added it to your list Books for Anti-racists. Whoever you are, read it.
This is, without hesitation, the best-written history book I’ve read in the last twenty years. It is so well-written that the fight for the 1948 Democratic convention platform reads with the same anticipation as an action hero meeting the Foe in the climax and denouement. In this case, the foe was white ambivalence and the specter of Dixiecrats dividing the nation. Again.
This book not about HH as a white savior but rather a meticulously researched tale of how the Democrats became the party of Civil Rights, solidifying the switch of platforms begun in 1908 with Teddy Roosevelt. Furthermore, this book reminds us that the Civil Rights Movement began rhetorically and in substantial causation with both Black and Jewish oppression in the North. Without the twin catalysts of the Holocaust and Soviet Union propaganda about illiberal democracy and hypocrisy, it’s unclear whether Truman could have been convinced to follow through on a platform painstakingly constructed by HH and his multicultural allies. HH created the atmosphere in 1948 for the Black vote to choose Democrats and thus unexpectedly put Truman over Dewey in 1948. From the beginning until now, the one issue central to the soul of America is whether Black people are human. Everything else in American history and politics flows from that question that should never had to be asked.
I think everyone who is interested in true human equality (and some of that was achieved in law if not spirit in 1964 and 1965) should read this book to see how we got to where we were in the early Civil Rights Movement when multicultural allies produced a multicultural outcome (and the damage and triumph done and achieved since then). I’ve added it to your list Books for Anti-racists. Whoever you are, read it.
September 6, 2023
I thought this was one of the best books I've read in the last few years. It is truly inspirational and balanced. Humphrey was a politician from my childhood through young adult years and he embodied all the flaws, aspirations, and disappointments and triumphs of those times. He was the first democratic politician of that age who did things because they were right, not just politically expedient. He was the driving force behind Truman's desegregation of the military and perhaps even his election as President. His convention speech was truly a first, taking on the Dixiecrats and even the pragmatci liberals by saying "it's time to get out of the shaows of states' rights and walk into the bright sunshine of human rights" Lessons for our times are here.
July 19, 2024
If an audiobook is 17 hours long, there better be a darned good reason. In the case of this book, there wasn’t.
This author needed an editor. The first half of the book is 25% about Humphrey and his family. The rest is about history that is not written chronologically. The author goes on tangents that have little or no relation to the top of Humphrey or the history being described. This history, btw, is not about Humphrey. While the history relates to the racial issues in Minnesota long before Humphrey is on the scene, the author does not make this connection. However, when discussing a deeply disturbing event he makes a connection to a local baseball game, the cheering, etc., but not to Humphrey:
This author needed an editor. The first half of the book is 25% about Humphrey and his family. The rest is about history that is not written chronologically. The author goes on tangents that have little or no relation to the top of Humphrey or the history being described. This history, btw, is not about Humphrey. While the history relates to the racial issues in Minnesota long before Humphrey is on the scene, the author does not make this connection. However, when discussing a deeply disturbing event he makes a connection to a local baseball game, the cheering, etc., but not to Humphrey:
October 19, 2024
I thought the Humphrey early history and politics of Minnesota was very interesting. The end of the book ruined it totally for me with all the bizarre speculation about how Humphrey would have seen today. People are a product of their times. I was glad someone acknowledged Humphrey -rather than JFK or LBJ as the real civil rights leader of the movement. The book also got way too far into the weeds . I still don’t know what happened with discrimination against Jews In Minneapolis. I grew up in Minnesota and the idea that it was the epicenter of discrimination against blacks and Jews and Catholics! seems absurd. I think you can look at Boston for that. I did find Strom Thurmond parts interesting. Didn’t realize he was such a powerful figure. I guess that’s why Biden cozied up to him
October 3, 2024
3.5/5. Interesting topic, with the final section covering the speech and its aftermath being the most compelling. Got a bit too bogged down on the local politics of Minneapolis though which made some of the earlier sections a bit dense.
December 9, 2023
This book is a welcome addition to the history of the civil rights movement and marks the exact moment that the solid south opted to betray the Democratic Party. The story is ostensibly about a speech Hubert Humphrey gave at the 1948 Democratic convention, supporting a civil rights plank in the part platform. It is also about the forces that necessitated civil rights legislation.
Pre-MAGA forces have their origins with the Know Nothings in the 19th century and the anti Semitic populism of the Populist movement. However during Humphrey’s career, the “threat” as far as the right was concerned, came from a combination of African Americans and Jews. Later after Humphrey’s death this constellation would grow to include homosexuals, independent women, Muslims, and Hispanics, proving bigotry to be capable of self renewal.
This book details the efforts of the anti New Deal forces of Gerald Smith who attacked Jews as the authors of communism and radicalism. African Americans were also castigated. The struggle after WWII was to permit everyone in the United States to enjoy the same freedoms and privileges. For five years, until the red scare kicked in, there was a chance to gain ground.
However, pre-MAGA viewed any form of equality as a loss of freedom, lynching, voter suppression, equal employment, access to housing as a diminishment of its collective freedoms.
Humphrey attended LSU (the with free tuition) in the early 1940s and as a consequence was able to witness the impact of states rights close at hand. Baton Rouge was highly segregated with African Americans living in substandard neighborhoods near the university. The revelations of the Holocaust in WWII sharpened Humphrey’s commitment to civil rights and promoted an agenda he promoted during his career as mayor. This climaxed with the 1948 speech and the walkout of arch segregationists like Strom Thurmond.
For Humphrey this public declaration set the stage for a distinguished career in the Senate. Two very underfunded campaigns for the presidency followed in the 1960s, with Humphrey’s adversary in 1948, Strom Thurmond achieving his goals with Richard Nixon in 1968. Possibly Humphrey and other proponents of equality’s greatest success has been not to eliminate the desire for white privilege, but a certain embarrassment about it, at least until Trump came along.
Pre-MAGA forces have their origins with the Know Nothings in the 19th century and the anti Semitic populism of the Populist movement. However during Humphrey’s career, the “threat” as far as the right was concerned, came from a combination of African Americans and Jews. Later after Humphrey’s death this constellation would grow to include homosexuals, independent women, Muslims, and Hispanics, proving bigotry to be capable of self renewal.
This book details the efforts of the anti New Deal forces of Gerald Smith who attacked Jews as the authors of communism and radicalism. African Americans were also castigated. The struggle after WWII was to permit everyone in the United States to enjoy the same freedoms and privileges. For five years, until the red scare kicked in, there was a chance to gain ground.
However, pre-MAGA viewed any form of equality as a loss of freedom, lynching, voter suppression, equal employment, access to housing as a diminishment of its collective freedoms.
Humphrey attended LSU (the with free tuition) in the early 1940s and as a consequence was able to witness the impact of states rights close at hand. Baton Rouge was highly segregated with African Americans living in substandard neighborhoods near the university. The revelations of the Holocaust in WWII sharpened Humphrey’s commitment to civil rights and promoted an agenda he promoted during his career as mayor. This climaxed with the 1948 speech and the walkout of arch segregationists like Strom Thurmond.
For Humphrey this public declaration set the stage for a distinguished career in the Senate. Two very underfunded campaigns for the presidency followed in the 1960s, with Humphrey’s adversary in 1948, Strom Thurmond achieving his goals with Richard Nixon in 1968. Possibly Humphrey and other proponents of equality’s greatest success has been not to eliminate the desire for white privilege, but a certain embarrassment about it, at least until Trump came along.
August 14, 2024
There are three strands in Freedman's book that really glimmer for me.
First, of course, is Humphrey himself. A brilliant man in academic ways I hadn't understood as well as politically. I wasn't aware of the moral stances he took against very entrenched powers in Minnesota, antisemitic and racist voices that had been loud as well as acceptable for the state's entire history. He went from the platform of his state to the national stage and changed United States history. His stance on Civil Rights led to his forceful efforts from the 1948 Democratic Convention through the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Brilliant, moral and forceful.
Second, the state of Minnesota as well as the racial politics of the United State changed because of Hubert Humphrey. The author succinctly brings together the racial inequities that were fully accepted and practiced in the United States, and both Humphey's effect on the country as well as the exceptional changes that have taken place. This is not ancient history.
Third, Minnesota was a much different place socially before Humphrey. Anti-Semitic, smug, and insular: Minneapolis and the state were not very attractive. Humphrey mobilized allies and changed the state dramatically.
Of course, there is now a political candidate who some compare to Humphrey in terms of the jovial stance he brings to politics. He may indeed be the heir to Humphrey's legacy. Because it is a legacy that the state shares, perhaps all here are not only sons or daughters of Minnesota, but of Hubert Humphrey.
A book worth reading.
First, of course, is Humphrey himself. A brilliant man in academic ways I hadn't understood as well as politically. I wasn't aware of the moral stances he took against very entrenched powers in Minnesota, antisemitic and racist voices that had been loud as well as acceptable for the state's entire history. He went from the platform of his state to the national stage and changed United States history. His stance on Civil Rights led to his forceful efforts from the 1948 Democratic Convention through the enactment of the Civil Rights Act in 1964. Brilliant, moral and forceful.
Second, the state of Minnesota as well as the racial politics of the United State changed because of Hubert Humphrey. The author succinctly brings together the racial inequities that were fully accepted and practiced in the United States, and both Humphey's effect on the country as well as the exceptional changes that have taken place. This is not ancient history.
Third, Minnesota was a much different place socially before Humphrey. Anti-Semitic, smug, and insular: Minneapolis and the state were not very attractive. Humphrey mobilized allies and changed the state dramatically.
Of course, there is now a political candidate who some compare to Humphrey in terms of the jovial stance he brings to politics. He may indeed be the heir to Humphrey's legacy. Because it is a legacy that the state shares, perhaps all here are not only sons or daughters of Minnesota, but of Hubert Humphrey.
A book worth reading.
July 19, 2025
I heard the author on a podcast and thought, “why not?” It is actually an interesting book. I knew almost nothing about Hubert Humphrey, and what I assumed to be true was not terribly accurate; I have no particular interest in him or his politics; I’m too young to have any personal remembrance of his presidential runs (and this book is about him as a young politician anyway). And I had no idea he had an outsized role in the US Civil Rights journey. First of all, I never would have guessed that Minneapolis was (and perhaps still is) a hotbed of discrimination against African Americans and Jews. The bulk of this story occurs in the first half of the 20th century and Jews and blacks were openly and aggressively discriminated against in Minnesota. The book focuses as much on that struggle in Minneapolis (mostly) as it does on Humphrey. It literally is about half about Humphrey and half about the civil rights struggle in the Midwest and nationally. The book is not a hagiography for Humphrey, although it is friendly. Freedman is not hesitant to describe Humphrey's failures, ego, and the continuing struggle with narcissism (my characterization, not the author’s). In sum, a good book on a person I had too little knowledge of, and an aspect of the civil rights journey of which I was previously unaware. I learned a lot.
March 18, 2024
4.5 stars
Harry Truman is quoted as saying "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." What an eye-opening experience for me. It took a lot of courage for Hubert Humphrey to fight for basic human rights for African-American people and my admiration for him grew after finishing this book. But this is a story not only of what he did, but of the black people living in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area and their struggles to achieve the same rights and privileges as white people. The shame of it all was that racism was not limited to the South but also was alive and well in the North.
The book was excellent, the audiobook was not. Is it a requirement for audiobook narrators to be able to mispronounce proper names, place names and words a person would use in everyday language? This is getting to be pattern with so many nonfiction audiobooks I have come across. Why would a narrator not do some simple research to be as accurate as possible in their reading of a nonfiction book? Just my opinion, not that it matters much.
Harry Truman is quoted as saying "The only thing new in the world is the history you don't know." What an eye-opening experience for me. It took a lot of courage for Hubert Humphrey to fight for basic human rights for African-American people and my admiration for him grew after finishing this book. But this is a story not only of what he did, but of the black people living in the Minneapolis, Minnesota area and their struggles to achieve the same rights and privileges as white people. The shame of it all was that racism was not limited to the South but also was alive and well in the North.
The book was excellent, the audiobook was not. Is it a requirement for audiobook narrators to be able to mispronounce proper names, place names and words a person would use in everyday language? This is getting to be pattern with so many nonfiction audiobooks I have come across. Why would a narrator not do some simple research to be as accurate as possible in their reading of a nonfiction book? Just my opinion, not that it matters much.
April 30, 2024
As the title says, this is about the young Humphrey, it ends with his successful effort to insert a strong civil rights plank into the 1948 Democratic party platform at the national convention and his election to the United States Senate that same year. The shortened scope of the book allows for an in depth look at his childhood, family, and early political career. The book also details the civil rights issues of the times even when Humphrey is not part of them. This puts Humphrey's idealism and commitment into context.
One of the most interesting contexts was his idealism at the 1948 convention. Humphrey advocated for the civil rights plank because he believed it was the right thing to do. In a mainly white Minnesota there was little political benefit to his advocacy and he truly believed it. However, he would not have won at the convention if he did not have the big state bosses supporting him, they were largely not motivated by Humphrey's idealism but by the realism of wanting Black votes in the upcoming election.
One of the most interesting contexts was his idealism at the 1948 convention. Humphrey advocated for the civil rights plank because he believed it was the right thing to do. In a mainly white Minnesota there was little political benefit to his advocacy and he truly believed it. However, he would not have won at the convention if he did not have the big state bosses supporting him, they were largely not motivated by Humphrey's idealism but by the realism of wanting Black votes in the upcoming election.
November 18, 2023
When I was around 10 years old, my family had a subscription to Funk & Wagnalls for their encyclopedia. Every year we would receive a "year in review" volume. I remember leafing through the issue for 1978, and seeing the obituary for Hubert Humphrey as well as for Keith Moon, drummer for The Who. I didn't know too much about these two people at the time, but they would loom much larger in my education as the years passed. This was a very well-researched book, about a politician who many people no longer know or appreciate. It might be because my daughter moved to Minneapolis this year for her first "real" job out of college, that I took an extra interest in this subject, but the current political climate also made me dive right into it. It was a very good read and a strong reminder that this battle for civil rights still persists and that we need more politicians like Hubert Humphrey on Capitol Hill.
October 19, 2024
Into the Bright Sunshine is fascinating, engaging and surprising. It does spend some time building the background for Humphrey and the other key characters, and while this is interesting, it can leave the reader wondering where the storyline is going to emerge. When it does emerge- perhaps a third into the book- it’s worth waiting for. It gives a surprising, detailed and credible picture of Minneapolis, St Paul and the Midwest in pre-war, wartime and post-war life, including the institutionalized anti-semitism and racism of that era in the North as well as the Jim Crow south. It takes the reader through the turmoil in the Democratic Party, still reliant on the “Solid South” despite the triumphant progressivism of the New Deal. Truman is a key figure who is not particularly fleshed out, but the various constituencies- the unions, the bosses, etc- are all present. If you like 20th century American political history, you will not be disappointed.
May 6, 2024
After reading "Blind Ambition" about the Nixon years, it made me wonder what the world would be like if Humphrey had beat Nixon. This book tells the story of Humphrey and his passion for civil rights. I had no idea how instrumental he was to the civil rights movement. And I had no idea how rampant bigotry was in Minneapolis in the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Humphrey had a lot to do with turning that around both here (Mpls.) and in the nation. The book also helped me understand why the Democratic party has been support by black voters. Democrats were the ones who fought for civil rights, led by Humphrey. The book is a litany of historical facts and congressional actions. So a lot of it went over my head but the author was careful to lay the foundation and context for the impact that Humphrey made.
February 18, 2024
So interesting to learn about a person like Humphrey. He was in office before I was old enough to vote but I remember studying the LBJ/Humphrey election when they lost to Nixon. Apparently it was a very close election - just think the difference it might have made. The more I read about Nixon the more I dislike him. The more I read about Humphrey, the more I like him.
I've read that he & LBJ were not friendly, but really, that was the norm with presidents and VPs. However both men had a liberal streak that could have really moved things forward.
Also in this book I learned that the election of Harry Truman and Dewey wasn't all that close, certainly not close like those we've seen recently.
I've read that he & LBJ were not friendly, but really, that was the norm with presidents and VPs. However both men had a liberal streak that could have really moved things forward.
Also in this book I learned that the election of Harry Truman and Dewey wasn't all that close, certainly not close like those we've seen recently.
March 9, 2024
I was in the generation who felt Hubert Humphrey was part of the problem with the escalation of the Vietnam war under Johnson’s administration. Then as a boomer I went to a lecture by Samuel Freeman at the Minnesota History Center. He spoke about Humphrey and his fight for civil rights while Mayor of Minneapolis. I admit I didn’t know of this part of Humphrey’s legacy. I still do not respect his position on Vietnam. The initial chapters of this book were the most engaging for me to understand just how backward this country was (maybe still is) in understanding that all people are created equal and are entitled to participate equally in this life. A somber read.
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