This Week in The Muhlenberg Weekly History: Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey Speaks at 'Berg

As we all know, the first presidential debate was this Monday. As Clinton and Trump went head-to-head, I remembered that our beloved Muhlenberg has been home to some famous presidential speakers. One such speaker was Lyndon B. Johnson’s Vice President, Hubert H. Humphrey. Humphrey, a Democratic Minnesota senator, filled the vacant Vice President position on January 20, 1965. The position was left open for 14 months as LBJ assumed the role of President after Kennedy’s assassination in November of 1963. Humphrey fought for civil rights, greater support of urban education, and was originally in favor of deescalating the American involvement in the Vietnam War. However, he pledged his full support to the Johnson administrations official stance on the war, leading to opposition from fellow Democrats.

In mid-1966, Humphrey campaigned in many states, hoping to boost Democrat turn- out for the Senate election. On Friday, September 23rd, Vice President Humphrey visited Muhlenberg and spoke to a group of students from the Seegers Union terrace. Classes were either let out early or cancelled all together to hear him speak, and, per “security regulations,” Seegers Union was closed from 9 a.m. to his departure. Originally, select students were going to be allowed to eat with Humphrey, but, for “security reasons,” that plan was cancelled.

Exactly 50 years ago on September 19th, 1966, The Weekly reported on Vice President Humphrey’s speech to the student body. Humphrey first expressed his pride and gratitude in being able to see “the fine students of such a fine college.” Among these fine students, however, were around five students holding signs protesting Vice President Humphrey and his stance on the Vietnam War containing phrases such as “Must we RAPE the world?” and “Kill for Peace.” Humphrey addressed these select few protesters, as well as the other onlookers, at the beginning of his speech, saying “some [students] are exercising the precious right of dissent which all of us so jealously guard and others who, I trust, are exercising the equally precious right of assent, which we also honor and jealously guard.” Whether because of his personal opinions on the war, or simply his political professionalism, Humphrey allowed the students to silently protest for the duration of the speech.

Humphrey, a strong supporter of education, told Muhlenberg students “You are enjoying one of the great opportunities that will come to you in your life – that of a college education – and I know that you are going to make the most of it.” He also stressed the importance of that education, stating, “If you want to make a real contribution, I urge you to study your books and to open up your minds to new thoughts.” He also encouraged students to engage in discussion, possibly referencing the select “dissenters” in the crowd. Imparting some political knowledge on the students, Humphrey said, “It is not important who wins the debates – what is important is to seek truth.” At his mention of debate, my thought process came full circle and returned to the recent Presidential debate.

At this debate, the problems of our education system were barely mentioned. Humphrey, a strong supporter of education, especially in urban areas, spoke on the issues. He opened up the more political section of his speech by saying “I have been a liberal in politics all my life, and I continue to be one. I am interested in the education, the health, and the advancement of mankind, the liberation of the human spirit, and the opening up of human opportunity.” Humphrey then went on to urge these young educated people to go into the “slums, in the back country, on the Indian reservations,” and into other “poverty-stricken areas of our country” and help these disadvantaged children. Summing up his stance and, at the same time, addressing the protesters, Humphrey ended this portion of his speech stating, “the real test of your humanitarianism is not to say by placard that you want peace in Vietnam, but to help us achieve peace in the slums and ghettos of our cities, so that all American people can enjoy the blessings of life that you are enjoying.” Humphrey then wrapped up his speech and immediately left for Bloomington, Indiana to give a speech at Indiana University. After that speech, he was also slated to fly to Minneapolis, Minnesota for another address.

Unlike some other speakers that seem to be remembered for a few days then promptly forgotten, Vice President Humphrey’s speech left a yearlong impact on the student’s at ‘Berg. Seemingly every issue after the speech, students would be fighting Humphrey, or even each other in the Letters to the Editor section. The first of these came in the very issue The Weekly covered the event. One was a copy of a letter sent to the Vice President by Muhlenberg student Paul Lawrence, another was a letter to the editor by a student named Robert Seay, in which he not only calls Humphrey “distinguished and respected” in his very first sentence, but also goes on to say “I was appalled to see a group of our students (some of them very intelligent ones) carrying signs protesting the war in Vietnam. I never thought that such a pacifist-communist faction existed on this campus.” He also calls these protesters “long-haired creeps.” In the very next issue, Richard K. Brunner, the Director of Publicity for the College, said that Seay “expos[ed] his own limitations” by opening his letter by calling Humphrey “distinguished and respected.” The Director of Publicity went on to say Seay’s article made him a “comedian.” These back- and-forth discussions continued throughout the school year, both on campus and in The Weekly.

Though we have had other politicians speak at Muhlenberg, such as then-Senator Barack Obama in 2008, Vice President Hubert Humphrey is one of the highest ranking politicians to visit this school; likely tied with then-Vice President Richard Nixon.