Hubert Humphrey Quotes

A collection of quotes by Hubert Humphrey.

Hubert Humphrey was an American politician and statesman who played a significant role in shaping the Democratic Party's agenda during the mid-20th century. Born on May 27, 1911, in Wallace, South Dakota, Humphrey's early years were marked by his involvement in student politics and his commitment to civil rights issues.

Humphrey rose to national prominence serving as the 38th Vice President of the United States under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1965 to 1969. During his vice presidency, he advocated for civil rights legislation, education reforms, and the Great Society programs. Prior to his role as vice president, Humphrey represented Minnesota in the U.S. Senate from 1949 to 1964.

Known for his passionate and powerful oratory skills, Humphrey was a staunch advocate for civil rights, advocating for desegregation, voting rights, and equal opportunity. He played a key role in the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and was an influential figure in the fight against racial discrimination.

Humphrey ran for the presidency in 1968 but lost the Democratic nomination to Richard Nixon. Nevertheless, he continued to champion liberal causes, serving in the Senate once again from 1971 until his death on January 13, 1978.

Hubert Humphrey left a lasting legacy as a champion of civil rights, and his dedication to social justice and progressive policies remains influential in American politics to this day.

This, then, is the test we must set for ourselves; not to ma

This, then, is the test we must set for ourselves; not to march alone but to march in such a way that others will wish to join us.

Hubert Humphrey


Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large s

Leadership in today's world requires far more than a large stock of gunboats and a hard fist at the conference table.

Hubert Humphrey

Leadership

National isolation breeds national neurosis.

National isolation breeds national neurosis.

Hubert Humphrey

Solitude

We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions c

We should have learnt by now that laws and court decisions can only point the way. They can establish criteria of right and wrong. And they can provide a basis for rooting out the evils of bigotry and racism. But they cannot wipe away centuries of oppression and injustice -- however much we might desire it.

Hubert Humphrey

Law

It is not enough to merely defend democracy. To defend it ma

It is not enough to merely defend democracy. To defend it may be to lose it; to extend it is to strengthen it. Democracy is not property; it is an idea.

Hubert Humphrey

Democracy

There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once i

There are incalculable resources in the human spirit, once it has been set free.

Hubert Humphrey

Humanity

The great challenge which faces us is to assure that, in our

The great challenge which faces us is to assure that, in our society of big-ness, we do not strangle the voice of creativity, that the rules of the game do not come to overshadow its purpose, that the grand orchestration of society leaves ample room for the man who marches to the music of another drummer.

Hubert Humphrey

Individuality

The difference between heresy and prophecy is often one of s

The difference between heresy and prophecy is often one of sequence. Heresy often turns out to have been prophecy -- when properly aged.

Hubert Humphrey

Heresy

Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent,

Freedom is hammered out on the anvil of discussion, dissent, and debate.

Hubert Humphrey

Argument & Debate

I learned more about the economy from one South Dakota dust

I learned more about the economy from one South Dakota dust storm that I did in all my years of college.

Hubert Humphrey

Economics

The right to be heard does not autmatically include the righ

The right to be heard does not autmatically include the right to be taken seriously.

Hubert Humphrey

Liberty

Slumism is the pent-up anger of people living on the outside

Slumism is the pent-up anger of people living on the outside of affluence. Slumism is decay of structure and deterioration of the human spirit. Slumism is a virus which spreads through the body politic. As other isms, it breeds disorder and demagoguery and hate.

Hubert Humphrey

Poverty

Propaganda, to be effective, must be believed. To be believe

Propaganda, to be effective, must be believed. To be believed, it must be credible. To be credible, it must be true.

Hubert Humphrey

Propaganda

The heroes of the world community are not those who withdraw

The heroes of the world community are not those who withdraw when difficulties ensue, not those who can envision neither the prospect of success nor the consequence of failure -- but those who stand the heat of battle, the fight for world peace through the United Nations.

Hubert Humphrey

Nationalism Nation Nationality

There is in every American, I think, something of the old Da

There is in every American, I think, something of the old Daniel Boone -- who, when he could see the smoke from another chimney, felt himself too crowded and moved further out into the wilderness.

Hubert Humphrey

Wilderness

There are those who say to you -- we are rushing this issue

There are those who say to you -- we are rushing this issue of civil rights. I say we are 172 years late.

Hubert Humphrey

Rights

Each child is an adventure into a better life --an opportuni

Each child is an adventure into a better life --an opportunity to change the old pattern and make it new.

Hubert Humphrey

Children

When people generally are aware of a problem, it can be said

When people generally are aware of a problem, it can be said to have entered the public consciousness. When people get on their hind legs and holler, the problem has not only entered the public consciousness -- it has also become a part of the public conscience. At that point, things in our democracy begin to hum.

Hubert Humphrey

Argument & Debate

I have seen in the Halls of Congress more idealism, more hum

I have seen in the Halls of Congress more idealism, more humanness, more compassion, more profiles of courage than in any other institution that I have ever known.

Hubert Humphrey

Congress

We are in danger of making our cities places where business

We are in danger of making our cities places where business goes on but where life, in its real sense, is lost.

Hubert Humphrey

Cities