HAROLD STASSEN
Name: Harold Edward Stassen
Born: 13 April 1907 St. Paul, Minnesota
Died: 4 March 2001 Bloomington, Minnesota
Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was the 25th Governor of
Minnesota from 1939 to 1943 and a later perennial candidate for other offices,
most notably and frequently President of the United States.
Born in West St. Paul, Minnesota, he graduated from high school at age 14 and
the University of Minnesota Law School in 1929. He was elected District Attorney
of Dakota County in 1930 and 1934. He was seen as an "up and comer" after
delivering the keynote address at the 1940 Republican National Convention. At
that convention, he helped secure the Republican Party (GOP) nomination for
Wendell Willkie.
Against the advice of some of his political advisers, Stassen resigned from
office in 1943 to serve as an officer in the United States Navy during World War
II. Stassen did indeed lose some of his political base while overseas, whereas
Republican candidates such as Thomas Dewey had a chance to increase theirs.
Stassen was a delegate at the San Francisco Conference that established the
United Nations, and president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1948 to
1953. His attempt to establish big-time college football at the university was
unpopular and soon abandoned. From 1953 to 1955 he was the director of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower's short-lived Foreign Operations Administration.
Stassen was later best known for being a perennial candidate for the Republican
Party nomination for President, seeking it nine times between 1948 and 1992 (1948,
1952, 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992) but never winning it or, after
1952, even coming close. He did receive votes at the Republican National
Convention as late as 1968 when he won two votes for president (one from
Minnesota and the other from Ohio).
Stassen also ran for:
Dakota County District Attorney (he won in 1930 and 1934)
governor of Minnesota on four occasions (he won on his first three attempts 1938,
1940, 1942),
governor of Pennsylvania twice,
United States Senate twice, and
mayor of Philadelphia once.
U.S. Representative (He was the Republican nominee against Bruce Vento of
Minnesota in 1986).
Stassen's strongest bid for the presidential nomination was in 1948, when he won
a series of upset victories in early primaries. Polls showed that he would beat
Harry S. Truman if nominated. He lost the nomination to Thomas Dewey, however,
who had already lost in the presidential election of 1944 to Franklin D.
Roosevelt. There is some sense that Stassen never got over failing to have the
chance to reach what he considered his potential.
Stassen played a key role in the 1952 Republican contest when he released his
delegates to Dwight D. Eisenhower. This helped Eisenhower to defeat Robert Taft
on the first ballot. He served in the Eisenhower Administration, filling posts
including director of the Mutual Security Administration (foreign aid) and
Special Assistant to the President for Disarmament. During this period he held
cabinet rank and led a quixotic effort (perhaps covertly encouraged by
Eisenhower, who had serious reservations about Richard Nixon's qualifications
for the presidency) to "dump Nixon" at the 1956 Republican
Convention. When he left the Eisenhower Administration in 1958, he became a
candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. His defeat
in this race — which was not close — generally was seen as marking the end of
his importance as a political figure, although he became a candidate on many
occasions in the ensuing years. Though he maintained a successful law practice
in Philadelphia and was a major figure of the World War II and immediate post-war
eras, he nonetheless became the subject of jokes, even wearing a toupee in an
apparent effort to look younger and hence presumably more electable. The humor
was collective, with the 'Stop Stassen' movement often attracting more attention
than Stassen's bid for the nomination.
Stassen gained a reputation as a liberal, particularly when, as president of the
American Baptist Convention in 1963, he joined Martin Luther King in his march
on Washington, D.C.. He was a prime representative of the liberal stream of
American Republicanism. Much of his political thought came from his religious
beliefs. An active American (or Northern) Baptist, he held important positions
in his denomination and in local and national councils of churches. Many
remembered him as much as a church figure as a political candidate.
On the death of Happy Chandler, Stassen became the earliest governor of any U.S.
state still living. When he died, the title was passed to Charles Poletti, a
former governor of New York. Stassen died in 2001 in Bloomington, Minnesota,
aged 93, and is buried at the Acacia Park Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.
Name: Harold Edward Stassen
Born: 13 April 1907 St. Paul, Minnesota
Died: 4 March 2001 Bloomington, Minnesota
Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was the 25th Governor of
Minnesota from 1939 to 1943 and a later perennial candidate for other offices,
most notably and frequently President of the United States.
Born in West St. Paul, Minnesota, he graduated from high school at age 14 and
the University of Minnesota Law School in 1929. He was elected District Attorney
of Dakota County in 1930 and 1934. He was seen as an "up and comer" after
delivering the keynote address at the 1940 Republican National Convention. At
that convention, he helped secure the Republican Party (GOP) nomination for
Wendell Willkie.
Against the advice of some of his political advisers, Stassen resigned from
office in 1943 to serve as an officer in the United States Navy during World War
II. Stassen did indeed lose some of his political base while overseas, whereas
Republican candidates such as Thomas Dewey had a chance to increase theirs.
Stassen was a delegate at the San Francisco Conference that established the
United Nations, and president of the University of Pennsylvania from 1948 to
1953. His attempt to establish big-time college football at the university was
unpopular and soon abandoned. From 1953 to 1955 he was the director of President
Dwight D. Eisenhower's short-lived Foreign Operations Administration.
Stassen was later best known for being a perennial candidate for the Republican
Party nomination for President, seeking it nine times between 1948 and 1992 (1948,
1952, 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992) but never winning it or, after
1952, even coming close. He did receive votes at the Republican National
Convention as late as 1968 when he won two votes for president (one from
Minnesota and the other from Ohio).
Stassen also ran for:
Dakota County District Attorney (he won in 1930 and 1934)
governor of Minnesota on four occasions (he won on his first three attempts 1938,
1940, 1942),
governor of Pennsylvania twice,
United States Senate twice, and
mayor of Philadelphia once.
U.S. Representative (He was the Republican nominee against Bruce Vento of
Minnesota in 1986).
Stassen's strongest bid for the presidential nomination was in 1948, when he won
a series of upset victories in early primaries. Polls showed that he would beat
Harry S. Truman if nominated. He lost the nomination to Thomas Dewey, however,
who had already lost in the presidential election of 1944 to Franklin D.
Roosevelt. There is some sense that Stassen never got over failing to have the
chance to reach what he considered his potential.
Stassen played a key role in the 1952 Republican contest when he released his
delegates to Dwight D. Eisenhower. This helped Eisenhower to defeat Robert Taft
on the first ballot. He served in the Eisenhower Administration, filling posts
including director of the Mutual Security Administration (foreign aid) and
Special Assistant to the President for Disarmament. During this period he held
cabinet rank and led a quixotic effort (perhaps covertly encouraged by
Eisenhower, who had serious reservations about Richard Nixon's qualifications
for the presidency) to "dump Nixon" at the 1956 Republican
Convention. When he left the Eisenhower Administration in 1958, he became a
candidate for the Republican nomination for governor of Pennsylvania. His defeat
in this race — which was not close — generally was seen as marking the end of
his importance as a political figure, although he became a candidate on many
occasions in the ensuing years. Though he maintained a successful law practice
in Philadelphia and was a major figure of the World War II and immediate post-war
eras, he nonetheless became the subject of jokes, even wearing a toupee in an
apparent effort to look younger and hence presumably more electable. The humor
was collective, with the 'Stop Stassen' movement often attracting more attention
than Stassen's bid for the nomination.
Stassen gained a reputation as a liberal, particularly when, as president of the
American Baptist Convention in 1963, he joined Martin Luther King in his march
on Washington, D.C.. He was a prime representative of the liberal stream of
American Republicanism. Much of his political thought came from his religious
beliefs. An active American (or Northern) Baptist, he held important positions
in his denomination and in local and national councils of churches. Many
remembered him as much as a church figure as a political candidate.
On the death of Happy Chandler, Stassen became the earliest governor of any U.S.
state still living. When he died, the title was passed to Charles Poletti, a
former governor of New York. Stassen died in 2001 in Bloomington, Minnesota,
aged 93, and is buried at the Acacia Park Cemetery in Mendota Heights, Minnesota.