HISTORY TOPICS
Eugene McCarthy
One of the most distinguished politicians in Minnesota history, Eugene McCarthy was born in Watkins, Minnesota, in 1916. After a brief stint as a professor, McCarthy turned to politics and represented Minnesota in the House and later the Senate from 1949 to 1971, where he gained a reputation as an intellectual. In 1967 he announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the presidency as a direct challenge to Lyndon Johnson's Vietnam War policies. His antiwar position won the support of many liberals and his strong showing in the primaries persuaded Johnson to leave the race. Though he never served as president, McCarthy is still remembered for his strong convictions and integrity. Eugene McCarthy died on December 10, 2005, in Woodville, Virginia.
GET STARTED WITH SECONDARY SOURCES:
- The 1968 Political Campaign of Senator Eugene J. McCarthy: A
Study of Rhetorical Choice, by Bonnie Ritter Patton.
Ph.D. thesis (University of Kansas), [1969].
MHS call number: Microfilm 748. - Almost to the Presidency: A Biography of Two American Politicians,
by Albert Eisele.
Blue Earth, Minn.: Piper Co., [1972].
Covers Hubert H. Humphrey and Eugene J. McCarthy.
MHS call number: E 748 .H945 E5. - An American Melodrama: The Presidential Campaign of 1968,
by Lewis Chester, Godfrey Hodgson, Bruce Page.
New York: Viking Press, [1969].
MHS call number: E 851 .C45. - Candidates 1968: The Public Records of Twenty-Five Americans
Prominently Mentioned for the Presidency or Vice Presidency.
Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, 1968.
MHS call number: E 840.6 .C6 1968. - Clean for Gene: Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign,
by George Rising.
Westport, Conn.: Praeger, 1997.
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 R57 1997. - Divided They Stand, by David English and the staff
of the Daily Express.
London: M. Joseph, 1969.
MHS call number: E 8451 .E5. - Frankly McCarthy, by Eugene J. McCarthy, edited by
Carol E. Rinzler.
Washington, D.C.: Public Affairs Press, [1969].
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 A48. - Gene McCarthy's Minnesota: Memories of a Native Son,
by Eugene J. McCarthy.
Minneapolis, Minn.: Winston Press, 1982.
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 Z53. - "The McCarthy Campaign," by Abigail Q. McCarthy.
In Atlantic, vol. 226, no. 2 (Aug. 1970): pp. 60-63.
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 M3. - McCarthy for President, by Arthur Herzog.
New York: Viking Press, [1969].
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 H4. - The New Look in Politics: McCarthy's Campaign, edited
by Joseph Frank.
[Albuquerque, N.M.]: University of New Mexico Press, 1968.
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 F7. - The New Senate: Liberal Influence on a Conservative Institution,
1959-1972, by Michael Foley.
New Haven, N.J.: Yale University Press, 1980.
MHS call number: JK 1161 .F64. - Nobody Knows: Reflections on the McCarthy Campaign of 1968,
by Jeremy Larner.
[New York]: Macmillan, [1970].
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 L3. - People, by Richard T. Stout.
New York: Harper & Row, [1970].
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 S75. - The Peasant's Revolt: McCarthy 1968, by William P.
McDonald and Jerry G. Smoke.
[Mt. Vernon, Ohio: Noe-Bixby Publications, 1969.]
MHS call number: E 851 .M29. - Private Faces/Public Places, by Abigail McCarthy.
Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1972.
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M27 A3 - The Rhetorical Strategies of Senator Robert Kennedy and Senator
Eugene J. McCarthy in the 1968 Presidential Primaries, by Frederick
C. Sanders.
Ph.D. thesis (University of Oregon), 1973.
MHS call number: Microfilm no. 772. - The Turning Point: The 1968 United States Presidential Campaign,
by Dennis Wainstock.
Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1988.
MHS call number: E 851 .W35 1988. - We Were the Campaign: New Hampshire to Chicago for McCarthy,
by Benedict Stavis.
Boston: Beacon Press, [1969].
MHS call number: E 851 .S8. - Who Were the People: An Analysis of Data Obtained from the Grassroots
Workers in Eugene McCarthy's 1968 Presidential Campaign, by Mary
Anderson Donaghy.
M.A. thesis (American University), 1973.
MHS call number: Microfilm no. 798. - The Year of the People, by Eugene McCarthy.
Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1969.
MHS call number: E851 .M28. - The Year the Dream Died: Revisiting 1968 in America,
by Jules Witcover.
New York: Warner Books, 1997.
MHS call number: E 846 .W55 1997.
PRIMARY RESOURCES:
- Eugene J. McCarthy Papers.
Eugene J. McCarthy's files as U.S. Congress member (Democratic Farmer-Labor) from Minnesota's fourth district (1949-1958) and as U.S. senator from Minnesota (1959-1970).
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks — filed under McCarthy, Eugene J. — for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 380 boxes and 3 oversize folders of material), or use an electronic version of the inventory.
Note: Files on McCarthy's 1968 campaign for U.S. president are at the University of Minnesota, Special Collections and Rare Books Division, in the Elmer Andersen Library.- Executive Files (1959-1976)
Contains correspondence between citizens and McCarthy and departments of the federal government.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 57 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - General Files (1943-1970)
Miscellaneous assortment of papers including correspondence, Executive Department files, news clippings, membership files, committee files, and speech schedules.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 39 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Legislative Files (1948-1972)
Concern bills introduced or supported by McCarthy; issues and legislation of concern to various congressional committees and public opinion on them; and the work of the committees on which McCarthy served, particularly the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee. Foreign relations, especially the Vietnam War, are heavily emphasized in the files for 1966-1970.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 184 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Personal Papers (1950-2000)
Personal Papers focus on McCarthy's writing. Included are texts, notes, and drafts of his books, poetry, essays, articles, and other miscellaneous writings. There is also correspondence related to book publishing. Account statements and order books, certificates and awards, membership files, schedule and trip files, daily reminders, and appointments are also present.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 22 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Political and Campaign Files (1947-1994)
Consists of Senate, vice presidential, and presidential campaign files, convention files, election files, correspondence, issue and subject files, County and District files, and voting records. Also included are newspaper clippings, magazine articles by and about McCarthy, newsletters, and press releases.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 36 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Public Relations (1949-1979)
Public relations files include clippings and magazine articles, press releases and newsletters, publicity files, problems, requests, and miscellaneous files.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 38 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Sound and Visual Materials (1948-1969)
Photographs (family, publicity, campaign related, and miscellaneous) sound reel tapes, sound cassettes, and film reels of campaign spots, speeches, and debates. Also includes film and sound tapes of appearances by Eugene McCarthy on national and local television and radio.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 6 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - Speech Files (1950-1989)
Speeches consist of general speech files and Senate speech files. They include drafts and notes, texts, and final versions. There are also interviews and panel transcripts.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed alphabetically under McCarthy, Eugene J.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 16 boxes), or use an electronic version of the inventory.
- Executive Files (1959-1976)
- Abigail McCarthy Papers.
Papers documenting the varied activities of an author and editor, college teacher, feminist, Catholic lay worker and ecumenical leader, and Democratic Party activist, who was also the wife of Minnesota senator and presidential candidate Eugene McCarthy. Papers include correspondence, campaign materials, and printed matter regarding her political activities, including various Democratic Party women's groups, Women for McCarthy, and, especially, Eugene McCarthy's 1968 presidential campaign in which Abigail played a central role.
Restriction: Quotation or publication from any of the papers requires written permission.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed under McCarthy, Abigail Q.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 17 boxes, but not all relate to this topic). - "America is Hard to See," Emile de Antonio, producer.
[California]: Pyramid Films, 1970.
A documentary account of the events surrounding the American presidential campaign of 1968 from Eugene McCarthy's entry in the race through the election.
MHS call number: Film no. A-33 (in the A-V Collection, 100-minute, 16 mm., color film). - "The Cause is Peace?"
[St. Paul, Minn.: KSTP-TV, 1972.]
Videotape of news coverage of the antiwar demonstrations at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) following President Richard Nixon's order to mine North Vietnamese harbors, May 1972. Includes a rally appearance by Sen. Eugene McCarthy and a discussion of the events by KSTP-TV news staff.
MHS call number: Videotape no. 183 (in the A-V Collection, 45-minute video). - Correspondence with Hubert Humphrey, 1960-1968, collected
by Frederick F. Manfred.
Manfred's correspondence with Hubert H. Humphrey, including Manfred's comments on Eugene McCarthy's 1968 presidential primary campaign.
MHS call number: P711; see the green Manuscripts Notebooks for more details (there is 1 folder, containing 47 items). - "Gene McCarthy is More Together Than Ed Muskie Will Ever Be:
McCarthy vs. Muskie, March 21," [campaign poster].
Chicago, Ill.: McCarthy '72 Campaign, [1972].
MHS call number: E 840.8 .M3 G46 1972. - Marianne Hamilton Papers.
Personal papers of a founding member of the International Assembly of Christians in Solidarity with the Vietnamese, Cambodian, and Laotian People and a U.S. coordinator of the Assembly representing the Catholic Commission of Inquiry. The collection includes one folder related to the 1968 Democratic National Convention includes correspondence from Eugene McCarthy and Hamilton's eyewitness account of police action at the Chicago convention.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed under Hamilton, Marianne—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 3 boxes of material, but not all relate to this topic). - Hubert H. Humphrey Vice-Presidential Files, collected
by William B. Welsh.
Reports, memoranda, speeches, correspondence, notes, and other materials kept by William B. Welsh in his capacity as Administrative Assistant to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey during the late 1960s. Major topics include Humphrey's 1968 presidential campaign, the Vietnam War, and the response to the urban riots of the late 1960s.
MHS call number: See the green Manuscripts Alpha Notebooks—filed under Welsh, William B.—for a detailed list of boxes and locator numbers (there are 3 boxes of material, but not all relate to this topic), or use an electronic version of the inventory. - "I'm Sorry I Was Right: Eugene McCarthy," a production
of The Center for International Education, written and directed by Mike
Hazard.
[St. Paul, Minn.]: Center for International Education, 2001.
This video is a documentary portrait of the politician and poet, Eugene McCarthy. With rare archival footage, lively interviews, and good humor, McCarthy tells us about his work as a politician, the lessons of the Vietnam War and the dangers of corporate control of the public mind. A writer of 21 books, he also recites selections from his poetry and a Yeats poem.
Restriction: For viewing only.
MHS call number: Videotape no. 877 [video version] and videotape no. 878 [broadcast version] (in the A-V Collection; 1 27/29-minute, color video). - Papers Relating to the 1968 Democratic Convention,
collected by Lyle D. Tollefson.
Papers relating to the 1968 Democratic convention in Chicago, Illinois, which Tollefson attended as a graduate student from the University of Minnesota. Included are items used to promote the campaign of Senator Eugene J. McCarthy, clippings providing information on the McCarthy family, a list of the Minnesota delegation, copies of platform planks, a telegram from Tollefson to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey regarding the disorder in Chicago during the convention, and Humphrey's response, a copy of Humphrey's address accepting the nomination as Democratic candidate for president, copies of press releases, brief biographies of prominent Democrats, and other miscellaneous items. Some of the materials were part of a press kit for the convention.
MHS call number: P618; see the green Manuscripts Notebooks for more details (there is only 1 box of material). - John Tomlinson Papers.
Papers collected by Tomlinson as organizer of support on St. Paul's East Side for Eugene J. McCarthy as the Democratic nominee for U.S. president in 1968, with information on the McCarthy campaign at various levels, precinct caucus data, and materials relating to the Democratic-Farmer-Labor party state convention (1968).
MHS call number: P746; see the green Manuscripts Notebooks for more details (there is 1 folder, containing 52 items).
- Newspapers that may be useful for this topic:
- Minneapolis Star
- Minneapolis Tribune
- St. Paul Dispatch
- St. Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch
- Visual Resources Database subjects that may be useful for this topic:
- Check the library catalog for other materials.
