THE SPEAKING OF HUBERT H. HUMPHREY IN FAVOR OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT Norbert H. Mills A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August, 1974 BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY n 586612 .TV Vzù .'XA\ ABSTRACT This study attempted to investigate one aspect of the speaking of Hubert H. Humphrey's advocacy for equal rights for minority groups in this country. The study focused on Humphrey's major pub­ lic addresses and Senate speeches regarding the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Eighteen public speeches and numerous Senate statements dating from September 20, 1963 to June 17, 1964 were analyzed. The study employed an Historical-Descriptive-Critical method of rhetorical analysis. Questions regarding the rhetorical situa­ tion were posited and answers were set forth in succeeding chapters. An attempt was made to determine the types of audiences addressed, the nature of Humphrey's addresses, the major strategies which were employed, and how the Senator argued for the bill. Analysis revealed that Senator Humphrey addressed public audiences, which were classed as religious, political, educational, commencement, and miscellaneous. Humphrey made a conscious effort to adapt his speeches to each particular audience and carefully worked the idea of civil rights into those speeches not expressly dealing with that issue. Major issues which emerged in the public speeches were contained in the various titles of the Civil Rights Bill. Aside from the strategy of choosing only particular.types of audiences to address, the legislative strategies employed were equal in importance to and dictated what many of the rhetorical strategies would be. The reasoning employed by Senator Humphrey was sound and evolved around a major deductive pattern. Supplementing the deductive pattern were methods of induction including cause-effect, authoritative testimony, and specific instance. 1 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study is dedicated to the following persons: To the professors of the Department of Speech at Bowling Green State University, and in particular to Dr. Raymond Yeager and Dr. John T. Rickey. They made graduate school a rewarding and even enjoy­ able experience. To the members of my dissertation committee, which included Dr. Yeager, Dr. Rickey, Dr. Raymond K. Tucker, Dr. Lois Cheney, and Dr. Bernard Sternsher. Their comments and editorial help in this effort were invaluable. To my mother, a woman who struggled for four years to get me through undergraduate school at great sacrifice to herself. I hope I have made her proud of me. Finally, to my wife Jean and my children Jeffrey, Timothy, and Lisa. They have, for the past two years, gone without many things so that this goal might be realized. I only hope I can repay their kindness and understanding in the years that lie ahead. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Page CHAPTER I Introduction ............................................................................................ 1 Humphrey: A Biographical Sketch............................................ 1 Purpose. ............................................ 12 Justification................................... 13 Methodology.....................................................................................................14 Research Procedures..................................................................................... 17 Review of Literature ............................................................................ 18 CHAPTER II--An Overview of the Civil Rights Movement Major Legislation Prior to 1964 ............................................ 25 Troubled Times Ahead.........................................................................36 CHAPTER III--Audiences and Audience Adaptation Nature of Audiences Addressed........................... 48 Religious Audiences .................................................................... 52 Political Audiences .................................................................... 54 Educational Audiences ................................................................ 56 College Audiences ........................................................................ 58 Miscellaneous Audiences ............................................................ 60 Nature of Senate Audience.........................................................................63 Audience Adaptation....................................... 64 Public Speeches ............................................................................ 64 Senate Speeches................................... 68 V Page CHAPTER IV--Nature of Messages Speech Preparation .... ................................................................ 73 Speech Similarities............................................... 75 Public Speeches ............................................................................ 75 J Senate Speeches ............................................................................ 84 Purpose of the Speeches.............................................................................85 Essential Issues and Evidence................................................................89 Public Speeches ........................................................................... 89 Senate Speeches ........................................................................... 98 CHAPTER V--Rhetorical and Legislative Strategies Employed Strategies in Public Speeches..............................................................Ill Senate Strategies.................................................................................... 116 CHAPTER VI--Argumentative Processes Reasoning in Public Speeches ............................................................ 139 Moral Issue.......................................................................................140 Human Dignity Issue ................................................ ..... 144 Unemployment Issue........................................................................... 147 Educational Issue . ....................................................................... 150 Political Issue ............................................................................ 153 Reasoning in Senate Debates....................................... 155 Title I: Voting Rights................... 157 Title II: . Access to Public Accommodations........................... 160 Titles III and IV: Public Facility and School Desegregation.................... ... 163 Title VI: Ending Discrimination in Federal Programs. 166 Title VII: Equal Employment Opportunity............................ 170 Page CHAPTER VII--Summary and Conclusions Summary...........................................................................................................179 L Conclusions ................................................................................................... 183 Suggestions for Further Study ............................................................ 184 BIBLIOGRAPHY............................................................... 186 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION The political career of Hubert H. Humphrey spans nearly thirty years of contemporary American history. Few men have been more pro­ lific in words uttered or more involved in legislative action. In his four years as mayor of Minneapolis he made an estimated 4,000 speeches, or an average of nearly three a day, counting Sundays. During his more than fifteen years in the Senate he had introduced nearly 1,500 bills and resolutions--a fantastic total for any man.^ Adlai E. Stevenson III related the significance of Hubert Humphrey on the American political scene. The story of the 1948 Convention and Hubert Humphrey is now history. Hubert Humphrey left his mark on the Democratic Party; human rights would transcend states' rights. He helped change the course of American history. And that summer he began a friendship with my father which was to last until the end. I don't suppose there was anyone in public life for whom my father had greater respect.2 Humphrey: A Biographical Sketch Hubert Humphrey was born on May 27, 1911 in Wallace, South Dakota. His father's ancestors left Wales in 1648 to settle in the new American colonies. Humphrey's great-great-great-grandfather, Elijah Humphrey of 2 Dudley, Massachusetts, served for three years in the Revolutionary Army. His great-grandfather, a Connecticut Yankee, moved West after the'Civil War to a farm near Union Lakes, Minnesota. His grandfather, John Humphrey, pioneered in Oregon and later returned to Elk River, Minnesota, to become an organizer and a Master Farmer in the Grange. Hubert H. Humphrey, Sr. was born near Albany, Oregon. He broke from the family's farm tradition, becoming a pharmacist and small business- 3 man in South Dakota. Hubert, Sr. was most certainly the major influence on his son's life. His library was always the best-stocked in town and he passed on his passion for learning to his children. He read them everything from Woodrow Wilson's "Fourteen Points" to the poetry of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. In later years Hubert, Jr. commented on his father's influence: He set high standards. The one fear I've had all my life is that I would disappoint him. My hero is my father. He, above all others, had the greatest influence on my life. My father passed away in November, 1949, but if ever I needed proof of immortality he has given it to me. His mind, his spirit,.his soul are ever present in my daily life.