What History Will Be Made in St. Paul That People Will Be Talking About for Years?
At the 1948 Democratic National Convention, the young mayor of Minneapolis, Hubert Humphrey, gave a stirring and controversial speech urging his fellow delegates to ratify a strong civil rights plank in the party platform. “The time has arrived in America for the Democratic Party to get out of the shadow of states’ rights and to walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights,” implored Humphrey. The speech introduced Humphrey to the nation and paved the way for his future as vice president and the nominee for president in 1968. Twelve years later at the 1960 Republican National Convention, another Minnesotan gave a speech to remember. Walter Judd, congressman from Minnesota’s 5th District, gave the keynote speech and delivered a stinging criticism of recent Democrat failures in foreign policy. (See “The Speech That Rocked the Convention.”) Judd asked his audience a series of 10 rhetorical questions and by the time he was finished, the crowd was on their feet, shouting “No!”
