Harold Stassen

Harold Stassen
Edward John Thye
Personal details
Born	Harold Edward Stassen (1907-04-13)April 13, 1907 West St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	March 4, 2001(2001-03-04) (aged 93) Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Esther Glewwe ​ ​ (m. 1929; died 2000)​
Education	University of Minnesota (BA, LLB)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Navy
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Captain
Battles/wars	World War II
Awards	Legion of Merit

Harold Edward Stassen (April 13, 1907 – March 4, 2001) was an American Republican Party politician, military officer, and attorney who was the 25th governor of Minnesota from 1939 to 1943. He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president of the United States in 1948. Though he was considered for a time to be the front-runner, he lost the nomination to New York governor Thomas E. Dewey. He thereafter regularly continued to run for the presidency and other offices, such that his name became most identified with his status as a perennial candidate.

Born in West St. Paul, Minnesota, Stassen was elected as the county attorney of Dakota County, Minnesota after graduating from the University of Minnesota. He won election as Governor of Minnesota in 1938. Stassen is the youngest person elected to that office.^[1] He gave the keynote address at the 1940 Republican National Convention. He resigned as governor to serve in the United States Navy during World War II, becoming an aide to Admiral William Halsey Jr. After the war, he became president of the University of Pennsylvania, holding that position from 1948 to 1953. Stassen sought the presidential nomination at the 1948 Republican National Convention, winning a significant share of the delegates on the first two ballots of the convention. During the Republican primaries preceding the convention, he engaged in the Dewey–Stassen debate, the first recorded debate between presidential candidates.

Stassen sought the presidential nomination again at the

In 1935, Stassen participated in the creation of the Young Republicans committee in Minnesota and was one of three elected to be temporary members of the state committee to carry on pre-convention work and would be elected its chairman later that year.^[15][16] In 1936 Stassen led an effort by the Young Republicans that demanded greater representation for them at county conventions and for their inclusion in state leadership before his tenure as chairman ended later that year.^[17][18]

Stassen was a delegate to the 1936 Republican National Convention. On April 24, 1937, he gave the keynote address at the Minnesota Republican state convention.^[19][20] In October he announced his intention to run for governor in 1938, and formally started his campaign in November. Despite being a member of the party's executive committee Stassen seconded a motion preventing a gubernatorial endorsement at the convention in December.^[21][22]

Governorship (1939–1943)

On January 2, 1939, Stassen was inaugurated by Chief Justice Henry M. Gallagher. His first action was to order an audit of expenditures in every state department. He later signed into law Minnesota's first civil service law.^[23] In September 1939 he organized a farm problems conference, attended by the governors of South Dakota, Wisconsin, Kansas, North Dakota, and Illinois or their representatives. World War Two's effect on agriculture was the main issue considered.^[24] When New York District Attorney and future Governor Thomas E. Dewey traveled to Minneapolis during the 1940 presidential campaign he was introduced by Stassen.^[25] By the end of 1939 Stassen's approval rating was over 80% and he had the support of over 80% of both Democrats and Farmer-Laborers.^[26] Despite the fact that Stassen was then constitutionally ineligible for the presidency because of the requirement for the president to be at least 35 years of age, some Republicans supported his involvement in presidential politics and Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes commented that Stassen was a political upcomer and was more serious than Dewey.^[27] During his governorship, Stassen created the Interracial Commission, the first civil rights organization of Minnesota and appointed African-American World War I veteran Samuel Ransom as his military aide.^[28]

World War II

External videos
Booknotes interview with Stassen on Eisenhower: Turning the World Toward Peace, October 14, 1990, C-SPAN

Stassen, who was reelected as governor of Minnesota in

Stassen was re-elected governor in November 1942 and, true to his campaign promise, resigned as governor on April 23, 1943, prior to reporting for active duty with the Navy. Although he would run in 13 more elections in his life, this was the last time he would hold an elected office.^[citation needed]

After being promoted to the rank of commander, he joined the staff of

Stassen was later best known for being a perennial candidate for the Republican Party nomination for President of the United States, seeking it nine times between 1944 and 1992 (1944, 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992). He never won the Republican nomination, much less the presidency; in fact, after 1952, he never even came close, but continued to campaign actively and seriously for president until just a year before his death.

Due to his victory in the gubernatorial race, status as America's youngest governor and overwhelming approval rating Stassen was touted as a possible future Republican presidential nominee starting in 1940 despite the fact that he would not be constitutionally eligible to serve until 1942 due to the requirement that a President be at least 35 years of age.^[32]

Stassen's strongest bid for the Republican presidential nomination was in 1948 when he won a series of upset victories in early

At the

Stassen was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1949.^[34]

His home-state delegation played a key role in the 1952 Republican contest when, over his objection, his delegates were released to Dwight D. Eisenhower. This swing helped Eisenhower to defeat Robert A. Taft on the first ballot.^[35] Stassen served in the Eisenhower Administration, filling posts including director of the Mutual Security Administration (foreign aid) and Special Assistant to the President for Disarmament.^[31] During this period, he held cabinet rank and led a quixotic effort (perhaps covertly encouraged by Eisenhower, who had reservations about Richard Nixon's maturity for the presidency)^[36] to "dump Nixon" at the 1956 Republican National Convention.^[31]

Later life (1964–2001)

Stassen also ran for:^{[citation needed]}

• Dakota County Attorney (he won in 1930 and 1934);
• Governor of Minnesota on four occasions (he won on his first three attempts in
  1982
  );
• 1994
  in Minnesota);
• 1966
  )
• Mayor of
  1959
  );
• 1986).^[37]

After leaving the Eisenhower Administration, Stassen campaigned unsuccessfully for governor of Pennsylvania (1958 and 1966) and for mayor of Philadelphia (1959). In 1978, Stassen moved back to Minnesota and ran a campaign for the U.S. Senate. In 1982, he campaigned for the Minnesota governorship and in 1986 for the fourth district congressional seat. He campaigned for the Republican Party presidential nomination in every election except 1956, 1960, and 1972.[38] He was on the ballot in the 1988 New Hampshire Republican primary and received 130 votes, and also received 1 vote in the Democratic primary.

On the death of

Throughout his life, Stassen was a liberal Republican and challenged the more conservative elements of the Republican Party such as when he opposed Senator Robert A. Taft, favorite son and a leader of the conservative coalition, in Taft's home state of Ohio during the 1948 Republican primary. He was seen as breaching political etiquette and was defeated.^[40] During the primaries, Taft attacked Stassen's liberalism, believing that he was a disguised New Dealer.^[41]

Economics and relations with labor

During the 1938 Minnesota gubernatorial campaign Stassen ran against the imposition of a sales tax and later in life supported a form of

In his 1947 book Where I Stand!, Stassen favored a federal-state government health insurance program that paid only the heaviest hospital and medical bills. Every person under Social Security would have been provided with insurance while those not insured by Social Security could have enrolled in the program through payment of an annual fixed fee.[45]

In his failed 1992 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination, Stassen proposed expanding the Medicare program for pregnant women and children under 10.^[46]

Civil rights

Throughout his life, Stassen was a staunch supporter of civil rights for African-Americans, having appointed World War I African-American veteran Samuel Ransom to the staff of the Minnesota National Guard during his time as governor of the state, believing that it was the right thing to do. In his earlier years at the University of Minnesota, Stassen participated in a debate squad, where he also was important in integrating it, by accepting Earl Wilkins, the younger brother of NAACP leader Roy Wilkins.

During his time as President of the University of Pennsylvania, Stassen had a hand in integrating African-Americans into the university's football team, and also fought for blacks to be integrated into the faculty of the university, as well as for the university to search for black medical students, having found out that there had never been a black at the medical school until he became president.

Stassen later participated in the

Despite having called for the banning of the Communist Party in the United States, Stassen differed from the majority of conservatives with his stances against the embargo on Cuba and military intervention in Vietnam, instead favoring both North and South Vietnam joining the United Nations, where their problems could be settled.^[48][49]

United Nations

Stassen was one of the founders of the United Nations and supported it throughout his life. When he died on March 4, 2001, aged 93, he was the last living signer of the United Nations Charter.^{[citation needed]}

Military awards

• Legion of Merit
• Navy Commendation Ribbon
• battle stars
• World War II Victory Medal

Legion of Merit citation

Commander Harold E. Stassen, United States Navy, is awarded the Legion of Merit for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services to the Government of the United States as Assistant Chief of Staff, Administration, and Aide and Flag Secretary on the staff of Commander, THIRD Fleet, from 15 June 1944 to 26 January 1945.^[50]

General Orders: Bureau of Naval Personnel Information Bulletin No. 337 (April 1945) & No. 363 (May 1947)

Action Date: June 15, 1944 – January 26, 1945

Electoral history

In his political career, Stassen ran many campaigns for public office. He was elected governor of Minnesota three times, in 1938, 1940, and 1942.

Stassen ran for the Republican nomination for President of the United States in 1940, 1944, 1948, 1952, 1964, 1968, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992. As then-Governor of Minnesota, his 1940 bid was just as a favorite-son candidate and after delivering the keynote address, he endorsed the eventual nominee, Wendell Willkie. His 1948 and 1952 campaigns saw him run competitively, whilst his later candidacies never approached viability and were perennial candidate operations.

Stassen would run many unsuccessful campaigns for other public offices. He ran unsuccessfully for