Hubert Humphrey didn't just walk into the West Wing; he sprinted into a buzzsaw. To understand the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson, you have to first understand the man who held the leash. LBJ was a force of nature, a 6'4" Texan who used personal space as a weapon and expected absolute, bordering on pathological, loyalty.
Humphrey was different.
He was "The Happy Warrior." A loquacious, optimistic liberal from Minnesota who genuinely believed that government could fix the world’s problems if you just gave it enough heart. But being the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson meant trading that optimism for a front-row seat to the most polarizing era in modern American history. He went from being the darling of the civil rights movement to the face of a war he didn't start and couldn't stop.
The Brutal Courtship of the 1964 Ticket
Lyndon Johnson didn't pick a running mate; he auditioned subjects. After the 1963 assassination of John F. Kennedy, the VP slot was vacant for a year. LBJ loved the suspense. He toyed with names like Robert McNamara and even his own rival, Bobby Kennedy, just to keep the press guessing.
Humphrey was the logical choice, but LBJ made him crawl for it. He demanded that Humphrey prove he wouldn't use the office as a platform for his own ego. It was a humiliating process. During the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, Johnson essentially forced Humphrey to manage the explosive dispute over the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. It was a "loyalty test" designed to see if Humphrey would choose the President over his own liberal convictions.
He passed. He got the job. He probably should have known then that it wouldn't be easy.
Life Under the Johnson Treatment
The "LBJ Treatment" is legendary—the leaning in, the nose-to-nose shouting, the grasping of lapels. As the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson, Humphrey received this daily. Johnson treated the Vice Presidency like a branch of his own ego. He frequently froze Humphrey out of high-level meetings if the VP showed even a glimmer of independent thought.
Actually, it was worse than that.
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When Humphrey expressed early private doubts about escalating the Vietnam War in 1965, Johnson didn't just ignore him. He exiled him. For months, Humphrey was barred from National Security Council meetings. He was the "Happy Warrior" turned into a ghost in the halls of power. Johnson famously said he wanted Humphrey’s "pecker in my pocket." It’s crude, but it perfectly summarizes the power dynamic.
Humphrey was a man of immense intellect. He had been a pharmacist, a mayor, and a powerhouse Senator who practically authored the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Yet, as Vice President, he was often relegated to ceremonial duties or tasked with selling policies he had no hand in creating.
The Vietnam Albatross
This is where the tragedy of the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson really sits. By 1967, the United States was sinking into the quagmire of Vietnam. Humphrey, the man who had spent his life fighting for labor unions and racial equality, became the chief cheerleader for a war that was tearing his own party apart.
He was stuck.
If he spoke out against the war, he lost LBJ and the chance to ever be President himself. If he supported it, he lost the youth, the activists, and his own soul. He chose the middle path, which in politics, usually means you get hit from both sides. Protesters at his speeches didn't see the man who fought for Medicare; they saw "Killer Humphrey."
It’s easy to look back and say he should have resigned. But Humphrey believed in the "Great Society." He saw the progress being made on Voting Rights and the War on Poverty. He thought if he stayed inside the tent, he could eventually steer the ship back to calm waters. He was wrong.
The 1968 Chaos and the Ghost of LBJ
The year 1968 was a nightmare. MLK was killed. Bobby Kennedy was killed. LBJ shocked the world by announcing he wouldn't seek reelection. Suddenly, Humphrey was the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination, but he was carrying the massive weight of the Johnson administration's failures.
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The Democratic National Convention in Chicago was a literal war zone. While police beat protesters in the streets, Humphrey was nominated inside the hall. He looked like the candidate of the establishment, the puppet of an unpopular President.
The craziest part?
Johnson continued to sabotage him. Even when Humphrey finally tried to distance himself from LBJ’s war policy in his famous Salt Lake City speech in late September, Johnson was furious. LBJ actually ordered the FBI to bug Humphrey’s campaign plane. Think about that. The sitting President was spying on his own Vice President’s campaign because he feared Humphrey might "go soft" on Vietnam to win the election.
What Most People Get Wrong About Humphrey
People think Humphrey was weak. They see him as a sycophant.
That’s a lazy take.
Humphrey was a pragmatist in an un-pragmatic time. He managed to push through incredible amounts of domestic legislation behind the scenes. He was the bridge between the radical Texas populism of Johnson and the refined liberalism of the Northern Democrats. Without Humphrey, the Great Society might have looked very different, or not happened at all.
He was also a pioneer of civil rights long before it was trendy. At the 1948 DNC, he gave a speech that famously told the Democratic Party to "get out of the shadow of states' rights and walk forthrightly into the bright sunshine of human rights." He risked his entire career for that. By the time he became the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson, he had already done more for American equality than most politicians do in three lifetimes.
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The Impact on the Modern Vice Presidency
The Humphrey years changed the office. Before him, the VP was mostly a "wait and see" role. After him, and specifically because of the way Johnson marginalized him, there was a push to make the Vice President a more integral part of the executive branch.
We see the ripples of this today. Modern VPs like Walter Mondale (who was Humphrey’s protege) insisted on better access and real authority because they saw how much Humphrey suffered without it.
Why This History Matters Right Now
History isn't just about dead guys in suits. The story of the vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson is a masterclass in the cost of political loyalty.
- The Loyalty Trap: Being a "team player" can sometimes mean complicity in disaster.
- The Shadow of the Oval: No matter how accomplished you are, the President's reputation will always be your ceiling.
- The Power of Resilience: Despite the 1968 loss, Humphrey returned to the Senate and continued to be a legislative titan until his death in 1978.
Moving Forward: Actionable Insights for the History Buff
If you want to truly understand this era, don't just read a textbook. The relationship between Johnson and Humphrey is best understood through the primary sources.
Listen to the Tapes.
The LBJ Library has released hours of recorded phone calls. Hearing Johnson berate Humphrey in real-time is a visceral experience. It changes how you view the "prestige" of the White House. You can find these on the LBJ Presidential Library website.
Compare the Policies.
Look at the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. See where Humphrey's fingerprints are. He was the legislative mechanic who made the "Master of the Senate's" dreams actually work on paper.
Visit the Sites.
If you're ever in the Twin Cities, go to the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome site (now U.S. Bank Stadium) or his memorial. In Austin, the LBJ Library offers a massive look at the 1960s. Seeing the physical scale of their world helps contextualize the weight they carried.
The vice president of Lyndon B. Johnson was a man of high ideals trapped in a low-point of American history. He wasn't perfect, but he was a reminder that even in the most toxic political environments, someone has to try to keep the gears of government turning. Humphrey did that, even when it cost him everything he had spent thirty years building.