George Stanley McGovern (1922–2012) was an American politician, historian, and diplomat known for his progressive policies and opposition to the Vietnam War. He was the Democratic presidential nominee in 1972, advocating peace and social reform.
Born in Avon, South Dakota, McGovern served as a B-24 bomber pilot in World War II, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross. Afterward, he earned a PhD in history from Northwestern University and taught at Dakota Wesleyan University before entering politics.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956, he later served as a U.S. senator from South Dakota (1963–81.) A leading voice against the Vietnam War, he chaired the Senate Select Committee on Nutrition and Human Needs, advancing food assistance programs.
His 1972 presidential campaign, though unsuccessful, reshaped Democratic politics by fostering grassroots activism and broader minority representation. After leaving the Senate, he served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture (1998–2001.) McGovern authored The Third Freedom: Ending Hunger in Our Time (2001,) Out of Iraq: A Practical Plan for Withdrawal Now (2006,) and What It Means to Be a Democrat (2011.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by George McGovern
No man should advocate a course in private that he’s ashamed to admit in public.
—George McGovern
Topics: Integrity
The highest patriotism is not a blind acceptance of official policy, but a love of one’s country deep enough to call her to a higher plain
—George McGovern
Topics: Patriotism
It is simply untrue that all our institutions are evil that all politicians are mere opportunists, that all aspects of university life are corrupt. Having discovered an illness, it’s not terribly useful to prescribe death as a cure.
—George McGovern
Topics: Dying, Death
You know, sometimes, when they say you’re ahead of your time, it’s just a polite way of saying you have a real bad sense of timing.
—George McGovern
Topics: Greatness & Great Things, Greatness
I’m fed up to the ears with old men dreaming up wars for young men to die in.
—George McGovern
Topics: War
The longer the title, the less important the job.
—George McGovern
Topics: Bureaucracy, Jobs
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