Eugene Joseph McCarthy was an American Democrat politician and poet, who represented Minnesota in the United States Senate and Minnesota's 4th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.
Born March 29th, 1916 in Watkins, Minnesota, McCarthy served as a code breaker for the United States Department of War during World War II. After the war, he was elected as U.S. Congressman from 1949 to 1959. McCarthy then was elected to the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1971. McCarthy sought the presidency five times (most notably in 1968 with anti-Vietnam War platform), but never won.
As well as his vocal anti-war stance, McCarthy was well known for publishing numerous poetry books in his lifetime.
December 12, 2005 - MPR’s Tom Crann interviews Emerson College literature professor Daniel Tobin about Eugene McCarthy’s poetry.
December 12, 2005 - Politicians of both parties are remembering former Democratic U.S. Senator Eugene McCarthy for his activism and public service. McCarthy died Saturday in Washington, D.C. He was 89. McCarthy served two terms in the U.S. Senate, and before that five terms in the House of Representatives. But his political zenith came in 1968, when he challenged President Lyndon Johnson for the Democratic party nomination. McCarthy didn't win, but his opposition to the Vietnam War turned into a crusade that led to Johnson's withdrawl from the race. Former South Dakota Senator George McGovern was a friend of McCarthy and another opponent of the war.
December 12, 2005 - Former presidential candidate and Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy, who died over the weekend, appeared on Midday many times over the years. He reflected on politics, read poetry and talked baseball. A tour of the Midday archive showcases McCarthy's brilliance, wit and wisdom.
December 12, 2005 - One of Minnesota's most famous sons slipped away Saturday morning. Eugene McCarthy, the Minnesota senator whose 1968 presidential campaign energized the anti-Vietnam War movement, is no longer with us, but his friends and admirers will never forget him.
January 24, 2006 - Family and friends of the late Senator Eugene McCarthy gathered at St. John's University in Collegeville for a memorial yesterday. This is an excerpt of Walter Mondale speaking at memorial service.
January 24, 2006 - There was a memorial held in Collegeville for the late Senator Eugene McCarthy. McCarthy, who died in December, graduated from St. John's University in 1935 and taught there in the 1940s, before moving on to a career in politics.
December 8, 2006 - “The McCarthy Tapes” takes the listener back to the 1968 campaign through audio recordings of the Eugene McCarthy archive, which documents a turbulent time in America's history. McCarthy’s political legacy will forever be defined by 1968, when McCarthy turned his opposition to the Vietnam War into a crusade for the presidency.