George McGovern, a graduate of the Master's program at Northwestern (WCAS '49, Ph.D 1953) and Garrett Theological Seminary well known for his failed 1972 presidential run against Richard Nixon, died Sunday at age 90 in Sioux Falls, S.D. McGovern rose from an upbringing in small town South Dakota to become one of Northwestern’s most prolific alums.
After a decorated career as a bomber pilot in the Army Air Corps, McGovern recieved a degree from Dakota Wesleyan University. He soon decided to follow in his Methodist father’s footsteps and enrolled at Garrett Theological Seminary.
However, McGovern quickly tired of his ministerial lifestyle. According to the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains, McGovern was inspired to return to Evanston to pursue a doctorate in history after hearing a lecture by Northwestern professor Ray Allen Billington. He completed his Ph.D. in 1953, writing his dissertation on the Colorado Coalfield War.
After a brief teaching stint at Dakota Wesleyan, McGovern ventured in politics. Inspired by Governor Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign (McGovern even named his only son after his idol), McGovern successfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1956. He was the first Democrat elected in South Dakota in 22 years.
In 1970, then-senator McGovern famously told his colleagues “this chamber reeks of blood” before voting on an amendment to end the war in Vietnam. His staunch opposition to the war was notable at a time when the country (including his graduate alma mater) was still split on the issue.
Powered by his anti-war stance, McGovern came from behind to win the Democratic Party’s nomination for president in 1972 despite losing a number of primaries. His nomination was controversial, however, and he failed to gain the support of the entire party.
McGovern, stuck with the label of “amnesty, abortion and acid,” lost the election to incumbent President Richard Nixon by what was then the second largest landslide in history, losing 520 to 17 in electoral votes. McGovern would later joke that he “wanted to run for the Presidency in the worst possible way – and last year I sure did.”
McGovern continued to serve in the Senate until 1980, after which he returned to teaching, serving as a visiting professor at a number of universities including Northwestern. His classes at NU were incredibly popular, according to university archivist Kevin Leonard.
Over the past decade, the McGovern focused primarily on tackling world hunger, a cause he supported since becoming director of the Food for Peace program in 1961. McGovern became the first United Nations Ambassador on World Hunger in 2001 and in 2008 was a co-laureate for the World Food Prize as a result of his work on an international food and nutrition program.
It was a fitting final award for the former senator. From Northwestern coal mining historian to presidential candidate, McGovern stayed true to the mantra he summed up best in the 1984 Des Moines Register Democratic Debate:
“Don’t throw away your conscience.”