Mike Mansfield | |
|---|---|
.png) Mansfield in 1985 | |
| United States Ambassador to Japan | |
| In office June 10, 1977 – December 22, 1988 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | James Day Hodgson |
| Succeeded by | Michael Armacost |
| Senate Majority Leader | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1977 | |
| Whip | |
| Preceded by | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| Chair of the Senate Democratic Caucus | |
| In office January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Lyndon Johnson |
| Succeeded by | Robert Byrd |
| Senate Majority Whip | |
| In office January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1961 | |
| Leader | Lyndon Johnson |
| Preceded by | Earle Clements |
| Succeeded by | Hubert Humphrey |
| United States Senator fromMontana | |
| In office January 3, 1953 – January 3, 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Zales Ecton |
| Succeeded by | John Melcher |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1943 – January 3, 1953 | |
| Preceded by | Jeannette Rankin |
| Succeeded by | Lee Metcalf |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Joseph Mansfield (1903-03-16)March 16, 1903 New York City, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 2001(2001-10-05) (aged 98) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington National Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | University of Montana (BA,MA) University of California, Los Angeles |
| Signature |  |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service | |
| Years of service |
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| Rank |
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| Battles/wars | World War I |
Michael Joseph Mansfield (March 16, 1903 – October 5, 2001) was an AmericanDemocratic Party politician and diplomat who representedMontana in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1943 to 1953 andUnited States Senate from 1953 to 1977. As the leader of theSenate Democratic Caucus from 1961 to 1977, Mansfield shepherdedGreat Society programs through the Senate; his tenure of exactly sixteen years was the longest of anyparty leader in Senate history, until the record was broken byMitch McConnell in 2023.
Born inBrooklyn, New York, Mansfield grew up inGreat Falls, Montana. He lied about his age to serve in theUnited States Navy duringWorld War I. After the war, he became a professor of history and political science at theUniversity of Montana. He won election to the House of Representatives and served on theHouse Committee on Foreign Affairs duringWorld War II.
In 1952, he defeated incumbent Republican SenatorZales Ecton to take a seat in the Senate. Mansfield served asSenate Majority Whip from 1957 to 1961. Mansfield ascended toSenate Majority Leader afterLyndon B. Johnson resigned from the Senate to become vice president. In the later years of theVietnam War, he opposed escalation of American involvement and supported PresidentRichard Nixon's plans forVietnamization.
After retiring from the Senate, Mansfield served asUnited States Ambassador to Japan from 1977 to 1988. Mansfield is the longest-serving American ambassador to Japan in history.[1] Upon his retirement, he was awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, thePresidential Medal of Freedom. Mansfield also worked as a senior adviser on East Asian affairs toGoldman Sachs.
Michael Joseph (Mike) Mansfield was born on March 16, 1903, inBrooklyn,New York, toIrish immigrant parents, Patrick J. Mansfield and Josephine (née O'Brien) Mansfield.[2] His father worked various jobs, including as a construction worker, hotel porter, and maintenance man, to support the family.[3] In 1910, Josephine died from nephritis.[4][5][6] Shortly before her death, Patrick had been injured in a construction accident, which left him unable to care for his three children.[7] As a result, Patrick sent Mike and his two sisters to live with his great-aunt and uncle, Richard and Margaret, inGreat Falls, Montana.[4][5][6] In Montana, he attended local public schools, and worked in his relatives' grocery store.[2] He turned into a habitual runaway, even living at a state orphanage inTwin Bridges for half a year.[8]
In 1917, at age 14, Mansfield dropped out of school, left home and made his way to alogging camp inLeavenworth, Washington. There, he met members of theOregon National Guard, who were stationed nearby. They helped him board their troop train as it traveled east to New York, en route to their eventual deployment inEurope.[7][9] He made it to New York City, where he reunited with his father.[7]
Wanting to join the war effort duringWorld War I,[7] the 14 year old Mansfield forged his father's signature in order to enlist in theUS Navy.[10][11] He went on several overseas convoys on theUSS Minneapolis, but was discharged by the Navy after his real age was discovered.[11] (He was the last known veteran of the war to die before he reached the age of 100 and the last World War I veteran to sit in the US Senate.) After his Navy discharge, he enlisted in theUS Army, serving as aprivate from 1919 to 1920.[12]
Mansfield was aPrivate First Class in theUS Marine Corps from 1920 to 1922.[12] He served in the Western Recruiting Division at San Francisco until January 1921, when he was transferred to the Marine Barracks at Puget Sound, Washington. The following month, he was detached to the Guard Company, Marine Barracks, Navy Yard, Mare Island, California. In April, he boarded theUSAT Sherman, bound for thePhilippines. After a brief stopover at the Marine Barracks atCavite, he arrived at his duty station on May 5, 1921, the Marine Barracks, Naval Station, Olongapo, Philippine Islands. One year later, Mansfield was assigned to Company A, Marine Battery, Asiatic Fleet. A short tour of duty with the Asiatic Fleet took him along the coast of China before he returned to Olongapo in late May 1922.[11] His service with the Marines established a lifelong interest in Asia.
That August, Mansfield returned to Cavite in preparation for his return to the United States and eventual discharge. On November 9, 1922, Private Mansfield was released from the Marine Corps on the completion of his enlistment. He was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, his character being described as "excellent" during his two years as a Marine.[13]
Following his return to Montana in 1922, Mansfield worked as a "mucker" and shoveled ore and other waste in thecopper mines ofButte for eight years.[12] Having never attended high school, he gained admission toMontana School of Mines (MSM) in Butte by taking their entrance examinations. He attended MSM from 1927 to 1928, studying to become a mining engineer.[8]
In 1928, Mansfield met Maureen Hayes, a local schoolteacher who would become his wife. She encouraged him to pursue further education.[14] In December 1931, Mansfield began his studies at theUniversity of Montana (UM) inMissoula,[8] where he took both high school and college courses.[15] Maureen moved to Missoula, and they married on September 13, 1932. She worked as a social worker, to help support Mansfield through his studies.[15]
At the University of Montana, Mansfield joined theAlpha Tau Omega fraternity. In 1933, he earned both hishigh school equivalency and hisBachelor of Arts degree.[4] He continued with graduate studies at UM, while also working part-time in theregistrar's office[2] and teaching two courses as agraduate assistant.[4] He earned a Master of Arts degree from UM in 1934 with a thesis titled "American Diplomatic Relations with Korea, 1866–1910."
After completing his graduate studies, Mansfield accepted a position as administrator and professor at UM, teaching courses in Latin American and Far Eastern History,[16] and occasionally lecturing on Greek and Roman history.[8] Additionally, he studied towards aPhD at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1936 to 1937.[12] Though he left UM in 1942 to enter politics, he remained atenured Professor of History at the University of Montana until his death.[14]
In 1940, Mansfield ran for theDemocratic nomination for theHouse of Representatives inMontana's 1st congressional district but was defeated byJerry J. O'Connell, a former holder of the seat, in the primary. The general election was won byRepublicanJeannette Rankin, who had previously won what was formerly an at-large seat in the House in 1916 and served until her defeat in 1920.[11] Mansfield decided to run for the seat again in the following election and won it by defeating the businessman Howard K. Hazelbaker after Rankin, who had voted against the entry of the United States into World War II, decided not to run for what would have been her third term.[17]
A new-comer to the House, who is reportedly internationalist-minded, having been professor of history and political science at Montana State University[18] for ten years. Though a supporter of the Administration's foreign policy, he is likely to be strongly critical of the smallness of China's share ofLend-Lease, and of what he fears is the Administration's tendency to regard the Atlantic as more important than the Pacific, and of its apparent reluctance to regard the Chinese as an ally on equal footing. His strongly pro-Chinese sentiments may tend to make him somewhat anti-British on this score.
Mansfield served five terms in the House, being re-elected in 1944, 1946, 1948, and 1950. His military service and academic experience landed him a seat on theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee.[2] He went to China on a special mission for US PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt in 1944 and served as a delegate to the ninth Inter-American Conference inColombia in 1948.[17] In 1951, he was appointed by PresidentHarry S. Truman as a delegate to the United Nations' sixth session in Paris. During his House tenure, he also expressed his support forprice controls, a higherminimum wage, theMarshall Plan, and aid toTurkey andGreece. He opposed theHouse Un-American Activities Committee, theTaft–Hartley Act, and theTwenty-second Amendment.[17]
In 1952, Mansfield was elected to theSenate after he had narrowly defeated the Republican incumbent,Zales Ecton.[11] He served asSenate Majority Whip under Majority LeaderLyndon B. Johnson from 1957 to 1961.[12] In 1961, after Johnson resigned from the Senate to become Vice President, Mansfield was unanimously elected the Democratic floor leader and thusSenate Majority Leader. Serving sixteen years, from 1961 until his retirement in 1977, Mansfield is the longest-serving Majority Leader in the history of the Senate.[11] TheWashington Post compared Mansfield's behavior as Majority Leader to Johnson's by saying, "Instead of Johnson's browbeating tactics, Mansfield led by setting an example of humility and accommodation."[8]
| External videos | |
|---|---|
 Presentation by Mansfield in the Old Senate Chamber, reflecting on his experiences in and observations about the Senate, March 24, 1998,C-SPAN |
Mansfield was critical of US involvement inLaos. On December 28, 1960, he opined that US aid to Laos had produced nothing but "chaos, discontent, armies on the loose, and a large mission of hundreds of officials inVientiane."[19]
An early supporter ofNgo Dinh Diem, Mansfield altered his opinion on theVietnam War after a visit to Vietnam in 1962. He reported toJohn F. Kennedy on December 2, 1962, that US money given to Diem's government was being squandered and that the US should avoid further involvement inVietnam. He was thus the first American official to comment even mildly negatively on the war's condition.[20]
On September 25, 1963, Mansfield introduced Kennedy during a joint appearance with him at the Yellowstone County Fairgrounds, Kennedy expressing his appreciation afterward and adding, "I know that those of you who live in Montana know something of his character and his high standard of public service, but I am not sure that you are completely aware of what a significant role he has played in the last 3 years in passing through the United States Senate measure after measure which strengthens this country at home and abroad."[21]
Mansfield delivered a eulogy on November 24, 1963, as President Kennedy's casketlay in state in the Capitol rotunda, saying, "He gave that we might give of ourselves, that we might give to one another until there would be no room, no room at all, for the bigotry, the hatred, prejudice, and the arrogance which converged in that moment of horror to strike him down."[22]
During the Johnson administration, Mansfield, convinced that it was a blunder based on just aims, became a skeptic of US involvement in theVietnam War. In February 1965, he lobbied against escalating aerial bombardment ofNorth Vietnam in the aftermath ofPleiku, arguing in a letter to the president thatOperation Rolling Thunder would lead to a need for "vastly strengthened... American forces."[23]
In 1964, Mansfield, as Senate Majority Leader, filed a procedural motion to have theCivil Rights Act of 1964 discussed by the whole Senate rather than by theJudiciary Committee, which had killed similar legislation seven years earlier.[24] Mansfield voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1964 and1968,[25][26] as well as the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.[27][28][29] Mansfield voted in favor of the initial Senate amendment to theCivil Rights Act of 1957 on August 7, 1957,[30] but did not vote on the House amendment to the bill on August 29, 1957.[31] Mansfield did not vote on theCivil Rights Act of 1960 or the confirmation ofThurgood Marshall to theU.S. Supreme Court.[32][33]
He hailed the newRichard Nixon administration, especially the "Nixon Doctrine" announced atGuam in 1969 that the US would honor all treaty commitments, provide anuclear umbrella for its allies, and supply weapons and technical assistance to countries where warranted without committing American forces to local conflicts.
In turn, Nixon turned to Mansfield for advice and as his liaison with the Senate on Vietnam. Nixon began a steady withdrawal and replacement of US troops shortly after he took office in January 1969, a policy supported by Mansfield. During his first term, Nixon reduced American forces by 95%, leaving only 24,200 in late 1972; the last ones left in March 1973.
During the economic crisis of 1971, Mansfield was not afraid to reach across the aisle to help the economy:
What we're in is not a Republican recession or a Democratic recession; both parties had much to do with bringing us where we are today. But we're facing a national situation which calls for the best which all of us can produce, because we know the results will be something which we will regret.[34]
Mansfield attended the November 17, 1976, meeting between President-electJimmy Carter and Democratic congressional leaders in which Carter sought out support for a proposal to have the president's power to reorganize the government reinstated with potential to be vetoed by Congress.[35]
Two controversial amendments by Mansfield limiting military funding of research were passed by Congress.
An earlier Mansfield Amendment, offered in 1971, called for the number of US troops stationed in Europe to be halved. On May 19, 1971, however, the Senate defeated the resolution 61–36.
Mansfield retired from the Senate in 1976 and was appointed ambassador to Japan in April 1977 byJimmy Carter,[40] a role that he retained during theReagan administration until 1988. While serving in Japan, Mansfield was highly respected and was particularly renowned for describing the US-Japan relationship as the "most important bilateral relationship in the world, bar none."[41] Mansfield's successor in Japan,Michael Armacost, noted in his memoirs that for Mansfield, the phrase was a "mantra." While in office, Mansfield also fostered relations between his home state of Montana and Japan. The state capital ofHelena is the sister city toKumamoto, on the island ofKyushu.[42]
TheMaureen and Mike Mansfield Library at theUniversity of Montana,Missoula, is named after him and his wife Maureen,[43] as was his request when informed of the honor. The library also contains the Maureen and Mike Mansfield Center, which is dedicated toAsian studies, international relations, and the preservation and promotion of democracy. TheMike Mansfield Federal Building and United States Courthouse inButte was renamed in his honor in 2002.[44]
TheMontana Democratic Party holds an annual Mansfield-Metcalf Dinner named partially in his honor.
In 1977, Mansfield received the US Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually byJefferson Awards.[45]
In 1977, he was awarded theLaetare Medal by theUniversity of Notre Dame, the oldest and most prestigious award forAmerican Catholics.[46]
On January 19, 1989, Mansfield and Secretary of StateGeorge P. Shultz were awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom by PresidentRonald Reagan. In his speech, Reagan recognized Mansfield as someone who has "distinguished himself as a dedicated public servant and loyal American."[47] In 1990, he was given both theUnited States Military Academy,Sylvanus Thayer Award and Japan'sOrder of the Rising Sun with Paulownia Flowers, Grand Cordon. This is Japan's highest honor for someone who is not a head of state.[48]
In 1999, Missoula's daily newspaper, theMissoulian, chose Mansfield as The Most Influential Montanan of the 20th Century.[49]
Throughout his later years, Mansfield lived in Washington, D.C., where he remained active, deliveringspeaking engagements well into his nineties and working from his office at Goldman Sachs until the week before his death.[50]
Mansfield's wife, Maureen, died on September 20, 2000.[51] He died from heart failure atWalter Reed Army Medical Center just over one year later, on October 5, 2001, at the age of 98.[48][50][52] He was survived by his daughter, Anne Fairclough Mansfield (1939–2013),[53] and one granddaughter.
Theburial plot of Mansfield and his wife can be found in section 2, marker 49-69F ofArlington National Cemetery. His gravemarker reads, "Michael Joseph Mansfield - PVT, US Marine Corps."[54]
This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theUnited States Marine Corps.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theUS House of Representatives fromMontana's 1st congressional district 1943–1953 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chair of the House Campaign Expenditures Committee 1949–1951 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forUS Senator fromMontana (Class 1) 1952,1958,1964,1970 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Democratic Whip 1957–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Democratic Leader 1961–1977 | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Howard Baker,George H. W. Bush,Peter Dominick,Gerald Ford,Robert Griffin,Thomas Kuchel,Mel Laird,Bob Mathias,George Murphy,Dick Poff,Chuck Percy,Al Quie,Charlotte Reid,Hugh Scott,Bill Steiger,John Tower | Response to the State of the Union address 1970, 1971 Served alongside:Donald Fraser,Scoop Jackson,John McCormack,Patsy Mink,Ed Muskie,Bill Proxmire | Succeeded by |
| Vacant Title last held by Carl Albert,Lloyd Bentsen,Hale Boggs,John Brademas,Frank Church,Thomas Eagleton,Martha Griffiths,John Melcher,Ralph Metcalfe,William Proxmire,Leonor Sullivan | Response to the State of the Union address 1974 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | US Senator (Class 1) from Montana 1953–1977 Served alongside:James E. Murray,Lee Metcalf | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Whip 1957–1961 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Rules Committee 1960–1963 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Senate Majority Leader 1961–1977 | Succeeded by |
| New office | Chair of the Senate Secret Documents Committee 1972–1973 | Position abolished |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Japan 1977–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Recipient of theSylvanus Thayer Award 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by | Oldest living United States representative (sitting or former) April 1, 1999 – October 5, 2001 | Succeeded by |
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| Rules and Administration (1947–present) | ||
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| Two at-large seats (1913–1919) |
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| One at-large seat (1993–2023) |
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| Resident Minister | |
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| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | |
| Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary | |
