As part of the Montana 250th Commission’s celebration of the United States’ 250th birthday, we are honored to feature Montana statesman Mike Mansfield in The Treasure State’s Book Club. Join us on Oct. 9 at 6:30 p.m. for "Mansfield and Dirksen: Bipartisan Giants of the Senate," hosted by author Marc Johnson. A study of politics but also an analysis of different approaches to leadership, this is a portrait of a U.S. Senate that no longer exists — one in which two leaders, while exercising partisan political responsibilities, could still come together to pass groundbreaking legislation — and a reminder of what is possible.
Op-Ed: Keeping the Legend of Mike Mansfield Alive
This article was originally published by the Missoulian Newspaper and was written by Marc C. Johnson and Deena Mansour.
The original article can be found here:
In June 1939, three years before he was elected to Congress, Mike Mansfield celebrated American democracy in a speech he delivered at a naturalization ceremony in Missoula.
Mansfield was a popular history professor at the 91次元, a veteran, and a high school dropout who worked in Butte’s copper mines. While his long and distinguished political career was still ahead of him, Mansfield had worked out much of his belief about the United States.
“Beginning with nothing in this country, and pulled together by like ideals,” Mansfield said, “we at length built here on this continent a way of life whose faith is that there is a common touch of nature that makes all men kin — all races, all religions, all cultures. This is the land of opportunity and of progress and this is the land of equal protection and equal participation. We are proud to be considered citizens but, at the same time, our pride is tempered by humility because we are well aware that only through recognizing our weaknesses have we achieved our strength. We are also decent and friendly people and we respect the rights of others.”
This year, the Montana Legislature designated the last full week of September as “Celebrate Freedom Week,” a time for students to learn about “the values that underpin the nation.” Mike Mansfield is a perfect case study in how those values can be upheld.
At a time when character, honesty and fidelity to the law are being challenged across the globe, Mike Mansfield stands, as he did while representing Montana in Congress for 34 years and representing the nation as ambassador to Japan for 12 more years, as an enduring example of an American ideal — a simple yet profound man dedicated to serving a cause larger than self.
Mansfield still holds the record for most years as Senate majority leader, his fingerprints remain on some of the most important legislation of the 20th Century — the first treaty to control nuclear weapons, the Civil Rights and Voting Rights Acts, Medicare and Medicaid, the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, among many others.
The legislative accomplishments mark Mansfield as among the greatest senators in American history, but perhaps an even more important legacy remains the Montanans' approach to leadership. Having followed Lyndon Johnson as Senate leader, many thought Mansfield’s low key, conciliatory approach to leadership would mean failure, yet he pioneered a different type of political leadership — totally fair to friend and opponent alike and a commitment to the Senate as an institution critical to our democracy.
The stories are legend of Mansfield, a loyal Democrat, reaching out to Republicans to share his approach to legislation, provide them with information and seek their advice. The long-time Republican from Alaska Ted Stevens said at the time of Mansfield’s death in 2001 that Mansfield was the greatest Senate leader by far.
The Mansfield Center at the 91次元 continues to keep this legacy alive with a slate of programs on civic education, freedom, and international engagement. Join us on Oct. 9 to learn more about Montana’s Mike and how you can be part of the movement to honor America’s democracy. To register, visit .