- In full:
- Fred Roy Harris
- Born:
- November 13, 1930, Walters, Oklahoma, U.S. (born on this day)
- Died:
- November 23, 2024, Albuquerque, New Mexico (aged 93)
- Title / Office:
- United States Senate (1964-1973), United States
- Political Affiliation:
- Democratic Party
Fred Harris
-
Who is Fred Harris?
Fred Harris (1930-2024) was an American politician, educator, and writer. Harris served as a U.S. Senator for Oklahoma from 1964 to 1973.
Harris was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate at 25 and served for eight years, where he helped establish the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission and supported the development of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. In 1964, he was elected to the U.S. Senate and gained a reputation for hard work, becoming known as "Mr. Science".
After his political career, Harris taught political science at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and continued writing. His works include Alarms and Hopes: A Personal Journey, A Personal View (1968) and Now Is the Time: A New Populist Call to Action (1971).
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What role did Fred Harris have in American politics?
Fred Harris, an American politician, educator, and writer, significantly impacted American politics through his roles as a U.S. Senator and chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC). Elected to the Oklahoma State Senate at 25, he later served as a U.S. senator from 1964 to 1973, gaining a reputation as "Mr. Science" for his dedication and work on government research subcommittees.
As a senator, Harris initially identified as an "independent Democrat" but aligned with liberal senators and became a critic of the Johnson policy on Vietnam. In 1967, he contributed to the formation of the Kerner Commission, which studied civil disorders. After serving as chairman of the DNC, Harris ran for president twice, advocating for a new populist approach.
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For which state did Fred Harris serve as a U.S. Senator?
Fred Harris served as a U.S. Senator for the state of Oklahoma from 1964 to early 1973. Earlier in his career, Harris was elected to the Oklahoma state senate at the age of 25, where he served for eight years. After his time in the U.S. Senate, Harris taught political science at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and continued his writing career.
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What are some main issues or causes Fred Harris supported during his political career?
Fred Harris, a U.S. Senator from 1964 to 1973, championed various issues during his political career. As a state senator in Oklahoma, he helped found the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. In the U.S. Senate, Harris gained recognition as "Mr. Science" and advocated for government research. He played a role in the creation of the Kerner Commission, which addressed civil disorders.
While initially an "independent Democrat," Harris later aligned with liberal senators and criticized the Johnson policy on Vietnam. As chairman of the Democratic National Committee, he later ran for president, denouncing Great Society programs for their focus on inner-city racism rather than broader poverty issues.
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How did Fred Harris contribute to education and writing outside of politics?
Fred Harris, beyond his political career as a U.S. Senator, contributed to education as a political science teacher at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. Harris was also a writer, having penned several books, both non-fiction and novels, after his time in office. His writings include Alarms and Hopes: A Personal Journey, A Personal View (1968), Now Is the Time: A New Populist Call to Action (1971), Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States (1988), Locked in the Poorhouse: Cities, Race, and Poverty in the United States (1998), the novels Coyote Revenge (1999) and Following the Harvest (2004), and a memoir, Does People Do It? (2008).
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What impact did Fred Harris have on American society as a politician, educator, and writer?
Fred Harris, an American politician, educator, and writer, significantly impacted American society through his advocacy for civil rights and poverty reduction. As a U.S. Senator, he played a role in the creation of the Kerner Commission, which addressed civil disorders, and he later criticized Great Society programs for not adequately addressing poverty. After his political career, Harris taught political science and authored several books, including Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States and Locked in the Poorhouse: Cities, Race, and Poverty in the United States, continuing to engage with issues of poverty and social justice.
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Fred Harris (born November 13, 1930, Walters, Oklahoma, U.S.—died November 23, 2024, Albuquerque, New Mexico) was an American politician, educator, and writer who served as a U.S. senator from 1964 to early 1973.
From a young age Harris helped out on the farm with wheat and cotton harvests. By his own account, those experiences taught him the value of hard work and helped him understand the plight of sharecroppers. Harris graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Oklahoma (OU) in 1952 and finished first in his OU law school class of 1954.
At age 25 Harris was elected to the Oklahoma state senate, where he served for eight years. While in the Oklahoma legislature, he worked to establish the Oklahoma Human Rights Commission. He also encouraged the development of the Oklahoma Wheat Commission. In addition to these populist measures, he supported tax breaks for western Oklahoma’s rapidly developing oil industry.
Harris lost a bid for the governorship of Oklahoma in 1962. In 1964 he was elected to complete the term of the late U.S. senator Robert S. Kerr. The wealthy Kerr family’s support helped Harris win over two former governors as well as Bud Wilkinson, legendary gridiron football coach for the University of Oklahoma Sooners.
In the U.S. Senate, Harris had a reputation for putting in long hours, and he became known as “Mr. Science.” As a freshman senator, he convinced the chairman of the Government Operations Committee to create a subcommittee on government research and became one of the few freshmen ever to chair a subcommittee. When elections came up again in 1966, Oklahomans elected him to a full six-year term.
In 1967 Harris and others persuaded President Lyndon Johnson to form the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, also known (for the Illinois committee chairman) as the Kerner Commission. Harris described his work on the commission as a “Damascus Road experience.” Although he had been active in the civil rights movement, he began to see the problems of poverty and race in a new light.
Harris had entered the Senate calling himself an “independent Democrat,” but soon he made friends with a variety of liberal senators such as Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Robert Kennedy. Much to the frustration of his conservative Democratic constituency, Harris became known as an “establishment liberal.” He ultimately became a critic of the Johnson policy on Vietnam. In 1968 he cochaired Humphrey’s presidential campaign. After Humphrey’s loss to Richard M. Nixon, Harris became chairman of the Democratic National Committee (1969–70) while retaining his seat in the Senate.
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By 1972 Oklahoma had become a conservative state. Harris, who had moved in the opposite direction, did not seek reelection. That year he chose instead to run for president. He found a platform in The New York Times reporter Jack Newfield’s 1971 article “New Populist Manifesto.” Harris began to decry many of the Great Society programs that he had helped to put in place. He felt those programs placed too much emphasis on inner-city racism and did not do enough to address the broader problem of poverty in America. Harris ran again in 1976, whistle-stopping across the country in a Winnebago camper.
When his political career ended, Harris taught political science at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, and continued the writing he had begun while in office. Among his many books are the nonfiction works Alarms and Hopes: A Personal Journey, A Personal View (1968), Now Is the Time: A New Populist Call to Action (1971), Quiet Riots: Race and Poverty in the United States (1988; with Roger W. Welkins), and Locked in the Poorhouse: Cities, Race, and Poverty in the United States (1998; with Lynn A. Curtis); the novels Coyote Revenge (1999) and Following the Harvest (2004); and a memoir, Does People Do It? (2008).