38 Facts About Mike Mansfield

Michael Joseph Mansfield was an American politician and diplomat.

Mike Mansfield was the longest-serving Senate Majority Leader and served from 1961 to 1977.

Mike Mansfield served as Senate Majority Whip from 1957 to 1961.

Mike Mansfield is the longest-serving American ambassador to Japan in history.

Mike Mansfield was born on March 1,1903, in the Brooklyn borough of New York City.

Mike Mansfield was the son of Irish immigrants Patrick J Mansfield and Josephine Mansfield.

Mike Mansfield's father struggled to support the family, having to work several different jobs, ranging from a construction worker, hotel porter, and maintenance man.

Mike Mansfield attended local public schools, and worked in his relatives' grocery store.

Mike Mansfield turned into a habitual runaway, even living at a state orphanage in Twin Bridges for half a year.

Mike Mansfield was a Private First Class in the US Marine Corps from 1920 to 1922.

Mike Mansfield served in the Western Recruiting Division at San Francisco until January 1921, when he was transferred to the Marine Barracks at Puget Sound, Washington.

One year later, Mike Mansfield was assigned to Company A, Marine Battery, Asiatic Fleet.

On November 9,1922, Marine Private Michael J Mansfield was released on the completion of his enlistment.

Mike Mansfield was awarded the Good Conduct Medal, his character being described as "excellent" during his two years as a Marine.

Mike Mansfield later met a local schoolteacher and his future wife, Maureen Hayes, who encouraged him to further his education.

Mike Mansfield was a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

Mike Mansfield earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1933 and was offered a graduate assistantship teaching two courses at the university.

Mike Mansfield attended the University of California, Los Angeles from 1936 to 1937.

In 1940, Mansfield ran for the Democratic nomination for the House of Representatives in Montana's 1st congressional district but was defeated by Jerry J O'Connell, a former holder of the seat, in the primary.

Mike Mansfield served five terms in the House, being re-elected in 1944,1946,1948, and 1950.

Mike Mansfield went to China on a special mission for US President Franklin D Roosevelt in 1944 and served as a delegate to the ninth Inter-American Conference in Colombia in 1948.

In 1952, Mike Mansfield was elected to the Senate after he had narrowly defeated the Republican incumbent, Zales Ecton.

Mike Mansfield served as Senate Majority Whip under Majority Leader Lyndon B Johnson from 1957 to 1961.

In 1961, after Johnson resigned from the Senate to become Vice President, Mike Mansfield was unanimously elected the Democratic floor leader and thus Senate Majority Leader.

An early supporter of Ngo Dinh Diem, Mike Mansfield altered his opinion on the Vietnam War after a visit to Vietnam in 1962.

Mike Mansfield reported to John 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 in Vietnam.

Mike Mansfield was thus the first American official to comment even mildly negatively on the war's condition.

Mike Mansfield voted in favor Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the US Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

Mike Mansfield voted in favor of the initial Senate amendment to the Civil Rights Act of 1957 on August 7,1957, but did not vote on the House amendment to the bill on August 29,1957.

Mike Mansfield did not vote on the Civil Rights Act of 1960 or the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the US Supreme Court.

Mike Mansfield hailed the new Richard Nixon administration, especially the "Nixon Doctrine" announced at Guam in 1969 that the US would honor all treaty commitments, provide a nuclear umbrella for its allies, and supply weapons and technical assistance to countries where warranted without committing American forces to local conflicts.

Mike Mansfield attended the November 17,1976, meeting between President-elect Jimmy 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.

Two controversial amendments by Mike Mansfield limiting military funding of research were passed by Congress.

An earlier Mike Mansfield Amendment, offered in 1971, called for the number of US troops stationed in Europe to be halved.

Mike Mansfield retired from the Senate in 1976 and was appointed ambassador to Japan in April 1977 by Jimmy Carter, a role that he retained during the Reagan administration until 1988.

In 1977, Mike Mansfield received the US Senator John Heinz Award for Greatest Public Service by an Elected or Appointed Official, an award given out annually by Jefferson Awards.

Mike Mansfield died at the age of 98 on October 5,2001.

Mike Mansfield was survived by his daughter, Anne Fairclough Mansfield, and one granddaughter.