Harold Hughes

Harold Everett Hughes (February 10, 1922 – October 23, 1996) was an American politician who served as the 36th governor of Iowa from 1963 until 1969, and as a U.S. senator from Iowa from 1969 until 1975. He began his political career as a Republican but changed his affiliation to the Democratic Party in 1960.

Early years

Hughes was born in 1922 in Ida Grove, Iowa, to Lewis C. Hughes and Etta Estelle (Kelly) Hughes. Jesse, along with Leroy Conrad, were going to be inducted into the Army the following week, due to Selective Service.

Marriages

Hughes and his first wife, Eva, divorced in 1987. Hughes's former wife claimed that he had completely cut off her annuities and health insurance, while Hughes claimed that he himself did not have money. McManus then lost the general election to Norman A. Erbe.

1962 gubernatorial campaign and first term

Hughes ran again for governor in 1962, beating Lewis E. Lint in the Democratic primary by 48,854 votes. Hughes ran again and defeated incumbent Republican Norman Erbe by 41,944 votes.

A major issue in that campaign was legalization of liquor-by-the-drink. He then defeated William G. Murray in the general election by 99,741 votes.

He resigned as governor on January 1, 1969, just two days before being sworn in as U.S. Senator.

Leader on alcoholism and narcotics addiction

As a U.S. Senator, Hughes persuaded the chairman of the Senate's Labor and Public Welfare Committee to establish a Special Sub-committee on Alcoholism and Narcotics, chaired by Hughes himself. This subcommittee, which gave unprecedented attention to the subject, held public hearings on July 23–25, 1969. A number of people in recovery testified, including Academy Award-winning actress Mercedes McCambridge, National Council on Alcoholism founder Marty Mann, and AA co-founder Bill W. In his autobiography, The Man from Ida Grove: A Senator's Personal Story, Hughes writes that he asked a dozen other well-known people in recovery to present public testimony, but all declined. The hearings were considered by some in AA a threat to anonymity and sobriety.

Hughes also talked about the need for treatment of drug addiction. He stated that "treatment is virtually nonexistent because addiction is not recognized as an illness." The hearings, and subsequent events related to alcoholism and addiction, were not given much press attention because the press was more interested in the Vietnam War, poverty, and other critical issues. Legislation creating the National Institute on Drug Abuse was not passed until 1974.

The goal of the Comprehensive Drug Abuse Prevention and Control Act of 1970, considered a "major milestone" in the nation's efforts to deal with alcohol abuse and alcoholism, was "to help millions of alcoholics recover and save thousands of lives on highways, reduce crime, decrease the welfare rolls, and cut down the appalling economic waste from alcoholism." It also established the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

After his retirement, Hughes served as a consultant to the Senate and the Senate Judiciary Committee for a year. He then started the Harold Hughes Foundation and opened the Harold Hughes Centers for Alcoholism and Drug Treatment. He was awarded for bringing "the message of the Gospel to the cause of equal education, civil rights and opposition to capital punishment."

Death

Hughes moved to a retirement community in Glendale, Arizona. He died in his sleep in Glendale in 1996, at the age of 74. Hughes's second wife, Julianne, died in 2001 in Winterset, Iowa, aged 57, of cancer.

Early years

Marriages

1962 gubernatorial campaign and first term

Leader on alcoholism and narcotics addiction

Death

See also

References

Further reading