Birds of War and Birds of Peace: A Tale of the Vietnam War and Beyond.

[Our Man in Havana]

Part I: The Hawk

August 1964, Washington D.C:


Lyndon Johnson was not a man for deep and introspective thought. He noticed the problems at hand, and acted against them with brutality and efficiency. Whether it was wrangling support for a bill when he was Senate Minority Leader, working over an official using the “Johnson Method”, or delivering a classic Texan stump speech, he was a man of efficiency. Even sitting, as he was now, in the Oval Office, he was trying to be efficient; thinking about the future of the country while also thinking about current political issues.
And now that he was President of the United States he needed to- swiftly and efficiently- choose a Vice President for the upcoming Convention.
They were running out of time, after all. The Convention was not far off, and the nation- and the Party- needed a unified ticket, not a slapdash unity ticket. It was imperative that the the Vice President be three things:

1. A Northerner
2. A liberal
3. A man with the support of organized labor.

That gave Johnson plenty of options, but he needed a fourth category as well: The “It” factor, someone who had the ability, the integrity, the intelligence, and the strength to serve as a vice president.
That gave him a few options, which he seemed to be thinking about near constantly:
Hubert Humphrey. The Happy Warrior, a proud and eloquent civil rights advocate, deliverer of the spell-binding 1948 Democratic National Convention Speech that, in part, led the convention to adopt a strong civil rights plank. Hubert Humphrey, though he did not possess great physical stature, made up for it with his sheer courage and enthusiasm. Once, a Southerner attempted to block his way through a door. Humphrey tried to fight this man, and was held back by an aide (I).
The man has balls, Johnson thought. That is somethin’.
Next, Eugene McCarthy. A Catholic, from Minnesota just like Humphrey, he was mostly famous for supporting the twice-failed Adlai Stevenson II for his Presidential Bid, at the 1960 Democratic Convention (II).
If I go with him, that means I’m gettin’ backing from Stevenson’s people. That’s important. He’s also Catholic, which means Jack and Bobby’s Midwest Catholics’ll come to me. He’s liberal too.
Problem is, he’s a jackass. Ain’t anybody that don’t hate his guts.

Johnson cursed.
Next, Mike Mansfield. Johnson recalled a discussion he had with Ken O’Donnell, regarding Mansfield.
“He might make a pretty good television appearance. He makes a pretty good speech. He’s a pretty judicious fellow. He’s a pretty careful fellow. He’s pretty strong on peace—that’s showing up in all of our polls.” (III)

Johnson also noted that having Mansfield as Vice President would open up the Senate Majority Leader spot to Humphrey (who was, at the time, serving as majority whip). Johnson had no doubt in his mind that Humphrey would make an excellent Majority Leader- about as effective as he was, in a different way.
Perhaps most importantly, Mansfield was quiet. He wouldn’t undercut Johnson publicly. The man was too damn reserved for that.
Johnson wanted to call in Mansfield. He went to the nearest phone and connected to the operator.
“Would you get Mike Mansfield down here?”

30 minutes later:

Mike Mansfield walked into the Oval Office. He stopped to compose himself for a moment. Johnson was sitting in the very seat that his close friend Jack Kenney sat in, just a year ago. It still hurt him when he thought about it.
“Mike, si’ down please” Johnson gestured to a chair. Mansfield thanked him and sat.
“Mike, I’m calling you here to ask you to be my Vice President.”
Mansfield sat silently for a moment. He almost couldn’t believe this was happening.
“Mr President… I feel like I am more effective in the Senate”
“You are effective in the Senate, Mike, don’t misunderstand my intent. The thing is, the difference between you and me as Senate Majority Leaders is like the difference between a bull and an antelope. A bull- that being me- is a creature that can kill, kill, kill. It can get things done, rough-like. You, bein’ the antelope, are more graceful, more reserved. You do it well, you just do it differently than I do.”
“... Mr President…”
“Now Mike, before you say anything, just to let you know, I ain’t the kind of fella to take no for an answer. On much of anything, but especially this.
You’re the right man for the job. You are loyal beyond a doubt, I’ve seen that with how you handled President Kennedy, I saw that with how you handled that disaster with me anglin’ for a senate role as Vice President (IV). Mike, listen- I know you aren’t as ambitious as me, or Kennedy, or Roosevelt, but you don’t need that. You just need to offer what you have- your brains, your integrity- and we’ll get the job done, you and I.”
“... Alright Mr President, I’ll do it”.
“Excellent. We’ll have this all handled by the Convention.”



Notes:
This is the switch from OTL. Rather than choosing Hubert Humphrey as vice presidential candidate, Lyndon Johnson chose the laconic Montanan Mike Mansfield.
I: From Master of the Senate, great book, highly recommended.
II: Some believe this was just a cynical attempt to be chosen as a vice presidential candidate, not just overt support for Stevenson.
III: https://allthewaywithlbj.com/the-vice-presidential-selection/ From this website.
IV: Also noted by Caro. Johnson essentially wanted a strong role in the Senate after becoming Vice President, which the senators- partially out of a desire to continue separation of the branches, partially because they didn’t want Johnson meddling anymore than necessary- strongly argued against this measure, and it was not to be.

 

[Our Man in Havana]

Hello,
Hope you all are doing well and are enjoying the last day before the New Year (may it be better than this one).
Anyways, I made an attempt at a timeline a long while back, didn't turn out like I hoped (to put it mildly). I've had this idea in my head for a while now, and I wanted to run with it, hopefully you all will enjoy.
I don't want to make any grandiose promises this time, I don't want to say anything I end up not being able to do. I'll just say here, I hope you will enjoy where I'm going with this, I hope you learn a thing or two about the turbulent time that this was, and I hope I get better as a writer over the course of this.
Thanks again to my family, my friends, and my teachers.
Have a great rest of the day everyone. I'll try to get something good for the next bit done soon.
Also, I'll try to make one of those poster type things that I see other users have for their timelines, with the title on it and so forth. Those things are really cool, so I'll figure out that in the future.
Anyways, be well everyone. Stay safe.
Cheers,
OMiH.

 

[Our Man in Havana]

August 17, 1964:

Fannie Lou Hamer was determined.
She was determined to get what she, and the other liberal delegates of Mississippi, came for: seating and recognition for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
This integrated party stood against the segregated Mississippi Democratic Party, and the group, which included a few white delegates,
Fannie Lou Hamer, a spellbinding orator in her roughhewn way, demanded that the MFDP be granted all the seats; the segregationists of Mississippi demanded that this idea be entirely rejected; liberals and those seeking a compromise urged that ½ the seats be granted to the MFDP.
The matter was going to come to an impasse, in Atlantic City.

____________________

Atlantic City was, for many years, a premier vacation destination. In fact, the city, which was so dependent upon tourism, began to decline once there was a lack of travellers heading into the city for a good time. During the 1950s, air travel made vacationing more prevalent in Florida and the Caribbean, and the city receded from a must see city to…. just another city.
This did little to help the Democratic Party retain an image of respectability, unfortunately for them. The Republicans, in contrast, had the luxury of that jewel of the Pacific, San Francisco, to have their convention in.
The 3 way showdown between the MFDP, the segregationists, and the compromise faction was about to come to a head.



“Atlantic City” by Bob Dylan (written 1965, released 1974):

Yeah, I was down in that old city.
That city of ruin and despair
I met with someone real gritty
With dust and grime in her hair
She said she’d tell me a story
And that she did, my friend
The Story was one of sadness
One she’d wished she never had
In Atlantic City
You’ll never wish for vice
In Atlantic City
You’d wish you were goooone.

 

[Our Man in Havana]

Memories: An Oral History of Civil Rights
Interview with Fannie Lou Hamer, 1971

“I remember that day very clearly. 1964… Now that was a strange old year, wasn’t it?” Mrs Hamer sat before me, smiling slightly.
I continued to record her orally- my handwriting would not suffice for this, it wasn’t very good by any standard- and her rich and beautiful voice filled up the recording.
“Mr Rowe- Joseph Rowe, I mean- was a big time Civil Rights Lawyer back then. He was with us, you see, really good soul. He said our cause was right, that we deserved seating.
And we certainly put up an effort for it. And we garnered sympathy for it. And we really thought we would win it, too. But there was too much pressure”
“Pressure from whom?” I asked
“Liberal Lyndon Johnson- and to be completely clear, I said that with a heavy load of sarcasm. He wanted to make a “compromise”- we’ll get two seats, and there won’t be no segregationist delegations in the future. And, the worst part of it was, he was askin’ for loyalty pledges from these Southern segregationists, to not bolt the party and endorse Goldwater. He was a fool to think that’ll work.
I suppose we were fools for thinkin it would go all our way too…..”

The Nation, September 1, 1964:
Reflections on Jubilee

Americans are certainly cognizant of the times men have decided to die on the cross for their causes- oftentimes, choosing the wrong time. It is an act of life itself, to try to make a martyr out of yourself.
So as in life, it is the same in politics.
In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt- boldly, bravely, foolishly- headed a third party, splitting the Republican vote and allowing Woodrow Wilson to win with a plurality.
In the 1860s, an entire region of our nation seceded, and we marched- as if led by destiny- to a war where families were torn apart as often as the young men who were ripped apart by cannon fire.
In 1789, our nation compromised- on a plethora of issues. From representation to federal and state powers, our predecessors certainly argued.
Yet nowhere was the argument more taxing, more burdensome, more historically pernicious, than the argument regarding slavery.
In the end, we may have even sullied ourselves- when a black man was worth ⅗ of a man in terms of representation, one may wonder if we smeared our eyes with dirt to continue our ignorance, and cover our ears with wax to block out the screams of the field workers as they were cut open by whips.
In our current era, blacks still feel the sting of whips- though this time, it is more of a cutting metaphor than a cutting strap.
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party wanted to end this whipping. The state party, antithetical to the interest of the segregated Mississippi Democratic Party, desired for their group to receive the allotted Mississippi seating. In this effort, they garnered the sympathy of the liberals in the hall and blacks across America- though in the end, not the President. One may speculate that he opposed the state party to continue to hold favor with Southerners.
A compromise, as we know now, was reached.
Furthermore, Half of the MFDP was granted seating (the other members were given passes by sympathetic delegates, so they essentially had seating throughout the event). Loyal delegates were seated from both parties (at the suggestion of Edith Green, a congresswoman from Oregon) (I)
As some expected- and some more zealous civil rights warriors supported- many southerners walked. Even most of the “loyal” delegates of Mississippi left, ironically giving the Mississippi delegate the majority (II).
Mississippi was represented, for all intents and purposes, by an integrated delegation at Atlantic City.

_______________________________
The MFDP helped inspire other southern branches of the Democratic Party, particularly Alabama and Louisiana, who also adapted Freedom Party in their name.
In effect, the state of Mississippi into the early 80s would have a 3 party system- the Republicans, the state Democratic Party (which didn't just join with the Republicans out of pride and memory, if nothing else) and the MFDP. The party was, and remains, both economically and socially liberal, and thus attracts not only the black vote but also the small number of white liberals in the state.
In state politics, the MFDP often split gubernatorial votes with other parties- the state party would get the vast majority of the black vote in the state. In contrast, the old school Democratic Party of Mississippi- which, to avoid confusion, adopted the name Mississippi Conservative Party in 1980- often courted older white voters with a classic, George Wallace-esque populism and race baiting. The party, generally speaking, ran economically liberal but socially conservative.
In the early 1980s, the FBI monitored the Mississippi Conservative Party in relation to possible hate crimes. Two men were indicted- Thomas Blanton Jr. and Bobby Frank Cherry (III). Nevertheless, the party still operates, albeit at reduced strength and in a relatively cautious way.
The Republicans, which generally captured younger conservative voters, and some white moderates. Since they lack the clout of the Mississippi Conservative Party, and the energy and dynamism of the MFDP, they often try to bring "outsiders" into the state house or senate position. Almost always, their definition of an outsider was a rich white man who could fund his own campaign (Mississippi was not exactly flush with cash in those days, but the Republican Party made Mississippi as a whole look like Rockefeller).
There is not much independent presence. Mississippi is very divided between these three parties (so much so one political commentator called it, ", there is not a large independent presence like in other regions of the country.
On the whole, Mississippi is not unique in having 3 functioning parties at the state level. It is unique in the fact that there is little cooperation between the parties- no agreements between parties to not target each other, and so forth.
It is certainly a fascinating time to be a voter in Mississippi

The Political Encyclopedia of Mississippi (1994)
Notes:
I: I like Edith Green, and I have the feeling that The Atlantic would have liked her too. She will be prominent in due time.
II: Never underestimate the power of angry people to do stupid things.
III: Two of the men involved in the Birmingham Church Bombing.

 

[Our Man in Havana]

Anyone have any input or suggestions? I'd be happy to take them.
Thank you.

 

[marktaha]

Anyone have any input or suggestions? I'd be happy to take them.
Thank you.

Mansfield openly comes out against Johnson over Vietnam but refuses to resign

 

[Our Man in Havana]

You make an excellent point, I'll keep it in mind.
However, Mike Mansfield avoided openly opposing the war for much of his time in office (until around the early 70s). Instead, he wrote several memoirs, advocating for either deescalation of the conflict or ending the war. I'm not sure if his opposition to the war would change with him as VP.
Thanks for the input though, I appreciate it.