"Maine Senator" Edmund Muskie Hand Signed FDC Dated 1970 JG Autographs COA

Description

Up for auction
"Maine Senator" Edmund Muskie Hand Signed First Day Cover Dated 1970.
This item is certified authentic by
JG Autographs
and comes with their Letter of Authenticity.
ES-7753E
Edmund Sixtus Muskie
(March 28, 1914 – March 26, 1996) was an American statesman and political leader who served as the 58th
United States Secretary of State
under President
Jimmy Carter
, a
United States Senator from Maine
from 1959 to 1980, the 64th
Governor of Maine
from 1955 to 1959, and a member of the
Maine House of Representatives
from 1946 to 1951. He was the
Democratic Party
's candidate for
Vice President of the United States
in the
1968 presidential election
, alongside
Hubert Humphrey
. Born in
Rumford
, Maine to
Polish
parents, Muskie graduated from
Bates College
in
Lewiston
, and
Cornell University
in
Ithaca
. He worked as a lawyer for two years before serving in the
United States Naval Reserve
from 1942 to 1945 during
World War II
. Upon his return, Muskie served in the
Maine State Legislature
from 1946 to 1951 against heavy Republican opposition. Despite an unsuccessful bid for the mayoralty of
Waterville
, he was elected the 64th Governor of Maine in an upset victory as its first
Roman Catholic
in 1954. Although elected as a reform Governor, Muskie split from his
mandate
; he amended
its constitution
multiple times to consolidate power, suspended the "
as Maine goes, so goes the nation
" doctrine, pressed aggressive
economic expansionism
and instated strict environmental provisions. Muskie's actions severed a nearly
100-year Republican stronghold
and led to the political insurgency of the
Maine Democrats
. He used his increased public presence to gain a seat in the United States Senate representing his home state. His legislative work during
his career as a Senator
facilitated a vast expansion of
modern liberalism in the United States
. He fathered the
1960s environmental movement
which culminated in the passage of the
Clean Air Act of 1970
and
Clean Water Act of 1972
, hallmarks of international environmental policy. A supporter of the civil rights movement, Muskie rallied support for the
Civil Rights Act of 1964
, the creation of
Martin Luther King Jr. Day
and tapered
Richard Nixon
's "
Imperial Presidency
" by advancing
New Federalism
. Muskie ran with Humphrey against Nixon in the 1968 presidential election, only to lose by 0.7 percentage points—one of the
narrowest margins in U.S. history
. He would go on to run in the
1972 presidential election
where he secured 1.84 million votes in
the primaries
coming in fourth out of 15 contesters. The release of the forged "
Canuck letter
" derailed his campaign and sullied his public image with
Americans of French-Canadian descent
. After the election, he returned to the Senate where he gave the 1976
State of the Union Response
. Muskie served as first chairman of the new
Senate Budget Committee
from 1975 to 1980 where he established the
United States budget process
.
[b]
Upon his retirement from the Senate, Carter nominated him to serve as the 58th U.S. Secretary of State; he was
confirmed
to take office by a margin of 94–2. Assuming the office in the middle of a
series of violent international conflicts
, his most notable success as secretary came when his department negotiated the
release of 52 Americans
concluding the
Iran hostage crisis
. He was awarded the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
by Carter in 1981 and has been honored with
a public holiday
in Maine since 1987.