Thomas Eagleton

Thomas Francis Eagleton, LL.B., (born September 4, 1929) is a former U.S. Senator from Missouri. He is a member of the Democratic Party and is currently a university professor and law partner.

Related Topics:
LL.B. - September 4 - 1929 - U.S. Senator - Missouri - Democratic Party

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Graduating from Amherst College in 1950, Eagleton served as Missouri's Attorney General and Lieutenant Governor, won a U.S. Senate seat in 1968, and sought the Vice Presidency in 1972. He was nominated for Vice President at the 1972 Democratic Party convention, with George McGovern as the party's presidential candidate. Although many Americans supported Eagleton's candidacy, his vice-presidential hopes evaporated when it was revealed shortly after the party convention that he had been hospitalized on three occasions for depression and had undergone electroshock therapy. McGovern initially claimed that he would back Eagleton "1000 percent," but changed his mind 3 days later; McGovern's indecisiveness put off many supporters. Further damage was done to the McGovern campaign because it had to spend time looking for a new running mate while it should have been getting its message out to the public. McGovern removed Eagleton from the ticket and replaced him with Sargent Shriver. However, McGovern and Shriver lost the general election to Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew by a wide margin that November. Some have speculated that the Democrats would not have lost that badly had Eagleton remained on the ticket.

Related Topics:
Amherst College - 1950 - Attorney General - Lieutenant Governor - 1968 - Vice Presidency - 1972 - George McGovern - Presidential - Electroshock therapy - Sargent Shriver - Richard Nixon - Spiro Agnew

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He was instrumental to the Senate's passage of the Clean Air and Water Acts, and sponsored the Eagleton Amendment, which halted the bombing in Cambodia and effectively ended American involvement in the Vietnam War.

Related Topics:
Clean Air - Water Acts - Eagleton Amendment - Cambodia - Vietnam War

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Eagleton served in public office for 30 years, the last 18 of which (1968 to 1987) were in the U.S. Senate, where he was active in matters dealing with foreign relations, intelligence, defense, education, health care and the environment.

Related Topics:
1968 - 1987

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After three Senate terms, Eagleton returned to St. Louis, Missouri as an attorney, political commentator, and professor at Washington University in St. Louis, where he still holds the title of Professor of Public Affairs. He also is a partner in the St. Louis law firm of Thompson Coburn and was a chief negotiator for a coalition of local business interests that lured the Los Angeles Rams football team to St. Louis. He is the author of three books about politics, and a downtown St. Louis courthouse is named for him.

Related Topics:
St. Louis, Missouri - Washington University in St. Louis - Los Angeles Rams

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