Abraham A. Ribicoff
Encyclopedia
Abraham Alexander Ribicoff (April 9, 1910 – February 22, 1998) was an American
Democratic Party politician. He served in the United States Congress
, as the 80th Governor of Connecticut and as President
John F. Kennedy
's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. He was Connecticut's first and to date only Jewish governor.
, Connecticut
to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Poland, Abraham A. Ribicoff, a factory worker, and Rose Sable Ribicoff, he attended local public schools. His relatively poor parents valued education and insisted that all his earnings from part-time boyhood jobs go toward his future schooling. After high school, he worked for a year at a nearby factory of the G. E. Prentice Company in order to earn additional funds for college. He enrolled at New York University
in 1928, then transferred to the University of Chicago
after the Prentice Company made him the Chicago office manager. While in Chicago, Ribicoff coped with school and work schedules and was permitted to enter the university's law school
before finishing his undergraduate degree. Still a student, he married Ruth Siegel on 28 June 1931; they would have two children. Ribicoff served as editor of the University of Chicago Law Review
in his third year and received an LL.B.
cum laude in 1933, being admitted to the Connecticut bar the same year. After practicing law in the office of a Hartford
lawyer, he set up his own practice, first in Kensington
and later in Hartford.
.
He was elected as a Democrat to the 81st and 82nd Congresses serving from 1949 until 1953. During that time he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee (a position usually reserved for members with more seniority) and generally proved to be a loyal supporter of Truman
administration foreign and domestic policies. Generally liberal in his outlook, he surprised many by opposing a $32 million appropriation for the construction of a dam in Enfield, Connecticut
, arguing that the money was better spent on military needs and foreign policy initiatives such as the Marshall Plan
.
In 1952 he made an unsuccessful bid for election to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate
, losing to Prescott Bush
.
After returning to his legal practice for two years, he ran for governor against incumbent Republican John Davis Lodge
, winning the election by a little over three thousand votes. As governor (1955–1961), Ribicoff soon faced the challenge of rebuilding his state in the wake of devastating floods that occurred in the late summer and fall of 1955, and he was able to lead bipartisan efforts to aid damaged areas. Ribicoff then successfully argued for increased state spending on schools and welfare programs. He also supported an amendment to the state constitution that enabled local municipalities to have greater governing powers. Easily reelected in 1958, Ribicoff had by now become active on the national political scene. A longtime friend of Senator John F. Kennedy
, Ribicoff had nominated his fellow New Englander for vice president at the 1956 Democratic National Convention
and was one of the first public officials to endorse Kennedy's presidential campaign.
When Kennedy became president, Ribicoff was offered his choice of cabinet posts in the new administration. He reportedly turned down the position of attorney general
, fearing that as a Jew he might create needless controversy within the emerging civil rights movement, and instead chose to be secretary of health, education and welfare (HEW). Although he did manage to secure a revision of the 1935 Social Security Act
that liberalized requirements for aid-to-dependent-children funds from Congress, Ribicoff was unable to gain approval for the administration's medicare and school aid bills. Eventually he tired of attempting to manage HEW, whose very size made it, in his opinion, unmanageable.
He was finally elected to the United States Senate
in 1962, replacing retiring incumbent Prescott Bush by defeating Republican nominee Horace Seely-Brown with 51% of the vote, and served in the Senate
from January 3, 1963, until January 3, 1981.
Initially a supporter of Lyndon B. Johnson
's programs, Ribicoff eventually turned against the Vietnam War
and the president's management of it, believing that it drained badly needed resources away from domestic programs.
In addition Ribicoff was allied with Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader in creating the Motor Vehicle Highway Safety Act of 1966 which created the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA). The agency was responsible for many new safety standards on cars. These standards were questionable because up to then, the emphasis had always been put on the driver.
At the 1968 Democratic National Convention
, during a speech nominating George McGovern
, he went off-script, saying, "And with George McGovern as President of the United States, we wouldn’t have to have Gestapo
tactics in the streets of Chicago." Many conventioneers, having been appalled by the response of the Chicago police to the simultaneously occurring anti-war demonstrations, promptly broke into ecstatic applause. As television cameras focused on an indignant Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley
, lip-readers
throughout America claimed to have observed him shouting, "Fuck you, you Jew son of a bitch." Defenders of the mayor would later claim that he was calling Ribicoff a faker. Ribicoff spent the remaining years of his Senate career fighting for such liberal issues as school integration, welfare and tax reform, and consumer protection.
In 1972, after the withdrawal of Senator Thomas Eagleton
from the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, presidential nominee George McGovern
asked Senator Ribicoff (among others) to take Eagleton's place. He refused, publicly stating that he had no further ambitions for higher office. McGovern eventually chose Sargent Shriver
as his running mate. That year, following the death of his wife, he married Lois Mell Mathes, who became known as "Casey", in 1972.
During his time in the Senate he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations (94th and 95th Congresses) and its successor committee, the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs (95th and 96th Congresses).
Current Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman
worked in Ribicoff's Senate office as a summer intern, and met his first wife, Betty Haas, there.
and divided his time between homes in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut and Manhattan.
Having suffered in his later years from the effects of Alzheimer's disease
, he died in 1998 at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale in The Bronx
, New York City and is buried at Cornwall Cemetery.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Democratic Party politician. He served in the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
, as the 80th Governor of Connecticut and as President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare. He was Connecticut's first and to date only Jewish governor.
Early life
Born in New BritainNew Britain, Connecticut
New Britain is a city in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It is located approximately 9 miles southwest of Hartford. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254....
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
to Ashkenazi Jewish immigrants from Poland, Abraham A. Ribicoff, a factory worker, and Rose Sable Ribicoff, he attended local public schools. His relatively poor parents valued education and insisted that all his earnings from part-time boyhood jobs go toward his future schooling. After high school, he worked for a year at a nearby factory of the G. E. Prentice Company in order to earn additional funds for college. He enrolled at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
in 1928, then transferred to the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
after the Prentice Company made him the Chicago office manager. While in Chicago, Ribicoff coped with school and work schedules and was permitted to enter the university's law school
University of Chicago Law School
The University of Chicago Law School was founded in 1902 as the graduate school of law at the University of Chicago and is among the most prestigious and selective law schools in the world. The U.S. News & World Report currently ranks it fifth among U.S...
before finishing his undergraduate degree. Still a student, he married Ruth Siegel on 28 June 1931; they would have two children. Ribicoff served as editor of the University of Chicago Law Review
University of Chicago Law Review
The University of Chicago Law Review is a law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School, and was established in 1933. From 1942 through 1945 the review was published by the faculty, due to World War II. Prominent former student members have included Judge Abner J...
in his third year and received an LL.B.
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
cum laude in 1933, being admitted to the Connecticut bar the same year. After practicing law in the office of a Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
lawyer, he set up his own practice, first in Kensington
Kensington, Connecticut
Kensington is a census-designated place and section of the town of Berlin in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The Berlin town offices are located in Kensington...
and later in Hartford.
Political career
Now interested in politics, he began as a member of the Connecticut state legislature, serving in that body from 1938 to 1942. From 1941 until 1943 and again from 1945 to 1947 he was judge of Hartford Police Court. During his political career Ribicoff was a protégé of powerful Democratic state party chairman John Moran BaileyJohn Moran Bailey
John Moran Bailey was a U.S. political figure.He dominated Connecticut Democratic politics as a party boss for many years. He served as the chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1961 until 1968, and was generally seen as one of the main behind-the-scenes backers of John F...
.
He was elected as a Democrat to the 81st and 82nd Congresses serving from 1949 until 1953. During that time he served on the Foreign Affairs Committee (a position usually reserved for members with more seniority) and generally proved to be a loyal supporter of Truman
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman was the 33rd President of the United States . As President Franklin D. Roosevelt's third vice president and the 34th Vice President of the United States , he succeeded to the presidency on April 12, 1945, when President Roosevelt died less than three months after beginning his...
administration foreign and domestic policies. Generally liberal in his outlook, he surprised many by opposing a $32 million appropriation for the construction of a dam in Enfield, Connecticut
Enfield, Connecticut
Enfield is a town located in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 45,212 at the 2000 census. It sits on the border with Longmeadow, Massachusetts and East Longmeadow, Massachusetts to the north, Somers to the east, East Windsor and Ellington to the south, and the...
, arguing that the money was better spent on military needs and foreign policy initiatives such as the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
.
In 1952 he made an unsuccessful bid for election to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
, losing to Prescott Bush
Prescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
.
After returning to his legal practice for two years, he ran for governor against incumbent Republican John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge
John Davis Lodge , was an American politician, and 79th Governor of Connecticut from 1951 to 1955. He was also an actor and U.S. Ambassador to Spain, Argentina and Switzerland.-Early life:Lodge was born in Washington, D.C....
, winning the election by a little over three thousand votes. As governor (1955–1961), Ribicoff soon faced the challenge of rebuilding his state in the wake of devastating floods that occurred in the late summer and fall of 1955, and he was able to lead bipartisan efforts to aid damaged areas. Ribicoff then successfully argued for increased state spending on schools and welfare programs. He also supported an amendment to the state constitution that enabled local municipalities to have greater governing powers. Easily reelected in 1958, Ribicoff had by now become active on the national political scene. A longtime friend of Senator John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
, Ribicoff had nominated his fellow New Englander for vice president at the 1956 Democratic National Convention
1956 Democratic National Convention
The 1956 National Convention of the Democratic Party nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for President and Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for Vice President. It was held in the International Amphitheatre on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois August 13–17 1956. Unsuccessful...
and was one of the first public officials to endorse Kennedy's presidential campaign.
When Kennedy became president, Ribicoff was offered his choice of cabinet posts in the new administration. He reportedly turned down the position of attorney general
United States Attorney General
The United States Attorney General is the head of the United States Department of Justice concerned with legal affairs and is the chief law enforcement officer of the United States government. The attorney general is considered to be the chief lawyer of the U.S. government...
, fearing that as a Jew he might create needless controversy within the emerging civil rights movement, and instead chose to be secretary of health, education and welfare (HEW). Although he did manage to secure a revision of the 1935 Social Security Act
Social Security (United States)
In the United States, Social Security refers to the federal Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance program.The original Social Security Act and the current version of the Act, as amended encompass several social welfare and social insurance programs...
that liberalized requirements for aid-to-dependent-children funds from Congress, Ribicoff was unable to gain approval for the administration's medicare and school aid bills. Eventually he tired of attempting to manage HEW, whose very size made it, in his opinion, unmanageable.
He was finally elected to the United States Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
in 1962, replacing retiring incumbent Prescott Bush by defeating Republican nominee Horace Seely-Brown with 51% of the vote, and served in the Senate
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from January 3, 1963, until January 3, 1981.
Initially a supporter of Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
's programs, Ribicoff eventually turned against the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
and the president's management of it, believing that it drained badly needed resources away from domestic programs.
In addition Ribicoff was allied with Consumer Advocate Ralph Nader in creating the Motor Vehicle Highway Safety Act of 1966 which created the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
(NHTSA). The agency was responsible for many new safety standards on cars. These standards were questionable because up to then, the emphasis had always been put on the driver.
- "The driver has many faults. He is negligent; he is careless; he is reckless. We understand that... I think it will be the millennium if you will ever get a situation where the millions and millions of drivers will all be perfect. They will always be making errors and making mistakes." (U.S. Senate 1965-66)
At the 1968 Democratic National Convention
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, from August 26 to August 29, 1968. Because Democratic President Lyndon Johnson had announced he would not seek a second term, the purpose of the convention was to...
, during a speech nominating George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
, he went off-script, saying, "And with George McGovern as President of the United States, we wouldn’t have to have Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
tactics in the streets of Chicago." Many conventioneers, having been appalled by the response of the Chicago police to the simultaneously occurring anti-war demonstrations, promptly broke into ecstatic applause. As television cameras focused on an indignant Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley
Richard J. Daley
Richard Joseph Daley served for 21 years as the mayor and undisputed Democratic boss of Chicago and is considered by historians to be the "last of the big city bosses." He played a major role in the history of the Democratic Party, especially with his support of John F...
, lip-readers
Lip reading
Lip reading, also known as lipreading or speechreading, is a technique of understanding speech by visually interpreting the movements of the lips, face and tongue with information provided by the context, language, and any residual hearing....
throughout America claimed to have observed him shouting, "Fuck you, you Jew son of a bitch." Defenders of the mayor would later claim that he was calling Ribicoff a faker. Ribicoff spent the remaining years of his Senate career fighting for such liberal issues as school integration, welfare and tax reform, and consumer protection.
In 1972, after the withdrawal of Senator Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972...
from the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, presidential nominee George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
asked Senator Ribicoff (among others) to take Eagleton's place. He refused, publicly stating that he had no further ambitions for higher office. McGovern eventually chose Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
as his running mate. That year, following the death of his wife, he married Lois Mell Mathes, who became known as "Casey", in 1972.
During his time in the Senate he was chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations (94th and 95th Congresses) and its successor committee, the U.S. Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs (95th and 96th Congresses).
Current Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman
Joe Lieberman
Joseph Isadore "Joe" Lieberman is the senior United States Senator from Connecticut. A former member of the Democratic Party, he was the party's nominee for Vice President in the 2000 election. Currently an independent, he remains closely affiliated with the party.Born in Stamford, Connecticut,...
worked in Ribicoff's Senate office as a summer intern, and met his first wife, Betty Haas, there.
Later life
In 1981, Ribicoff retired from the Senate and took a position as special counsel in the New York law firm of Kaye Scholer LLPKaye Scholer LLP
Kaye Scholer is a law firm founded in 1917 by Benjamin Kaye and Jacob Scholer. The firm has more than 450 attorneys in nine offices located in the cities of Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, New York , Shanghai, Palo Alto, Washington, D.C., and West Palm Beach.-Reputation and...
and divided his time between homes in Cornwall Bridge, Connecticut and Manhattan.
Having suffered in his later years from the effects of Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
, he died in 1998 at the Hebrew Home for the Aged at Riverdale in The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York City and is buried at Cornwall Cemetery.