Humphrey was born in Wallace , South Dakota , and attended the University of Minnesota . He earned a master 's degree from Louisiana State University and worked for the Works Progress Administration , the Minnesota war service program , and the War Manpower Commission . In 1943 , he became a professor of political science at Macalester College and ran a failed campaign for mayor of Minneapolis . He helped found the Minnesota Democratic – Farmer – Labor Party ( DFL ) in 1944 . In 1945 , he won election as mayor of Minneapolis , serving until 1948 and co-founding the liberal group Americans for Democratic Action in 1947 . In 1948 , he was elected to the U.S. Senate and successfully advocated for the inclusion of a proposal to end racial segregation in the 1948 Democratic National Convention 's party platform
1948 Democratic National Convention
1948 Democratic National Convention
Hubert Humphrey