In this Book
- Philip Hoff: How Red Turned Blue in the Green Mountain State
- Book
- 2011
- Published by: University Press of New England
summary
This is the story of one of the most exciting and important periods in Vermont history, and of the man most responsible for shaping it
During Philip Hoff's six years as governor of the Green Mountain State (1963–1969), the politics, demographics, economics and government structure of Vermont changed in major and long-lasting ways, and a new liberal tradition took hold. He was an activist governor, pushing new ideas, concepts and programs and challenging the idea that Vermont governors should be caretakers in the way that his predecessors had been.
Hoff very much believed that government was and should be the primary force in bringing about social change, saying that “Every significant decision of our time is going to be made in the governmental arena.” He was quick to support efforts to modernize government operations that he considered obsolete and inefficient. But his influence on the state was profound and long lasting. At the time he left office in January 1969, the Rutland Herald predicted that, “it will be impossible to turn back the clock to the political era of caretaker governors.” Hoff himself left office believing that his six years as an activist governor finally “got Vermont off the dime.” Bill Kearns put it more bluntly, saying that Hoff “picked up the state by the back of the neck and gave it a damned good, much needed shaking.”
Table of Contents
Download Full Book
- Introduction
- pp. 1-12
- 1 Political Baptism
- pp. 13-42
- 3 The Hoff Era in Full Flower
- pp. 71-95
- 4 The Third Term
- pp. 96-123
- 5 Civil Rights in the Whitest State
- pp. 124-147
- 6 National Politics
- pp. 148-178
Additional Information
ISBN
9781611680324
Related ISBN(s)
9781611682076
MARC Record
OCLC
821733057
Pages
232
Launched on MUSE
2012-09-21
Language
English
Open Access
No