Sargent Shriver
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2008-07-06T21:05:17Z
Canadian Paul
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Clean up per WP:DATE
{{Infobox Ambassador
|name=Robert Sargent Shriver
|image=Sargent Shriver.JPG
|image_size=250px
|order2=21<sup>st</sup>
|ambassador_from2=United States
|country2=France
|term_start2=[[May 7]], [[1968]]
|term_end2=1970
|predecessor2=[[Charles E. Bohlen]]
|successor2=[[Arthur K. Watson]]
|president2=[[Lyndon B. Johnson]] <br/> [[Richard Nixon]]
|order3 = 1<sup>st</sup> [[Peace Corps|Director of the Peace Corps]]
|term_start3 = 1961
|term_end3 = 1966
|president3 = [[John F. Kennedy]] <br/> [[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|primeminister3 =
|predecessor3 = (''None'')
|successor3 = [[Jack Vaughn]]
|birth_date={{birth date and age|1915|11|9}}
|birth_place= [[Westminster, Maryland]]
|death_date=
|death_place=
|spouse=[[Eunice Kennedy Shriver]] (1953 - present) (55 years)
|children= 5
|relations= Robert Sargent Shriver and Hilda Shriver
|party=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|profession=[[Attorney]]
|religion= [[Roman Catholic]]
|alma_mater= [[Yale University]], <br> [[Yale Law School]]
|branch= [[United States Navy]]
|serviceyears=1941 – 1945
|rank=[[Lieutenant]]
|unit=
|battles=[[World War II]]
|awards=[[World War II Victory Medal]]
}}
'''Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr.''' (born [[November 9]] [[1915]]) is an [[United States of America|American]] [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] [[politician]] and [[activist]]. Known as "Sargent," Shriver is best-known as part of the [[Kennedy political family|Kennedy family]], the driving force behind the creation of the [[Peace Corps]], and the Democratic Party's 1972 [[vice president]]ial candidate. He was born in [[Westminster, Maryland]].
==Early life and career==
Shriver was born in [[Westminster, Maryland]] to Robert Sargent Shriver, Sr. and Hilda Shriver. The Shriver family is descended from [[David Shriver]], who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at [[Maryland]]'s Constitutional Convention of 1776.{{Fact|date=June 2008}} He spent his high school years at the [[Canterbury School (Connecticut)|Canterbury School]], the prestigious school in [[New Milford, Connecticut]], which he attended on a full scholarship. After graduating, Shriver spent the summer in Germany as part of the [[Experiment in International Living]], returning in the fall of 1934 to begin college at [[Yale University]]. He received his [[bachelor's degree]] in 1938 from Yale University, where he was a member of the [[Delta Kappa Epsilon]] fraternity and [[Scroll and Key]] Society. He was Chairman of the ''[[Yale Daily News]]''. Shriver went on to attend [[Yale Law School]], earning an [[LL.B.]] degree in 1941.
An early opponent of American involvement in [[World War II]], Shriver was a founding member of [[America First Committee|America First]], an organization that tried to keep America out of the war. Still, Shriver volunteered for the [[U.S. Navy]], claiming he had a duty to serve his country even if he disagreed with its policies. He spent five years in active duty and became a full lieutenant. Shriver ultimately came to believe in the justness of American involvement in the war and retracted his early opposition.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
Shriver's involvement with the Kennedy family began when family patriarch [[Joseph Kennedy, Sr.]] hired him to manage the [[Merchandise Mart]], part of Kennedy's business empire, in [[Chicago]], [[Illinois]].
After a seven-year courtship, Shriver married [[Eunice Kennedy]], a sister of then-Senator [[John F. Kennedy]], on [[May 23]], [[1953]] at [[St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York|St. Patrick's Cathedral]] in [[New York City]].<ref>[http://www.jfklibrary.org/Historical+Resources/Archives/Archives+and+Manuscripts/Shriver.Sargent/fa_shriver_long.htm R(obert) Sargent Shriver: Papers (#214) - John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> They have five children: [[Robert Sargent Shriver III]] (born [[April 28]] [[1954]]), [[Maria Shriver|Maria Owings Shriver]] ([[November 6]] [[1955]]), [[Timothy Perry Shriver]] ([[August 29]] [[1959]]), [[Mark Kennedy Shriver]] ([[February 17]] [[1964]]), and [[Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver]] ([[July 20]] [[1965]]).
Shriver was admitted to practice law in the [[District of Columbia]], Illinois, New York, and at the [[U.S. Supreme Court]].<ref name=ffhsj>{{cite web |url=http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm?pageID=42&itemID=580 |title=Sargent Shriver |publisher=Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP |accessdate=2008-06-07}}</ref>
Shriver is a devout [[Catholic]] who attends daily mass and carries a [[rosary]] with well-worn wooden beads.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/1009097.html |publisher=National Catholic Reporter |title="Sargent Shriver and the politics of life |date=2002-08-30}}</ref>
== Political career==
===John F. Kennedy===
When [[John F. Kennedy]] ran for president, Shriver worked as a political and organization coordinator in the Wisconsin and West Virginia primaries.
===Lyndon B. Johnson===
After Kennedy's assassination, Shriver served as Special Assistant to President Johnson. He later served as the first Director of the Office of Economic Opportunity under him.
===Political activism===
Shriver's ebullient personality and creative energy made him one of the most effective leaders of President [[John F. Kennedy]]'s [[New Frontier]] and [[Lyndon Johnson]]'s [[Great Society]] in the 1960s.{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
He founded numerous social programs and organizations, including [[Head Start]], [[Volunteers in Service to America|VISTA]], [[Job Corps]], Community Action, [[Upward Bound]], Foster Grandparents, [[Special Olympics]], the National Center on Poverty Law, Legal Services, Indian and Migrant Opportunities and Neighborhood Health Services, and directed the [[Peace Corps]]. Shriver also ran the [[War on Poverty]] during Johnson's tenure as president. He was such an effective leader, that ''Job Corps'' and ''Adams and Associates'' dedicated a Center to his name in 1999.{{Fact|date=May 2008}} The Job Corps Center ('''Shriver Job Corps''') is located in [[Devens, Massachusetts]].
===Ambassador to France===
Shriver served as [[United States Ambassador to France|U.S. ambassador to France]] from 1968 to 1970, becoming a quasi-celebrity among the French for bringing what ''[[Time magazine]]'' called "a rare and welcome panache" to the normally staid world of international diplomacy.
===Vice Presidential candidate===
[[Image:Sargent Shriver-JFK.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Shriver and JFK]]
In 1970, Shriver flirted with the possibility of running for Governor of [[Illinois]] or, more seriously, [[Maryland]]. He later admitted that his nascent campaign in Maryland was badly managed, and he soon decided to leave politics to practice law.{{Fact|date=June 2008}}
Shriver returned to elective politics in 1972, when [[George McGovern]] chose him as his [[Vice President of the United States|Vice Presidential]] running mate after McGovern's first pick — [[Thomas Eagleton]] — turned out to have had a history of mental health problems. The McGovern-Shriver ticket lost to [[United States Republican Party|Republican]] candidates [[Richard Nixon]] and [[Spiro Agnew]].
Shriver sought the Democratic nomination for President in 1976. His candidacy was short and he returned to private life.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK+Library+and+Museum/News+and+Press/JFK+Presidential+Library+Opens+Sargent+Shriver+Collection.htm |title=JFK Presidential Library Opens Sargent Shriver Collection |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library & Museum |accessdate=2008-06-07 |date=2005-02-01}}</ref>
He remains to date the most recent [[pro-life]] supporter to have been in a Democratic Party presidential ticket.{{Or|date=June 2008}}
==Life after politics==
He has been associated with the [[Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson]] law firm in the [[Washington, D.C.]], where he specialized in international law and foreign affairs, since 1971.<ref name=ffhsj/> He retired as partner in 1986 and was named [[of counsel]] to the firm.<ref name=medal/>
In 1981, Shriver was appointed to the Rockefeller University Council, an organization devoted exclusively to research and graduate education in the biomedical and related sciences.
In 1984, he was elected President of [[Special Olympics]] by the Board of Directors; as President, he directed the operation and international development of sports programs around the world. Six years later, in 1990, he was appointed Chairman of the Board of Special Olympics.
Shriver has suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] for several years. His daughter, [[Maria Shriver|Maria]], has published a children's book, ''What's Happening to Grandpa?'', to help explain Alzheimer's to children. The book also gives kids suggestions on how to help and to show love to an elderly person with the disease. In July 2007, Shriver's son-in-law, California Governor [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], speaking out in favor of [[stem-cell research]], announced that Shriver's Alzheimer's disease had advanced to the point that he no longer recognizes many of those close to him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestar.com/News/article/219810 |title=Terminator gunning to save lives |publisher=[[Toronto Star]] |accessdate=2008-06-07 |date=2007-05-31}}</ref>
===Legacy===
In 1993, Shriver received the Franklin D. Roosevelt Freedom From Want Award. On [[August 8]], [[1994]], Shriver received the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]], the United States' highest civilian honor, from President [[Bill Clinton]].<ref name=medal>{{cite web |url=http://www.medaloffreedom.com/SargentShriver.htm |title=Presidential Medal of Freedom Recipient Sargent R. Shriver |accessdate=2008-06-08 |date=1994-08-08}}</ref>
An elementary school located in [[Aspen Hill, Maryland]] is named after Shriver, called Sargent Shriver Elementary School.<ref>[http://www.gazette.net/stories/111407/olnenew134117_32355.shtml Hands-on lessons for Shriver students<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref><ref>[http://www.gazette.net/stories/091306/takonew203021_31953.shtml New school year, new elementary school]</ref><ref>[http://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/info/firstweek0607/shriver.shtm August 29: Sargent Shriver's Family Visits the New Shriver ES]</ref>
In January 2008, a [[documentary film]] about Shriver aired on [[PBS]], titled ''American Idealist: The Story of Sargent Shriver''. [http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/01/18/070521.php]
==Electoral history==
'''[[United States presidential election, 1972]]'''
*[[Richard Nixon]]/[[Spiro Agnew]] (R) (inc.) - 47,168,710 (60.7%) and 520 electoral votes (49 states carried)
*[[George McGovern]]/[[Sargent Shriver]] (D) - 29,173,222 (37.5) and 17 electoral votes (1 state and D.C. carried)
*[[John Hospers]]/[[Theodora Nathan]] (Libertarian) - 3,674 (0.00%) and 1 electoral votes (Republican [[faithless elector]])
*[[John G. Schmitz]]/[[Thomas J. Anderson]] (AI) - 1,100,868 (1.4%) and 0 electoral votes
*[[Linda Jenness]]/[[Andrew Pulley]] (Socialist Workers) - 83,380 (0.1%)
*[[Benjamin Spock]]/[[Julius Hobson]] (People's) - 78,759 (0.1%)
'''[[United States presidential election, 1976|1976 Democratic presidential primaries]]'''<ref>[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=55206 Our Campaigns - US President - D Primaries Race - Feb 01, 1976<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
*[[Jimmy Carter]] - 6,235,609 (39.27%)
*[[Jerry Brown]] - 2,449,374 (15.43%)
*[[George Wallace]] - 1,955,388 (12.31%)
*[[Mo Udall]] - 1,611,754 (10.15%)
*[[Henry M. Jackson]] - 1,134,375 (7.14%)
*[[Frank Church]] - 830,818 (5.23%)
*[[Robert Byrd]] - 340,309 (2.14%)
*[[Sargent Shriver]] - 304,399 (1.92%)
* Unpledged - 283,437 (1.79%)
*[[Ellen McCormack]] - 238,027 (1.50%)
*[[Fred R. Harris]] - 234,568 (1.48%)
*[[Milton Shapp]] - 88,254 (0.56%)
*[[Birch Bayh]] - 86,438 (0.54%)
*[[Hubert Humphrey]] - 61,992 (0.39%)
*[[Ted Kennedy]] - 19,805 (0.13%)
*[[Lloyd Bentsen]] - 4,046 (0.03%)
*[[Terry Sanford]] - 404 (0.00%)
==See also==
*[[List of United States political appointments that crossed party lines]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{cite book|last=Clinton|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Clinton|title=My Life|year=2004|publisher=Knopf|location=New York|id=ISBN}}
*{{cite book|last=Stossel|first=Scott|title=Sarge: The Life and Times of Sargent Shriver|year=2004|publisher=Smithsonian Books|location=Washington, D.C.|id=ISBN}}
==External links==
*{{imdb name|id=0795418|name=Sargent Shriver}}
*[http://www.sargentshriver.org Sargent Shriver Peace Institute]
*[http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/2629/4117.html Peace Corps biography]
*[http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/speccol/sc2600/sc2685/html/conv1776.html Ancestor David Shriver]
*[http://www.povertylaw.org/ Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law]
*[http://www.ffhsj.com/index.cfm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson Law Firm]
*[http://shrivercenter.org/index.html The Shriver Center Official Site]
*[http://shrivercenter.org/about_rsshriver.html Robert Sargent Shriver Biography]
*[http://americanidealistmovie.org/ American Idealist Movie]
{{start box}}
{{succession box
|before=none
|title=Director of the [[Peace Corps]]
|years=1961–1966
|after=[[Jack Vaughn]]
}}
{{S-dip}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Charles E. Bohlen]]
|title=[[United States Ambassador to France|U.S. Ambassador to France]]
|years=1968–1970
|after=[[Arthur K. Watson]]
}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{succession box
|before=[[Edmund Muskie]] ''(previous race)'',<br/>[[Thomas Eagleton]] ''(previous candidate)''<sup>(1)</sup>
|title=[[List of United States Democratic Party Vice Presidential nominees|Democratic Party Vice Presidential candidate]]
|years=[[U.S. presidential election, 1972|1972]] (lost)
|after=[[Walter Mondale]]
}}
{{s-ref|Eagleton was the original Vice Presidential nominee in 1972 but withdrew from the race and was replaced by Shriver. Muskie was the Vice Presidential nominee in [[U.S. presidential election, 1968|1968]].}}
{{USDemVicePresNominees}}
{{PeaceCorpsDirectors}}
{{Kennedy family}}
{{Special Olympics}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shriver, Sargent}}
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[[fr:R. Sargent Shriver]]
[[pl:Sargent Shriver]]
[[fi:Sargent Shriver]]