The Man from Clear Lake: Earth Day Founder Senator Gaylord Nelson

by Bill Christofferson

Overview

On Earth Day 1970 twenty million Americans displayed their commitment to a clean environment.  It was called the largest demonstration in human history, and it permanently changed the nation’s political agenda. By Earth Day 2000 participation had exploded to 500 million people in 167 countries.
    The seemingly simple idea—a day set aside to focus on protecting our natural environment—was the brainchild of U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. It accomplished, far beyond his expectations, his lifelong goal of putting the environment onto the nation’s and the world’s political agendas.
    A remarkable man, Nelson ranks as one of history’s leading environmentalists. He also played a major role as an early, outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War, and as a senate insider was a key player in civil rights, poverty, civil liberties and consumer protection issues.
    The life of Nelson, a small town boy who learned his values and progressive political principles at an early age, is woven through the political history of the twentieth century. Nelson’s story intersects at times with Fighting Bob La Follette, Joe McCarthy, and Bill Proxmire in Wisconsin, and with George McGovern, Lyndon Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Russell Long, Walter Mondale, John F. Kennedy, and others on the national scene.

Winner, Elizabeth A. Steinberg Prize, University of Wisconsin Press

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780299196400
Publisher:	University of Wisconsin Press
Publication date:	03/23/2004
Edition description:	1
Pages:	416
Sales rank:	725,286
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.40(d)

About the Author

Bill Christofferson, a former journalist who has worked in local and state government, is a political campaign consultant based in Milwaukee.

Table of Contents

Author's Note

Prologue: 22 April 1970

1 The Nelsons of Clear Lake
2 Happy
3 Into the World
4 General Nelson
5 Losing with La Follette
6 Building a Party
7 Taking on McCarthy
8 Getting Ready to Run
9 Nelson for Governor
10 A Two-Party State
11 An Ambitious Agenda
12 Family Fights
13 Still the Underdogs
14 The Conservation Governor
15 The Great Tax Debate
16 On to the Senate
17 The First Shall Be Last
18 Enlisting the President
19 Joining the Club
20 Defending the Constitution
21 Saving the Appalachian Trail
22 The Hard Detergent Battle
23 The Great Society
24 Islands and Rivers
25 Protecting Consumers
26 The Great Lakes
27 The Fight to Ban DDT
28 Vietnam
29 Earth Day
30 Immune to Presidential Fever
31 The Environmental Decade
32 A Lasting Legacy

Notes
Bibliography
Index

Editorial Reviews

"Widely regarded as one of the leading environmentalists in American history, Gaylord Nelson is best known as the founder of Earth Day. This political biography tells the rest of the story—how a small town boy from Wisconsin became a national champion of a progressive agenda. Nelson's record on civil liberties, consumer issues, and Vietnam is remarkable. His story is an inspiration." —Al Gore

"Gaylord Nelson was one of the great public servants of the post–World War II era. This illuminating book is a priceless account of his life and accomplishments."—Tom Brokaw

"A fun book to read—filled with fascinating stories of politics in the twentieth century. We yearn for more political leaders like Gaylord who always voted his conscience and led with integrity and humor."—Bill Meadows, president, The Wilderness Society

From the Publisher