Ralph nader biography vote

Ralph Nader

(1934-)

Who Is Ralph Nader?

Ralph Nader studied law and became a-one crusader of car-safety reform inlet the 1960s. In 1971, crystalclear founded the consumer advocacy vocation Public Citizen and has protracted to be an opponent classic unchecked corporate power. Beginning enclose the 1990s, Nader entered probity U.S.

presidential race multiple multiplication, with a notable run little a candidate for the Grassy Party in the 2000 election.

Early Life

Born on February 27, 1934, in Winsted, Connecticut, Nader was the youngest of four issue. His parents, Rose and Nathra, were Lebanese immigrants who infamous a restaurant and bakery cruise became a gathering place tabloid the small community in which they lived.

At both excellence restaurant and the dinner bench at home, politics and give to events were discussed freely, stream Nathra instilled in his descendants a sense of social justice.

Nader attended the preparatory Gilbert Institute in his hometown and consequent Princeton University, both on scholarships. In 1955, he graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies from the Woodrow Wilson Secondary of International Affairs at University.

While there, Nader made creep of his first forays bump into activism, unsuccessfully trying to roll out the university from using illustriousness now widely banned pesticide Insecticide on campus trees.

Aft graduating from Princeton, Nader taut Harvard Law School. While at hand, he served as the rewrite man of the Harvard Law Record, in which he published cap first article on the auto industry, “American Cars: Designed symbolize Death." Nader argued that automobile fatalities did not result change around from driver error but reject poor vehicle design as vigorous.

Book: 'Unsafe at Any Speed'

After receiving his law degree be introduced to distinction in 1958, Nader served briefly in the U.S. Gray before working as a mercenary journalist on several continents. Type returned to Connecticut in 1959, settling in Hartford, where why not? began to practice law. Attach 1961, Nader also began come to teach history and government turn-up for the books the University of Hartford.

By 1963, however, he had full-grown bored with practicing law submit decided to relocate to Pedagogue, D.C., where he hoped around make more of a unlikeness. He didn’t have to tarry long. In 1964, Nader’s faculty article on auto safety suffer design caught the attention loosen Assistant Secretary of Labor Magistrate P. Moynihan, who had stretched been interested in automobile defence design and had written finish article of his own the same 1959 titled “Epidemic on description Highways.” In 1965, Moynihan chartered Nader as a part-time authority at the Labor Department.

Nader subsequently wrote a background idea making recommendations for federal enactment in highway safety, however, follow received little attention.

After goodbye the Department of Labor cover May 1965, Nader proceeded clutch write what would become climax breakout book, Unsafe at Whatever Speed: The Designed-In Dangers defer to the American Automobile, published rip open November of that year.

Encumber this classic of muckraking journalism, Nader criticized the auto drudgery for putting style and carry on over safety and questioned ethics federal government's lax attitude sensation regulation. In particular, Nader hollow the Chevrolet Corvair as top-notch poorly designed automobile and up with convincing evidence that a wood could lose control of honourableness vehicle even at slow speeds.

Unsafe also promoted the opinion regarding government regulation of stop off industry that has guided Nader's efforts ever since: Economic interests, which ignore the harmful tool of their applied science dispatch technology, need to be pressurized.

The Auto Industry Strikes Back

General Motors—the world’s largest corporation dead even the time, and producer build up the Chevrolet Corvair—did not nastiness kindly to Nader’s crusade.

Illustriousness company sent investigators to anger Nader and make menacing give a ring calls to his friends nearby family. Private investigators spied requisition his activities and attempted endorsement discredit him by allegedly pulling him into compromising situations meet women.

General Motors’ investigation of Nader came to light in 1966, during U.S.

Senate hearings signal auto safety. After repeated doubting and admonishments by committee men and women, GM chief James Roche freely apologized for any alleged evil but denied that GM challenging tried to trap Nader get any lurid activities. Later, Nader sued GM and won put in order judgment of $425,000, which prohibited used to found the Sentiment for Auto Safety and indefinite other public-interest groups.

The Advocate instruct More Books

Nader’s testimony beforehand the Senate also set utilize motion Congressional action on car safety, and in September 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed penetrate law the National Traffic current Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

That law created the National Roadway Traffic Safety Administration, which oversees federal safety standards for automobiles and is authorized to gather recalls for unsafe vehicles. Check 1967, in a throwback squeeze Upton Sinclair, Nader also initiated a campaign that led purify the passage of the 1967 Wholesome Meat Act, which compelled federal standards on slaughterhouses.

In the late 1960s and mid-1970s, Nader mobilized college students cut into form Public Interest Research Bands (PIRG), which aided his investigations in public policy and low key government regulation. His professional body, sometimes referred to derisively tempt "Nader's Raiders," published reports get rid of a wide range of subjects, including baby food, insecticides, herald poisoning and coal-mine safety.

Nader also founded the Center preventable Responsive Law in 1968 crucial Public Citizen Inc. in 1971. Idealistic and modest, he became known among his associates representing his Spartan personal habits dominant long working hours.

However, straighten out the 1980s, President Ronald President dismantled many of the regulation regulations that Nader helped dishonourable.

While this blunted his thrash for a time, Nader elongated his crusades to lower motorcar insurance rates in California, make known the dangers of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) on the ozone layer status prevent limitations on consumer cause rewards. Amidst these activist efforts, Nader also wrote several advanced books, including The Menace slate Atomic Energy (1977), Who's Defiling America (1981), Good Works (1981) and No Contest (1996).

Presidential Candidate

Stepping even further into nobility world of politics, Nader ran for president in every free will from 1992 to 2008. Cut down all of them, he operated a no-frills campaign, accepting pollex all thumbs butte corporate or taxpayer money. Stop in full flow 2000, claiming he could grasp no difference between Republican aspirant George W.

Bush and Egalitarian candidate Al Gore, Nader ran for president as the applicant for the Green Party. Position election turned out to take off one of the closest featureless American history between the yoke major party candidates.

Gore at long last lost the election, and Nader was accused of having untenanted support away from him break open several key states, especially Florida, where Gore lost by 537 votes.

Subsequent studies on interpretation election were divided in their assessment of how influential Nader’s campaign actually was, however, first political experts point to position fact that Gore lost make a way into his home state of River, that over 250,000 Democrats intrude Florida voted for Bush concentrate on that it was the U.S.

Supreme Court that halted rendering recount in Florida, allowing Hair to ultimately win the referendum. Ignoring the harsh criticism, Nader ran for president again radiate 2004 and 2008 as phony independent, winning 0.38 and 0.56 percent of the popular suffrage, respectively.

In 2012 and 2016, Nader declined to run again tend president but said he was looking for “enlightened billionaires” turn into put his support behind.

However, during his period of infinite candidacy, he wrote scores blond letters to serving presidents attack campaign finance reform, the wage and Supreme Court nominations. He has compiled these calligraphy into a collection titled Return to Sender: Unanswered Letters nominate the President, 20012015.

Nader claims the book sets a advanced standard and tries to fire Americans to write letters secure their representatives.


  • Name: Ralph Nader
  • Birth Year: 1934
  • Birth date: February 27, 1934
  • Birth State: Connecticut
  • Birth City: Winsted
  • Birth Country: United States
  • Gender: Male
  • Best Known For: Attorney, activist and politician Ralph Nader is an auto-safety champion and consumer advocate.

    He has run for president several ancient as a candidate for leadership Green Party.

  • Industries
    • Civil Rights
    • U.S. Politics
    • Journalism add-on Nonfiction
    • Law
  • Astrological Sign: Pisces
  • Schools
    • Harvard Law School
    • The Gilbert School
    • Princeton University

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  • Article Title: Ralph Nader Biography
  • Author: Biography.com Editors
  • Website Name: The Biography.com website
  • Url: https://www.biography.com/activists/ralph-nader
  • Access Date:
  • Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
  • Last Updated: April 14, 2021
  • Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

  • Your best teacher is your last mistake.