Mulford Quickert Sibley was a professor of political science

Political science

Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...

 at the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

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He was a controversial figure partly for his outspoken support in favor of academic freedom.
A prolific author and essayist, Sibley wrote extensively on pacifism, utopianism, and civil disobedience. A collection of his papers at the Minnesota Historical Society includes correspondence, literary works, and teaching materials.

In both his classes and at political rallies, Sibley often railed against the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

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The University of Minnesota retains an inventory of the Sibley papers.

Anecdotes

"I'd seen political science professor Mulford Q. Sibley make quite a splash at the University of Minnesota when he gave his lectures in a huge barn. One day he’d be Plato

Plato

Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...

, another day, someone else. Seventeen hundred people would show up to those lectures!"

Garrison Keillor

Garrison Keillor

Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio personality. He is known as host of the Minnesota Public Radio show A Prairie Home Companion Gary Edward "Garrison" Keillor (born August 7, 1942) is an American author, storyteller, humorist, and radio...

picked up the habit of wearing red socks from Sibley.