A Life on the Frontlines

Burt Cohen has devoted his life to standing up for what he believes. He was among those arrested at the 1971 Mayday protest against the Vietnam War, served on the office staff of Boston Clamshell and was active in the anti-nuclear movement of the late seventies.

In the eighties, he was deeply involved in efforts to halt US aid to the right-wing regime in El Salvador and traveled to Nicaragua in 1985 with Abbie Hoffman and Johanna Lawrenson as part of an effort to stop American support of the Nicaraguan Contras. In the nineties, Burt was elected to the New Hampshire State Senate where he quickly established himself as a legislative leader. He would go on to win re-election six times and become the first Democratic Majority Leader of that body since 1912.

As senator, Burt helped spearhead legislation requiring safe storage of firearms, and, as Vice-Chair of the Environment Committee, helped craft the New Hampshire Clean Power Act. He also led the fight to abolish the death penalty in New Hampshire and fought for a fairer tax structure to protect the working men and women from an unfair tax burden. Throughout his tenure in the NH state senate, Burt enjoyed broad support from across the political spectrum. As one Republican supporter put it, "Burt's the only Democrat I vote for. He's a straight shooter."

When he is not on the frontlines of political action, Burt is a well-respected academic and prolific political commentator. He serves on the faculty of Southern NH University and the College for Lifelong Learning, where he teaches 20th Century American History, the War in Vietnam, and most recently, American's Transformation in the 1930s. His articles have appeared in The Nation.

Burt now lives in New Castle, New Hampshire with his wife, Patricia, former executive director of the New Hampshire Writer's Project, and their two daughters, Margaret, 11, and Lea, 7.