Due to his father's profession, Miller grew up in various parts of the United States, including Laramie, Wyoming, Hutchinson, Kansas, and Lincoln, Nebraska.
Miller worked as the chief speechwriter for Adlai Stevenson II during the 1956 U.S. presidential election.
[2] He later worked in the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, writing messages to be used by President Lyndon Johnson.
"[5] In the same interview, Miller acknowledged the influence of Reinhold and Richard Niebuhr on his thought and work: "Reinhold Niebuhr was the greatest -- well, let's put it in the largest way, and then if you make me do it, I'll take it back -- the greatest American political thinker of the 20th century...
[6] At the time of his retirement from the University of Virginia, Miller was Commonwealth Professor of Political and Social Thought, and after his retirement until his death he was the White Burkett Miller Center Scholar in Residence, Professor Emeritus.