Clinton Anderson

Anderson was born in Centerville, South Dakota, on October 23, 1895.[1] His parents were Andrew Jay and Hattie Belle Anderson (née Presba). He was educated in the public school system of South Dakota and attended Dakota Wesleyan University (1913-1915) and the University of Michigan (1915-1916) but never received a degree from either institution.

After his father broke his back in 1916, Anderson left the University of Michigan to go home to help to support his family. He worked for several months for a newspaper in Mitchell, South Dakota, until he became seriously ill with tuberculosis. He was not aware of his illness until he attempted to join the US military in 1917 upon America's entrance into World War I. Doctors gave him six months to live. One gave him the advice to check himself into the Methodist Sanitarium in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He promptly did so, and while recovering there, he occasionally wrote for the Albuquerque Herald.

In 1919, as soon as he was well enough to leave the sanitarium, he gained employment with the Albuquerque Morning Journal, now called the Albuquerque Journal, and he was sent to Santa Fe to cover New Mexico's legislature. Very critical of how the Republican Party was running the state, he befriended some New Mexico Democratic legislators and gave them his ideas on bills before the legislature. Some of the ideas eventually became state law, and Anderson began a lifelong association with the Democratic Party.

His long career of public service began as executive secretary of the New Mexico Public Health Association in 1919. There, he raised money to fight tuberculosis, established county health programs, and was instrumental in founding the state public health department.

On June 22, 1921, Anderson had married Henrietta McCartney, and he returned to Albuquerque with his new wife. They had two children: Sherburne Presba Anderson and Nancy Anderson.

In the early 1920s, Anderson pursued private business affairs. Newspaper work seemed to offer a poor future so in 1922, he started in the insurance business with the New Mexico Loan and Mortgage Company. Anderson was soon able to buy the business and change the name to the Clinton P. Anderson Agency, a successful and enduring enterprise.

Actively involved in the Rotary Club of Albuquerque since 1919, he was elected to the International Board in 1930 and became president of Rotary International in 1932, a position that introduced him to many business and political contacts.

Anderson returned to public life, becoming chairman of the New Mexico Democratic Party in 1928 and state treasurer of New Mexico in 1933. That was followed by appointments as director of the Bureau of Revenue, relief administrator for the State of New Mexico, Western States Field Coordinator for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration, State Director of the National Youth Administration, chairman of the New Mexico Unemployment Security Division, and Managing Director of the Coronado Cuarto Centennial Commission, among others. It was Anderson's style to take on a newly created position or an emergency situation, to organize it, and then to leave when he felt that all was running smoothly.

In 1940, a conflict among members of the state Democratic Party resulted in Congressman John J. Dempsey being disqualified from running for another term as New Mexico's only representative. Party members convinced Anderson to run for the seat, which he won by using his many business and political contacts throughout the state. For the next three decades, he divided his time between Albuquerque and Washington, D.C..

Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson arriving at the White House for a Cabinet meeting.

Anderson became known for his thorough investigative work, and during his three terms in the House of Representatives, he was assigned to several special committees, including the chairmanship of the Special Committee to Investigate Food Shortages in 1945. The committee argued for a streamlined food distribution system and emphasized long-range planning for increasing food production. His success in that assignment, along with their personal friendship, led to his appointment by President Harry S. Truman as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.[2]

Secretary of Agriculture Clinton P. Anderson (center) in the Truman Cabinet (January 1948).

Shortly after Harry S. Truman became President in 1945, he selected Anderson to serve as his Secretary of Agriculture. His most immediate concern was the reorganization of the domestic agricultural economy, which for the previous four years, had been focused on supporting the American war effort in the Second World War. Anderson addressed issues such as price controls, shortages, and subsidies, and he played an important role in developing postwar agricultural policies.

The domestic situation was only one of Anderson's concerns as Secretary of Agriculture. The looming worldwide food crisis, which was becoming more evident by 1946, led President Truman to establish the Famine Emergency Committee.

Anderson made two controversial moves to change the drastic problems. Firstly, he used his organizational skills to incorporate all existing food and agricultural activities under his office. Secondly, he advised Truman to enlist former President Herbert Hoover to serve as chairman of the Famine Emergency Committee. During the crisis, Anderson, Truman, and Hoover worked together very closely. Many of Hoover's proposals on alleviating the international food shortage were adopted by the Truman administration, and it became Anderson's responsibility to implement the proposals. The three men can be credited with preventing an even larger international disaster.

US food production and worldwide distribution was stabilized by 1948, and Anderson decided to retire from the Cabinet. As with every project he had undertaken, Anderson left after he had resolved the problems faced.

Clinton P. Anderson and wife Henrietta McCartney at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, December 24, 1947.

His age and growing health problems made Anderson retire on January 3, 1973 after he had served four terms in the U.S. Senate. He died at his home in Albuquerque on November 11, 1975 from a massive stroke, and he was buried at Fairview Memorial Park in Albuquerque. His wife, Henrietta McCartney Anderson, died on June 7, 1994, at the age of 94.

He was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame in 1977.[7]

In the 1998 HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon, Anderson was played by Mason Adams.

• United States Congress. "Clinton Anderson (id: A000186)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clinton Presba Anderson.

• Clinton P. Anderson Papers, 1848-1975, University of New Mexico, Center for Southwest Research
• Clinton P. Anderson Papers, 1945-1948, Harry S. Truman Library
• Clinton P. Anderson Photographs, 1946-1975, University of New Mexico, Center for Southwest Research