Claude R. Wickard

Claude R. Wickard

Claude Raymond Wickard (born February 28, 1893 in Camden , Indiana , †  April 29, 1967 near Delphi , Indiana) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who belonged to the cabinet of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as Secretary of Agriculture .

Claude Wickard, who was born on his family's farm in Carroll County , received his bachelor's degree in agriculture from Purdue University in 1915 . He subsequently worked in agriculture and was named "Master Farmer of Indiana" by Prairie Farmer Magazine in 1927 because of his progressive work in this area .

His political career began in 1932 with the election to the Indiana Senate . There he resigned after a legislative period to take on a leading position at the Agricultural Adjustment Administration , a newly created agricultural authority. He stayed there until 1936.

In 1940, Wickard joined the government of Franklin D. Roosevelt as Undersecretary of State for Agriculture. In the same year he was appointed minister of agriculture after Henry A. Wallace was resigned to the Office of the later US vice president to take over during the Second World War was Wickard also for four months of the Authority for the food supply ( War Foods Administration ) ago , promoting increased food production on the farms by calling it a patriotic contribution.

After President Harry S. Truman took office , the latter asked Wickard to resign in order to offer him the post of head of the Rural Electrification Administration , a federal agency whose purpose it was to promote electrification in rural areas. He held this office until 1953. In 1956 he applied for a seat in the US Senate , but was defeated by the Republican incumbent Homer E. Capehart .

Claude Wickard died on April 29, 1967 as a result of a car accident. According to witnesses, he ignored a stop sign at the intersection of two highways, whereupon his vehicle collided with a truck.

Web links

• Claude R. Wickard in the Miller Center of Public Affairs of the University of Virginia (English)