Stuart Symington
Stuart Symington | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Missouri | |
In office January 3, 1953 – December 27, 1976 | |
Preceded by | James P. Kem |
Succeeded by | John Danforth |
1st United States Secretary of the Air Force | |
In office September 18, 1947 – April 24, 1950 | |
President | Harry S. Truman |
Preceded by | Position established |
Succeeded by | Thomas K. Finletter |
Personal details | |
Born | William Stuart Symington III June 26, 1901 Amherst, Massachusetts, U.S. |
Died | December 14, 1988 (aged 87) New Canaan, Connecticut, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouses | Evelyn Wadsworth
(m. 1924; died 1972)Ann Hemingway Watson
(m. 1978) |
Relatives | Symington family |
Education | Baltimore City College Yale University (BA) |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Army |
Years of service | 1918–1919 |
Rank | Second Lieutenant |
Unit | 84th Division |
Battles/wars | World War I |
William Stuart Symington III (/ˈsaɪmɪŋtən/ SY-ming-tən; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Missouri. He served as the first Secretary of the Air Force from 1947 to 1950 and was a United States Senator from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.
Born in Amherst, Massachusetts, Symington worked as an executive in his uncle's iron products company and for other companies before becoming president of Emerson Electric. He resigned from Emerson in 1945 to take various positions in the administration of President Harry S. Truman, becoming the first Secretary of the Air Force in 1947. He was elected to the Senate in 1952, defeating incumbent Republican Senator James P. Kem. He joined the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and emerged as a prominent critic of McCarthyism.
Symington sought the Democratic nomination in the
Education and business career
Symington was born in
Symington grew up in Baltimore, and was the oldest of his five brothers and sisters.Stationed in an Officer Training Program at Camp Zachary Taylor in Louisville, Kentucky, Symington was never deployed to fight in World War I, with the war ending before he could seek deployment.[5] Symington was commissioned as a second lieutenant, becoming one of the youngest members of the Army to achieve that rank; being discharged as a second lieutenant in January 1919.[4]
He graduated from
In 1923, Symington went to work for an uncle in the shops of the Symington Company of Rochester, New York, manufacturers of malleable iron products. Two years later he formed Eastern Clay Products but in 1927 returned to the Symington Company as executive assistant to the President.
Symington resigned in 1930 to become President of the Colonial Radio Corporation. In January 1935, he accepted the presidency of Rustless Iron and Steel Corporation (manufacturers of stainless steel) but remained a director of Colonial Radio Corporation.
When Rustless Iron and Steel Corporation was sold to the
First Secretary of the Air Force
He resigned from Emerson in 1945 to join the administration of fellow Missourian Harry S. Truman. His first positions were chairman of the Surplus Property Board (1945), administrator of the Property Administration (1945–1946) and Assistant Secretary of War for Air (1946–1947).
On September 18, 1947, the Office of the Secretary of the Air Force was created and Symington became the first secretary. Symington had a stormy term as he worked to win respect for the United States Air Force, which previously had been part of the Army. He had numerous public battles with Secretary of Defense James Forrestal.
Cancellation of the Flying Wing
During his tenure, there was a major debate and investigation into production of the
Major accomplishments during Symington's term as Secretary included the
U.S. Senator
Election
At the urging of his father-in-law
In
Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees
As a member of the Senate Armed Services and Foreign Relations committees, Symington specialized in military affairs and became known as an advocate for a strong national defense. He was also a strong supporter of the Air Force Academy.[citation needed]
In 1954, he charged that the Department of Defense had wasted millions of dollars on outdated weapons. He became a leading critic of U.S. involvement in the
Opponent of Joseph McCarthy
Symington was an especially vocal opponent of Senator Joseph McCarthy, to the vexation of the latter, who nicknamed him "Sanctimonious Stu". He involved himself in the case of Annie Lee Moss, who had been brought before McCarthy's committee under the accusation that she was a Communist spy. Evidence supporting this claim was given by an undercover FBI agent who could not be cross-examined by Mrs. Moss or her counsel. As it appeared that Moss had been mistakenly identified, Symington proclaimed before the packed audience that he believed she was not a Communist and had never been, receiving thunderous applause from those present. Later that year, Symington took a lead role in censuring McCarthy during the Army–McCarthy hearings, capitalizing upon his prominence and expertise as a former Secretary of the Air Force.
Presidential candidacy
In 1959, Symington, then Chairman of the
Symington, unlike Kennedy or Lyndon B. Johnson, refused to speak to segregated audiences in the southern United States and this hurt his chances. Additionally, having concluded that the nomination would be determined by party bosses at the convention, Symington declined to enter any of the Democratic primaries, clearing the way for Kennedy to win enough primaries to be the frontrunner and probable nominee as the convention opened. He was Kennedy's first choice for Vice President, but was dropped in favor of Texas Senator Lyndon B. Johnson. He advised President Kennedy as a member of EXCOMM during the October 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
Other issues
Symington was also committed to constituent services, answering letters from Missouri citizens both important, trivial, and sometimes even zany. As an example, Symington once formally requested a report from military sources regarding the possible existence of subterranean superhumans, which one of his constituents had become concerned about after reading a fiction book and mistaking it for non-fiction.[citation needed] In 2002, this and Symington's other senatorial correspondence and papers were donated to the Western Historical Manuscripts Collection of the University of Missouri and are now available to the general public.
In 1967 when
Symington did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[13] 1960,[14] 1964,[15] and 1968,[16] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution,[17] the Voting Rights Act of 1965,[18] and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.[19]
Resignation
In 1976, Symington did not seek a fifth term and resigned on December 27, a week before the end of his final term, so that his Republican successor, John Danforth, would gain a seniority advantage in the Senate.
Legacy
In 1962, in recognition of his career,
His son,
Symington retired in 1978 to his home in New Canaan, Connecticut, where he died on December 14, 1988.[22]
He is buried in a crypt in Washington National Cathedral.
In
See also
References
- ^ a b University of Missouri (May 25, 1973). "Symington, Stuart (1901-1988), Scrapbooks, 1945-1976 3637 1 folder, 37 volumes on 6 rolls of microfilm" (PDF). shs.umsystem.edu.
- ^ ISBN 978-0826215031.
- ^ Browne, William Hand; Dielman, Louis Henry (1915). Maryland Historical Magazine. Maryland Historical Society.
- ^ a b United States Air Force (May 20, 2013). "W. STUART SYMINGTON Served as secretary of the Air Force from Sept. 18, 1947 to April 24, 1950". af.mil. Archived from the original on June 26, 2013.
- ISBN 978-0826215031.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 5, 2018.
- ISBN 9780826264596.
- ^ MacGregor, Morris J Jr. (1981). "Integration of the Armed Forces, 1940–1965" (PDF). Defense Studies. Retrieved December 16, 2021.
As president of the Emerson Electric Manufacturing Company of St.Louis, he had racially integrated a major industry carrying out vital war work in a border state, thereby increasing productivity. When he became secretary, Symington was immediately involved in the Air Force's race problems; he wanted to know, for instance, why only nine black applicants had passed the qualifying examination for the current cadet program. (page 339)
- ^ "Flying Wings - John K. Northrop's Final Interview - 1979, 1948". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 8, 2019.
- ^ "W. Stuart Symington – Jan. 19, 1948". Time magazine. Retrieved January 6, 2014.
- ISBN 978-1-58160-535-8.
- ^ Truman Charges Kennedy Backers Run Convention, Janson, Donald, New York Times, July 2, 1960
- ^ "HR. 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "HR. 8601. PASSAGE OF AMENDED BILL".
- ^ "HR. 7152. PASSAGE".
- ^ "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO PROHIBIT DISCRIMINATION IN SALE OR RENTAL OF HOUSING, AND TO PROHIBIT RACIALLY MOTIVATED INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON EXERCISING HIS CIVIL RIGHTS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES".
- ^ "S.J. RES. 29. APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION BANNING THE POLL TAX AS PREREQUISITE FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "TO PASS S. 1564, THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF 1965".
- ^ "CONFIRMATION OF NOMINATION OF THURGOOD MARSHALL, THE FIRST NEGRO APPOINTED TO THE SUPREME COURT". GovTrack.us.
- ^ State Department biography
- ^ "Hope on the Horn of Africa", an interview with Stuart Symington Archived October 23, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Pace, Eric (December 15, 1988). "Stuart Symington, 4-Term Senator Who Ran for President, Dies at 87". The New York Times. Retrieved November 8, 2010.
External links
- United States Congress. "Stuart Symington (id: S001136)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.