1888 - 1965
(1888–1965) (D, P-Iowa), agronomist; U.S. secretary of agriculture (1933–40); vice president of the United States (1941–45); U.S. secretary of commerce (1945–46); editor, New Republic (1946–48); Progressive Party presidential nominee (1948). A proponent of engagement with the Soviet Union, he was removed as secretary of commerce following a speech in which he criticized the Truman administration’s foreign policy. A strong civil rights advocate, he supported an end to discrimination and segregation in USES offices. He also issued calls for racial equality while touring the South for his 1948 presidential campaign.