- Leon Henderson
Leon Henderson (1895 - 1986) was the administrator of the
Office of Price Administration from 1941 to 1942.Henderson was born in
Millville, New Jersey , where he attended Millville High School, and laterSwarthmore College . [ [http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,761132,00.html?promoid=googlep "Up Again Henderson"] , "Time (magazine) ",May 1 ,1939 . AccessedOctober 1 ,2007 . "As a boy out of Millville, N. J., he worked his way through Swarthmore College, played basketball and football there."] [ [http://www.co.cumberland.nj.us/facts/history/people_century/viewpeople.asp?id=23 Our People of the Century - Millville's Class of 1913: Fame, Power, Influence Await Three High School Graduates"] ,Cumberland County, New Jersey . AccessedDecember 6 ,2007 . "The legendary Millville High School Class of 1913 turned out a business leader, a political leader, and a religious leader. Collectively known as the “Big Three,” William M. Dougherty, Leon Henderson, and Bishop Fred Pierce Corson, all schoolboy chums, went on to shape a good chunk of 20th century America."] He was an official of theRussell Sage Foundation from 1925 to 1934.Henderson worked as an economic adviser in President
Franklin Roosevelt 's administration before he was appointed to theSecurities and Exchange Commission in 1939. In 1941 he became head of theOffice of Price Administration . His tenure there was controversial and he was deeply unpopular, especially with theFarm lobby .Edwin W. Pauley , secretary of theDemocratic National Committee in 1942 listed five factors for the Democratic loss in the 1942 election, and resentment of Leon Henderson was listed as one of the top five reasons for that defeat. As he wrote, "This was the most universal and serious complaint of all . . . It appears from the letters that the complaint is directed rather at Mr. Henderson and his attitude and methods than at the abstract question of . . . rationing and price control . . . ." [Blum, John Morton. _V Was For Victory_. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. Pg 233.] That defeat insured that no moreNew Deal social measures would be passed by the US during World War II, and that many of them would be repealed.Leon Henderson was replaced after the 1942 election and went into a career in business.
He died in 1986.
References
External links
* [http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-HendersoL.html Leon Henderson]
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