Hugh Samuel Johnson
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Hugh Samuel Johnson (August 5, 1882 - April 15, 1942) American soldier and National Recovery Administration official.
He was born in Fort Scott, Kansas in 1882. After graduating from the United States Military Academy in 1903, Johnson became an officer in the US Army. Johnson served under General John J. Pershing in Mexico during 1916 and the following year became deputy provost marshal general in Washington.
When the United States entered the First World War, Johnson helped draft the Selective Service Act. By 1918 Johnson had reached the rank of brigadier general. His main duty was coordinating Army's purchases with the War Industries Board. He retired in 1919 and became an executive of Moline Plow Company. He left to become an advisor to Bernard Baruch in 1927, and campaigned for Franklin D. Roosevelt in the 1932 presidential election
Johnson played a major role in the New Deal. In 1933 Roosevelt appointed Johnson to administer part of the National Recovery Administration (NRA). Johnson has been said to have looked on Italian Fascist corporativism as a kind of model.[1] This involved organizing thousands of businesses under codes drawn up by trade associations and industries. He was recognized for his efforts when Time Magazine named the colorful New Dealer Man of the Year of 1933. "Old Iron Pants" could mix theorizing about industrial reorganization with evangelism for the NRA's omnipresent symbol, the "Blue Eagle." He was faltering badly by 1934, which historians ascribe to the profound contradictions in NRA policies, compounded by heavy drinking on the job. Roosevelt replaced him in September 1934, reassigning him to a Works Progress Administration position. Johnson was criticized by Labor Secretary Frances Perkins for having Fascist inclinations. Johnson supported Roosevelt in the 1936 presidential election, but when the Court-packing plan was announced in 1937 he denounced Roosevelt as a would-be dictator. He supported Wendell Willkie the Republican candidate in the 1940 presidential election, and in retaliation Roosevelt denied him any role in World War II.
Hugh Johnson is portrayed by Christian Tiscareno in the 2007 version of "New Deal or No Deal: FDR's Solution to the Great Depression." Johnson was often said to have used to "Fascist salute." An article in Time Magazine reported that during an NRA parade, as department store marches passed by waving their Blue Eagle placard, Johnson raised his harm in a "continuous Fascist salute."[2]
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ Stanley Payne. History of Fascism. 1995. p 230.
- ^ Not Since the Armistice... Time Magazine. Monday, Sep. 25, 1933 his name sounds an awful lot like huge jonson, referring to a penis of rather large size. [1]
[edit] References
- Ohl, John Kennedy. Hugh S. Johnson and the New Deal (1985), academic biography.
- Johnson, Hugh S. The Blue Eagle, from Egg to Earth 1935, his memoir online edition
[edit] External links
- Time Magazine article- Time's 1933 Man of Year article on Johnson
- Hugh Samuel Johnson (1882-1942)
- Hugh Samuel Johnson at Find-A-Grave
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Johnson, Hugh Samuel |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | American administrator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1882 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Kansas |
| DATE OF DEATH | 1942 |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
