Eisenhower Ten

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The Eisenhower Ten or E-10 were a group of U.S. citizens who were secretly tasked by President Eisenhower in 1958 to serve as administrators in the event of a national emergency. There were actually nine positions, but one administrator-designate resigned and was replaced. Eisenhower discussed the issues with each appointee and then personally sent letters of invitation on March 6, 1958. The selection and appointment of these administrator-designates was classified Top Secret.[1][2]

In an emergency, each administrator was to take charge of a specifically activated agency to maintain the continuity of government. These agencies would be subordinate to the Director of the Office of Emergency Resources. Gordon Gray, the director of the Office of Defense Mobilization co-ordinated meetings

In May of 1961, Fred Dutton, special assistant to President Kennedy discovered copies of the letters and informed National Security Advisor McGeorge Bundy.

Agency Administrator-designate
Emergency Censorship Agency Theodore F. Koop
vice president of CBS
Emergency Communications Agency Frank Stanton
president of CBS
Emergency Energy and Minerals Agency John Ed. Warren
senior vice president of First National City Bank
Emergency Food Agency Ezra Taft Benson
Secretary of Agriculture
Emergency Housing Agency Askel Nielsen
president of Title Guaranty Company
Emergency Manpower Agency James P. Mitchell
Secretary of Labor
Emergency Production Agency Harold Boeschenstein
president of Owens-Corning
Emergency Stabilization Agency William McChesney Martin, Jr.
chairman of the Federal Reserve
Emergency Transport Agency Frank Pace
executive vice-president, General Dynamics
resigned January 8, 1959
Dr. George Pierce Baker
Harvard Business School
appointed January 8, 1959

[edit] References

  1. ^ This Letter Will Constitute Your Authority: the Eisenhower Ten. CONELRAD.COM. Retrieved on 2006-12-01.
  2. ^ "Continuity Of Government, Then And Now", Secrecy News, Federation of American Scientists, 2003-12-17. Retrieved on 2008-12-01.