Charles Franklin Brannan (August 23, 1903July 2, 1992) was the
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments.
The department includes several organi ...
from 1948 to 1953. He was a liberal Democrat best known for proposing the "
Brannan Plan", which was rejected by a conservative Congress and never took effect. Brannan was the last surviving member of Truman's cabinet.
Early life
Brannan was born in
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
on August 23, 1903. He came from a Quaker family; his father was an engineer. He received his law degree from the
University of Denver
The University of Denver (DU) is a private research university in Denver, Colorado. Founded in 1864, it is the oldest independent private university in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univ ...
law school in 1929. In 1932, Brannan married Eda V. Seltzer. He practiced law in Denver, specializing in agricultural, mining, and irrigation issues. He was an ardent Democrat and a supporter of the
New Deal.
Government lawyer
He began as a lawyer in the Resettlement Administration, where he relocated destitute tenant farmers hurt by the "dust bowl." In 1937, he became a regional attorney for the Department of Agriculture. In 1941, he moved to the
Farm Security Administration, where he arranged loans for water facilities and needy farmers in the Mountain states. In 1944, he became assistant secretary of agriculture under Secretary
Clinton Anderson, who put him in charge of long-range planning. When Anderson resigned in 1948, he recommended Brannan, as did the president of the liberal Farmers Union.
Secretary of Agriculture, 1948-1953
In 1949, he advocated the
Brannan Plan, as part of President
Truman's
Fair Deal program. Brannan wanted to guarantee farmers income, while letting free market forces determine the prices of commodities. That plan was not enacted by the Republican controlled congress, which was focusing on the
Cold War.
Following the election of
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
in 1953, Brannan left the government and became the general counsel for the
National Farmers Union.
In 1956 he was defeated in the Democratic primary by
John A. Carroll for the Colorado U.S. Senate race.
Brannan died on July 2, 1992, at age 88, in Denver. He was the last surviving member of the Truman Cabinet.
In popular culture
In
Mary Robinette Kowal's alternate-history novel ''
The Calculating Stars'' (2018), Brannan remains Secretary of Agriculture even after
Thomas E. Dewey wins the
1948 presidential election. He happens to be touring farms in
Kansas
Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
on March 3, 1952, when a
meteorite strike obliterates
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
; as the only surviving member of the
presidential line of succession, he becomes acting president. Brannan goes on to win both the 1952 and 1956 presidential elections, defeating
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
in the latter.
References
Further reading
* Christenson, Reo Millard. ''The Brannan Plan'' (University of Michigan Press, 1959)
* Dean, Virgil W. "Why Not the Brannan Plan?" ''Agricultural History'' (1996) 70#2 pp. 268–28
in JSTOR* Dean, Virgil W. ''An opportunity lost: The Truman administration and the farm policy debate'' (University of Missouri Press, 2006
online* Dean, Virgil W. "Farm Policy and Truman's 1948 Campaign." ''Historian'' (1993) 55#3 pp: 501-516
* Matusow, Allen J. ''Farm policies and politics in the Truman years'' (Harvard University Press, 1967).
* Pratt, William C. "The Farmers Union, McCarthyism, and the Demise of the Agrarian Left." ''Historian'' (1996) 58#2 pp: 329-342
online* Schoenebaum, Eleonora W. ed. ''Political Profiles: The Truman Years'' (1978) pp 51–53
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Brannan, Charles F.
1903 births
1992 deaths
American Quakers
Lawyers from Denver
Politicians from Denver
Sturm College of Law alumni
Truman administration cabinet members
20th-century American politicians
United States Secretaries of Agriculture
20th-century Quakers