Charles W. Sawyer (February 10, 1887April 7, 1979) was an American lawyer and diplomat who served as the
United States Secretary of Commerce
The United States secretary of commerce (SecCom) is the head of the United States Department of Commerce. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to commerce. The secretary rep ...
from May 6, 1948 to January 20, 1953 in the administration of
Harry Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
.
Early life
Sawyer was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
on February 10, 1887. He was a son of Caroline (
née Butler) Sawyer and Edward Milton Sawyer, a Maine Republican who moved to Ohio become a principal.
He attended
Oberlin College, earning a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
degree in 1908, followed by the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,0 ...
, where he received his law degree in 1911.
Career
He served as a member of Cincinnati City Council from 1912 until 1916 when he ran for
Mayor of Cincinnati
The Mayor of Cincinnati is recognised as the official head and representative of the city for all purposes. There have been seventy-six mayors of Cincinnati, the first of which being David Ziegler in 1802. The current mayor is Aftab Pureval, w ...
losing to
George Puchta. Prior to his political career, he worked at the Cincinnati law firm of
Dinsmore & Shohl. During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he served as an infantryman in France, where he attained the rank of
Major. Sawyer was also involved in several business ventures, including the
American Rolling Mill Company and a share of the
Cincinnati Reds, the
Cincinnati Gardens
Cincinnati Gardens was an indoor arena located in Cincinnati, Ohio, that opened in 1949. The 25,000 square foot (2,300 m²) brick and limestone building at 2250 Seymour Avenue in Bond Hill had a entrance that was decorated with six three-dimens ...
, and a chain of newspapers and radio stations (through Great Trails Broadcasting Corporation).
Between the Wars, he was a prominent
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
Democratic politician. In the 1930s, a faction led by Sawyer vied with a faction led by
Martin L. Davey for control of the state Democratic party. He was the 44th
lieutenant governor of Ohio
The position of lieutenant governor of Ohio was established in 1852. The lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor resigns, dies in office or is removed by impeachment. Before 1852, the president of the Ohio State Senate would serve as ...
from 1933 to 1935. Sawyer authored the
Twenty-first Amendment which repealed the
Eighteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which established the
prohibition of alcohol in the United States. In 1938, Sawyer was an unsuccessful candidate for governor of Ohio.
Federal service
In 1944, President
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
appointed Sawyer as the
United States Ambassador to Belgium
In 1832, shortly after the creation of the Kingdom of Belgium, the United States established diplomatic relations. Since that time, a long line of distinguished envoys have represented American interests in Belgium. These diplomats included men ...
and served as was Minister to Luxembourg during the difficult period from 1944 to 1946, at the beginning of the Belgian
Royal Question concerning King
Leopold III of Belgium.
Two years later, President Harry Truman appointed Sawyer to the
U.S. Civil Service Commission's Review Board. Sawyer had first met Truman upon the latter's arrival in
Antwerp en route to Germany to attend the
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference (german: Potsdamer Konferenz) was held at Potsdam in the Soviet occupation zone from July 17 to August 2, 1945, to allow the three leading Allies to plan the postwar peace, while avoiding the mistakes of the Paris P ...
.
In 1948, Sawyer was chosen to succeed
W. Averell Harriman as the United States Secretary of Commerce.
While Secretary of Commerce, Sawyer was ordered by Truman to
seize and operate the steel mills in 1952.
This seizure was executed to prevent a
labor strike which Truman believed would hamper the ability of the United States to proceed in the war in Korea.
While Secretary of Commerce, Secretary Sawyer declared the first
National Secretaries Week from June 1 to 7, 1952. He designated Wednesday, June 4, as
National Secretaries Day for this formerly male-dominated field of work turned female-dominated by sociocultural anamorphisms. Upon the end of Truman's term as office, Sawyer's term as Commerce Secretary also ended and he was succeeded by the Republican
Sinclair Weeks
Charles Sinclair Weeks (June 15, 1893February 7, 1972), better known as Sinclair Weeks, served as United States Senator from Massachusetts (1944) and as United States Secretary of Commerce from 1953 until 1958, during President Eisenhower's adm ...
who served during the administration of President
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, ...
.
Later career
When Sawyer returned to Cincinnati after serving President Truman, he joined the law firm of
Taft, Stettinius, and Hollister, which had been founded by another prominent Cincinnati politician,
Robert A. Taft
Robert Alphonso Taft Sr. (September 8, 1889 – July 31, 1953) was an American politician, lawyer, and scion of the Republican Party's Taft family. Taft represented Ohio in the United States Senate, briefly served as Senate Majority Leade ...
(the elder son of President
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
), and became its managing partner. Following Taft's death, Sawyer succeeded to his seat on the board of the
Central Trust Company, a Cincinnati bank.
In 1968, he authored ''Concerns of a Conservative Democrat'' which was published by the
Southern Illinois University Press
Southern Illinois University Press or SIU Press, founded in 1956, is a university press located in Carbondale, Illinois, owned and operated by Southern Illinois University.
The press publishes approximately 50 titles annually, among its more tha ...
. Sawyer served on the Hoover Commission on Overseas Task Force, the
Commission on Money and Credit, and the World's Fair Site Committee.
Sawyer gave $1 million to purchase 123 acres of riverfront property in Cincinnati for what became
Sawyer Point Park.
Personal life
On July 15, 1918 Sawyer married his first wife, Margaret Sterrett Johnston, a niece of Col.
William Cooper Procter
William Cooper Procter (August 25, 1862 – May 2, 1934) was head of Procter & Gamble from 1907 to 1930 and was the last member of the founding families to lead the company.
Biography
He was born on August 25, 1862. He was the grandson of Willia ...
of
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer he ...
. Together, they had five children, two daughters and three sons, including:
Anne Johnston Sawyer (who married John Pattison Williams. She later married John Bradley Greene);
Charles W. Sawyer II; Jean Johnston Sawyer (who married the Very Rev. John J. Weaver, Dean of
Detroit Cathedral, in 1948);
John William Sawyer; and Edward Milton Sawyer.
After Margaret's death in 1937, Sawyer married his second wife, Countess Elizabeth (née Lippelman) de Veyrac (1907-1999), on June 10, 1942.
Elizabeth, who was living in
Glendale, Ohio
Glendale is a village in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 2,155 at the 2010 census. It is a northern suburb of Cincinnati, and is the site of the Glendale Historic District.
Geography
Glendale is located at (39.271258, ...
, was previously married to Louis Renner of Cincinnati and then Count Robert de Veyrac.
They had no children.
He died in April 1979, at age 92, at his home in
Palm Beach, Florida. He was buried at
Spring Grove Cemetery
Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum () is a nonprofit rural cemetery and arboretum located at 4521 Spring Grove Avenue, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the third largest cemetery in the United States, after the Calverton National Cemetery and Abraham ...
near his birthplace in Cincinnati, Ohio.
References
External links
Charles W. Sawyerat
Ohio History CentralSecretary of Commerce Charles W. Sawyer Looks at the 1950 Census Resultsat the
Harry S. Truman Presidential Library and Museum
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawyer, Charles
1887 births
1979 deaths
United States Secretaries of Commerce
Truman administration cabinet members
20th-century American politicians
Politicians from Cincinnati
Cincinnati City Council members
Lieutenant Governors of Ohio
Ohio Democrats
Ohio lawyers
Ambassadors of the United States to Belgium
University of Cincinnati College of Law alumni
Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery
20th-century American diplomats