Howard Joseph Samuels (December 3, 1919 – October 26, 1984) was an American statesman, industrialist, civil rights activist and philanthropist who served as
United States Under Secretary of Commerce
A United States Under Secretary of Commerce is one of several positions in the United States Department of Commerce, serving under the United States Secretary of Commerce.
History
In June 1939, Edward J. Noble was appointed the first Under Secreta ...
and Director of the
Small Business Administration
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...
under President Johnson, special advisor to the campaign for president by
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
and the administration of President
Carter
Carter(s), or Carter's, Tha Carter, or The Carter(s), may refer to:
Geography United States
* Carter, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Mississippi, an unincorporated community
* Carter, Montana, a census-designated place
* Carter ...
.
A graduate of the
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
, Samuels served as a colonel in the
Third Army under General
George Patton. Upon conclusion of service, Samuels co-founded the
Kordite Corporation. Following the principles he set on his senior thesis, Kordite was the first to produce synthetic products for household consumerism and introduced a number of mainstays including the
baggie, wax paper, plastic wrap, disposable kitchenware, and a sturdy trash bag that became the
Hefty
Hefty is an American brand of household products such as trash bags and trash cans, disposable tableware, children's disposable tableware (including their defunct '' Zoo Pals'' product line), slider closure food storage and freezer bags, plast ...
brand. The success of the company made Samuels one of the wealthiest
New Yorkers, and financially able to enter politics.
The
Democratic nominee for
Lieutenant Governor of New York in 1966 on a ticket headed by
Frank D. O'Connor, Samuels also contended unsuccessfully for the nomination for Governor three times from 1962 to 1974. He lost the 1970 primary to
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
and the 1974 primary to
Hugh Carey
Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Part ...
. He also served as special aide to New York City Mayor
John Lindsay
John Vliet Lindsay (; November 24, 1921 – December 19, 2000) was an American politician and lawyer. During his political career, Lindsay was a U.S. congressman, mayor of New York City, and candidate for U.S. president. He was also a regular ...
prior to his appointment as the first Chairman of the
New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation. Samuels is credited with alerting voters to the need for a
Constitutional Convention, forming the non-partisan group Citizens Committee for Constitutional Convention. Members included Secretaries of the Health, Education & Welfare and Commerce departments in the
Eisenhower administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...
, numerous Commissioners and administrators to
New York State
New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...
and City agencies, and Senators
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
and
Christopher Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's histor ...
. Governor
Nelson Rockefeller would later sign the bill.
Samuels' foray into national politics was met with resistance and criticism among the traditional political guards of both parties. His resurrection and renewed interpretation of the defunct wartime program
Section 8(a) spearheaded the SBA into the forefront of the
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional racial segregation, discrimination, and disenfranchisement throughout the Unite ...
. The agency's
Project OWN program was the first institutionalized
affirmative action and
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
*War reparations
**World War I reparations, made from G ...
policy which he dubbed
compensatory capitalism, or black capitalism. Though hailed by many civil rights activist and minorities alike, the program faced mounting criticism and disapproval from within the Democratic controlled
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
, members of President Johnson's own cabinet and threats of censorship and dismissal from
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
Senators who cited the program as
"racism in reverse." As the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
continued into the 1970s, Samuels became the principal financial backer to numerous war marches including
John Kerry's Veterans for Vietnam
advocacy group. Samuels became a vocal advocate for
drug policy
A drug policy is the policy regarding the control and regulation of psychoactive substances (commonly referred to as drugs), particularly those that are addictive or cause physical and mental dependence. While drug policies are generally implemen ...
and
rehabilitation in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
and State policy following the arrest of his son,
Howard Samuels, and revelation of his
addiction
Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...
to heroin.
His pioneering methods in the
petrochemical industry
The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector.
Comp ...
and success in the then niche household
consumer
A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
market translated into posts as Vice President of the
Mobil Oil Corporation
Mobil is a petroleum brand owned and operated by American oil and gas corporation ExxonMobil. The brand was formerly owned and operated by an oil and gas corporation of the same name, which itself merged with Exxon to form ExxonMobil in 1999.
...
, Commissioner of the
North American Soccer League, and Chairman to Elms Capital Management,
Alexander Proudfoot PLC, and
Communities In Schools
Communities In Schools (CIS) is a non-profit organization based in America. CIS works within public and charter schools to help at-risk students. CIS works with schools in 25 states and the District of Columbia. In In February 2020, CIS announce ...
. In 1988, the
City University of New York opened the Howard Samuels State Management and Policy Center.
Early life
He graduated from
MIT Sloan School of Management
The MIT Sloan School of Management (MIT Sloan or Sloan) is the business school of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
MIT Sloan offers bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs, ...
with an
S.B. in Management, and then joined the
U.S. Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...
. He served as a
lieutenant colonel in the
Third Army under General
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton Jr. (November 11, 1885 – December 21, 1945) was a general in the United States Army who commanded the Seventh United States Army in the Mediterranean Theater of World War II, and the Third United States Army in France ...
. He was present during the liberation of the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
in
Buchenwald
Buchenwald (; literally 'beech forest') was a Nazi concentration camp established on hill near Weimar, Germany, in July 1937. It was one of the first and the largest of the concentration camps within Germany's 1937 borders. Many actual or sus ...
in 1945.
Business career
Kordite
After the war, he and his brother Richard founded the Kordite Company, a firm that manufactured plastic clotheslines, brooms, plastic bags and packaging, and other plastic products such as
Baggies and
Hefty
Hefty is an American brand of household products such as trash bags and trash cans, disposable tableware, children's disposable tableware (including their defunct '' Zoo Pals'' product line), slider closure food storage and freezer bags, plast ...
garbage bags.
State politics
In
1962
Events January
* January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand.
* January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism.
* January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...
, Samuels was among the contenders for the
Democratic nomination for
Governor of New York, but
Robert M. Morgenthau was chosen by the state convention delegates. In
1966, the party rank and file revolted against the wishes of state party leaders and nominated him over Orin D. Lehman for
Lieutenant Governor of New York. The ticket, headed by gubernatorial candidate
Frank D. O'Connor, was defeated by the
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nominees, Gov.
Nelson Rockefeller and Lt. Gov.
Malcolm Wilson. In 1970, Samuels lost the Democratic primary for governor to former
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
.
1974 New York Governor election
In
1974, Samuels was the Democratic State Committee designee for Governor. He was challenged in the
primary election by Congressman
Hugh L. Carey, and despite an early lead, Samuels lost again, and Carey was subsequently elected Governor.
City of New York Off-Track Betting
In 1971, Mayor Lindsay chose Samuels to be the first chairman of the
New York City Off-Track Betting Corporation, a position which earned him the nickname "Howie the Horse."
National politics
Samuels served as U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce in the administration of President
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
, and in 1968 was named Director of the
Small Business Administration
The United States Small Business Administration (SBA) is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and stre ...
. In 1969, he irritated many in his own party when he supported a liberal Republican,
John V. Lindsay, in his successful bid for re-election as
Mayor of New York City. In
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
, he challenged
Arthur Goldberg
Arthur Joseph Goldberg (August 8, 1908January 19, 1990) was an American statesman and jurist who served as the 9th U.S. Secretary of Labor, an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, and the 6th United States Ambassador to ...
, the Democratic designee for Governor, but lost narrowly in the
primary election. That year his political work was interrupted when his son, Howard Samuels, was arrested for
marijuana possession in
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
. The son was later arrested for possession of
heroin and reported to have developed a heroin addiction. In 1971, Howard J. Samuels was elected to the
Common Cause National Governing Board.
Family
He married Barbara J. Christie, and they had eight children: William, Carey, Catherine, Victoria, Howard, Barbara, Jacqui and Janine. He later married
Antoinette Chautemps, daughter of a Prime Minister of France,
Camille Chautemps. They had two children, Camille and Dominique.
Death
On October 26, 1984, Samuels died of a heart attack at his home in New York City. His funeral was attended by many leading political figures. He received eulogies from Governor
Mario M. Cuomo of New York, Senator
Gary Hart of
Colorado
Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...
, Senator
Edward M. Kennedy of
Massachusetts
Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...
, Senator
Christopher J. Dodd
Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the List of United Sta ...
of
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
and his best friend Ed R. Downe. Mr. Downe has led annual prayer services with Howard's family for 25 years (2009) in the Southampton, New York cemetery. Former New York governor
Malcolm Wilson, once an opponent, remembered him as "a highly principled gentleman with a well-developed civic and social conscience." Cuomo said that Samuels was "a gentle, compassionate man ... (who) had the instincts, talents, and compassion to have been a great governor." "He was a better man and a visionary than a politician," stated journalist
Ken Auletta
Kenneth B. Auletta (born April 23, 1942) is an American author, a political columnist for the New York Daily News, and media critic for ''The New Yorker''.
Early life and education
The son of an Italian American father and a Jewish American ...
, formerly Samuels' campaign manager.
See also
*
Lyndon Johnson
*
Camille Chautemps
*
Nelson Rockefeller
*
Mario M. Cuomo
*
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis Kennedy (November 20, 1925June 6, 1968), also known by his initials RFK and by the nickname Bobby, was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 64th United States Attorney General from January 1961 to September 1964, ...
*
Affirmative Action
*
Petrochemical industry
The petrochemical industry is concerned with the production and trade of petrochemicals. A major part is constituted by the plastics (polymer) industry. It directly interfaces with the petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector.
Comp ...
*
U.S. Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for busin ...
*
Basil Paterson
Basil Alexander Paterson (April 27, 1926 – April 16, 2014) was an American labor lawyer and politician. He served in the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1971 and as secretary of state of New York under Governor Hugh Carey from 1979 to 1983 ...
References
External links
LBJ Presidential Library Howard Samuels Center
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samuels, Howard J.
1919 births
1984 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American politicians
Administrators of the Small Business Administration
American businesspeople in retailing
American chief executives
American energy industry businesspeople
United States Army personnel of World War II
American soccer chairmen and investors
American sports executives and administrators
Businesspeople in the casino industry
MIT Sloan School of Management alumni
New York (state) Democrats
North American Soccer League (1968–1984) commissioners
Politicians from New York City
Politicians from Rochester, New York
United States Army officers
United States Department of Commerce officials
United States Under Secretaries of Commerce