John Williams Macy Jr. (April 6, 1917 – December 22, 1986) was a
United States Government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
administrator and civil servant.
Biography
Born in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, he received a B.A. from
Wesleyan University
Wesleyan University ( ) is a Private university, private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a Men's colleges in the United States, men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Epis ...
in 1938. In 1938 Macy moved to
Washington, D.C.
)
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where he began his government service and studied at
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
. He worked as an intern at the National Institute of Public Affairs from 1938–1939 and later became an administrative aide of the
Social Security Board (1939–1940).
From 1940 to 1942, he was a personnel specialist for the
War Department War Department may refer to:
* War Department (United Kingdom)
* United States Department of War (1789–1947)
See also
* War Office, a former department of the British Government
* Ministry of defence
* Ministry of War
* Ministry of Defence
* Dep ...
in Washington and Chicago. From 1942 to 1943 he became the assistant director of civilian personnel. He enlisted during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, served in 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 ...
from 1943 to 1946, and attained the rank of captain fighting in the China theater. In 1944, he married Joyce Hagen. After the war, he returned to the War Department as director of civilian personnel.
From 1947 to 1951, Macy was the organization and personnel director for the
U.S. Atomic Energy Commission
The United States Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) was an agency of the United States government established after World War II by U.S. Congress to foster and control the peacetime development of atomic science and technology. President ...
in
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is an census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, that is recognized as the development and creation place of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Labora ...
. From 1951 to 1953, Macy was the special assistant to the Under Secretary of the Army.
In 1953, he was appointed by 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, ...
as President of the
United States Civil Service Commission
The United States Civil Service Commission was a government agency of the federal government of the United States and was created to select employees of federal government on merit rather than relationships. In 1979, it was dissolved as part of t ...
(CSC). He held this post until 195
He left government service in 1958 to act as the executive vice-president of his alma mater, Wesleyan University.
President
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 i ...
asked Macy to return to the Civil Service Commission in 1961, and Macy chaired the commission through Kennedy and Johnson Administrations. He called for federal salaries to be put on par with private industry salaries. It was during this time that the CSC persecuted gay men (as part of the
Lavender Scare
The "lavender scare" was a moral panic about homosexual people in the United States government which led to their mass dismissal from government service during the mid-20th century. It contributed to and paralleled the anti-communist campaign wh ...
), and had at least three lawsuits filed against it, see Anonymous v Macy, Scott v Macy, Norton v Macy.
Norton v Macy
/ref> During the Johnson Administration, Macy also directed the White House
The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in 1800. ...
Personnel Appointment Office.
Macy left the CSC in 1969 and served as president for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an American publicly funded non-profit corporation, created in 1967 to promote and help support public broadcasting. The corporation's mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, ...
(1969–1972). His work landed him on the master list of Nixon political opponents
Master or masters may refer to:
Ranks or titles
* Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans
*Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
.
In 1979, President Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
nominated Macy to become the first Senate-confirmed director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS), initially created under President Jimmy Carter by Presidential Reorganization Plan No. 3 of 1978 and implemented by two Exec ...
. He served in that position until 1981.
Macy also authored several books, including ''Public Service: Human Side of Government'' (1971) and ''To Irrigate a Wasteland'' (1974).
A civil servant with a career spanning six different decades, John Macy died in McLean, Virginia
McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxim ...
.
In 1988, the U.S. Army established the John W. Macy, Jr., Award that recognizes demonstrated excellence in the leadership of civilians by an Army military or civilian supervisor. The first awardee was John T. Lovo, Director of Engineering and Housing for the US Army in Munich, Germany.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macy, John
1917 births
1986 deaths
American University alumni
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials
Military personnel from Illinois
People from Chicago
Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients
United States Army officers
United States Army personnel of World War II
Wesleyan University alumni