Robert Ten Broeck Stevens (July 31, 1899January 31, 1983) was an American businessman and former chairman of J. P. Stevens and Company, which was one of the most established textile manufacturing plants in the US. He served as the

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

between February 4, 1953, until July 21, 1955.

Biography

Stevens was born on July 31, 1899, in Fanwood, New Jersey to

John Peters Stevens John Peters Stevens (February 2, 1868 – October 27, 1929) was the CEO of the J. P. Stevens Textile Corporation. He was the president of Cotton Merchants' Association and Woolen Manufacturers' Association. Early life Stevens was born on ...

and Edna Ten Broeck. He attended

Phillips Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

and graduated in 1917. After serving as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

field artillery Field artillery is a category of mobile artillery used to support armies in the field. These weapons are specialized for mobility, tactical proficiency, short range, long range, and extremely long range target engagement. Until the early 20t ...

in World War I he attended and graduated from Yale University. He became president of J.P. Stevens and Company in 1929. It is now part of a conglomerate— WestPoint Home. In 1941, Stevens attended a civilian course at the Army Command and General Staff School. In 1942, he was recalled to active duty in the

Quartermaster Corps Following is a list of Quartermaster Corps, military units, active and defunct, with logistics duties: * Egyptian Army Quartermaster Corps - see Structure of the Egyptian Army * Hellenic Army Quartermaster Corps (''Σώμα Φροντιστών ...

as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

. Promoted to colonel, he served in the United States during most of World War II except for a temporary assignment in Europe, returning to civilian life in 1945. He served as chairman of

The Business Council The Business Council is an organization of business leaders headquartered in Washington, D.C.United States Department of Commerce in 1951 and 1952.The Business Council, Official website, Background
On January 29, 1953, Stevens was nominated to be Secretary of the Army by President

Dwight 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, ...

and appeared for a hearing before the

Senate Committee on Armed Services The Committee on Armed Services (sometimes abbreviated SASC for ''Senate Armed Services Committee'') is a committee of the United States Senate empowered with legislative oversight of the nation's military, including the Department of Defe ...

that same day. After confirmation, he came into conflict with Senator

Joseph McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the most visi ...

over a series of issues that ultimately led to the Army-McCarthy hearings of 1954. In the fall of 1953, McCarthy began an investigation into the United States Army Signal Corps laboratory at Fort Monmouth. McCarthy's aggressive questioning of army personnel was damaging to morale, but failed to reveal any sign of the "dangerous spies" that McCarthy alleged to exist. Next McCarthy investigated the case of

Irving Peress Irving Peress (July 31, 1917 – November 13, 2014) was an American dentist and military officer who became a primary target for investigation of alleged communist leanings during the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings. Early life Peress was born in th ...

, an Army dentist who had refused to answer questions in a loyalty-review questionnaire. As various officers, scientists and other army staff were subjected to McCarthy's often abusive questioning, Stevens was criticized for capitulating to many of McCarthy's demands and not supporting his men. Concurrent with these events, McCarthy's chief counsel,

Roy Cohn Roy Marcus Cohn (; February 20, 1927 – August 2, 1986) was an American lawyer and prosecutor who came to prominence for his role as Senator Joseph McCarthy's chief counsel during the Army–McCarthy hearings in 1954, when he assisted McCarth ...

, had been pressuring the army, including Stevens, to give preferential treatment to his friend

G. David Schine Gerard David Schine, better known as G. David Schine or David Schine (September 11, 1927 – June 19, 1996), was the wealthy heir to a hotel chain fortune who became a central figure in the Army–McCarthy hearings of 1954 in his role as the chi ...

, who had recently been drafted. The Army-McCarthy hearings were held to investigate the Army's charge that McCarthy and Cohn were making improper demands on behalf of Schine, and McCarthy's counter charge that the Army was holding Schine "hostage" in an attempt to halt McCarthy's investigations into the Army. During the hearings, McCarthy questioned Stevens for several days. Although Stevens is generally considered to have handled the hearings poorly, it was McCarthy who fared worst in the month-long investigation. The exposure before a television audience of McCarthy's methods and manners during the hearings are credited with playing a major role in his ultimate downfall. Stevens wanted to resign after the incident but Vice-President Richard Nixon convinced him not to.

J. P. Stevens & Company

Robert T. Stevens had a fifty-year career with J. P. Stevens & Company—named after New York-based John Peter Stevens who made his fortune by selling the products of his grandfather's Massachusetts-based family business which dated back to the War of 1812. Under John Peter Stevens it became one of the largest textile companies in the United States with mills in the North and South. By the age of thirty Robert T. Stevens was president of the company. During his tenure it was "one of the world's largest, most diversified textile organizations." He left Stevens for two-years to serve as

and by July 1955 he returned to Stevens where he remained until his retirement. He became director emeritus in 1974. Like many other companies in post-World War II United States, Stevens moved the company south specifically because he "wanted to pay lower wages and avoid unions." By 1963 Stevens was the second-largest company in the United States with 36,000 employees—mainly in the Southern states. For that reason it was selected by the union as the target of a major organizing campaign. Stevens's employees earned "wages that were well below the manufacturing average, and they had few benefits." Stevens resented his company being singled out by the union, and made an aggressive stand. From 1963 to 1980 the company and the union entered into a bitter struggle that became known as the J. P. Stevens campaign or controversy.

Personal life

His children include Bob Stevens from Helena, Montana, J. Whitney Stevens from New York, and Tom Stevens from Florida. The family still owns an est. cattle ranch called the American Fork in Two Dot, Montana. Stevens died on January 30, 1983, in

Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These invention ...

, New Jersey. He was buried at the West Point Cemetery on February 3, 1983.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stevens, Robert T 1899 births 1983 deaths People from Fanwood, New Jersey Phillips Academy alumni United States Army personnel of World War I Military personnel from New Jersey Yale College alumni American business executives United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army colonels Eisenhower administration personnel United States Secretaries of the Army McCarthyism People from Edison, New Jersey Burials at West Point Cemetery