Word: bensons
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...expressly chosen "to help restore faith in the Government" still remains, although he has received more criticism from more directions than any other Cabinet member. Ezra Taft Benson was, in many ways, the very man to embody the idea of the Eisenhower crusade. In 1952, Eisenhower tried to give religious character to his campaign. A perfect choice for a Cabinet post was a man who was obviously religious, one of the highest officers of the Mormon Church. The American press received Benson quite favorably. His religious character, his impeccable family life, and his personal wholesomeness made a favorable impression...
...Benson himself viewed his job as something of a religious mission, he was initially very dubious about taking the job, his Church work being very important and enjoyable to him. But, in November of 1952, Eisenhower met with him and persuaded Benson of the sincerity of his own religious convictions and of the religious quality of his crusade; Benson joined...
There were, of course, other reasons for choosing Benson Secretary of Agriculture. He knew about agriculture on all levels; he was an exceptional nominee in that he was acceptable to both the American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Farmer's Union, the right and left wing of the farm bloc. He was recommended for the job by some very important Republicans: the late Senator Taft, Thomas Dewey and Milton Eisenhower. His appointment was also very advantageous to the Republican Party in the West. The Mormons are heavily concentrated in Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and Southern California and in most other...
Despite all his qualifications, Benson had very definite beliefs about the agricultural policy. He did not believe in government hand-outs to farmers, but rather in individual initiative in establishing cooperative action. When his views became apparent early in his term, Senator Kerr predicted that he would cause the Republicans to be defeated in the 1954 elections. The title of an article, "Elder Benson's Going to Catch It" in the Saturday Evening Post proved prophetic...
...Benson did catch it during and after the 1954 elections. Farm state republicans began to murmur for his resignation and the murmur increased its intensity with the sagging farm economy, the declining farm population, and the 1956 elections. Despite this criticism, Benson was not the man to effect a Nixon-like change in values, and continued in his position of refusing to heavily subsidize the farmer...