41 Facts About Rogers Morton

Rogers Clark Ballard Morton was an American politician who served as the US Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Commerce during the administrations of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford, respectively.

Rogers Morton served as a member of the US House of Representatives from Maryland.

In 1968, Rogers Morton played a major role in Richard Nixon's campaign for president, and was chosen by Nixon in 1969 to serve as chairman of the Republican National Committee.

In 1971, President Nixon tapped Rogers Morton to serve as Secretary of the Interior, during which time he oversaw the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System and the 1973 oil crisis.

Rogers Morton was the only person from the East Coast to serve as head of the Interior Department in the 20th century.

From April to August 1976, Rogers Morton served as Ford's campaign manager in his bid for election.

Rogers Morton was related to George Rogers Clark, a military officer who served during the American Revolutionary War.

Morton was one of three children; his brother Thruston B Morton had a career in politics, serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee and representing Kentucky in both the United States House of Representatives and then the United States Senate.

Rogers Morton received his early education from the Woodberry Forest School near Orange, Virginia, and in 1937 graduated from Yale University, where he was a brother of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

In 1938, Rogers Morton was commissioned in the United States Navy but only served for a short time due to problems with his back.

In 1941, at the outset of World War II, Rogers Morton enlisted in the Armored Field Artillery of the United States Army as a private and served in the European Theater.

Rogers Morton received a commission during the war and left the army as a captain in 1945.

In 1952, the business was merged into the Pillsbury Flour Company, where Rogers Morton went on to serve as a director and a member of the executive committee for several more years.

In 1947, Rogers Morton spent a great deal of time helping his brother Thruston in his ultimately successful campaign for election to the House of Representatives in Kentucky.

Rogers Morton was lauded for not making Johnson's legal troubles his primary campaign issue.

Rogers Morton was reelected to Congress four more times, and served from 1963 until 1971.

In Congress, Rogers Morton worked to enact legislation that would preserve the Chesapeake Bay, including laws reducing pollution into the bay, working for the creation of a national park on Assateague Island, and providing funds to the Army Corps of Engineers to model how the Bay functions as an estuary.

Rogers Morton delivered the speech nominating Spiro Agnew, then-governor of Maryland, as the vice presidential candidate.

Rogers Morton had been considered for Nixon's vice presidential running mate, but lost out to Agnew.

In 1969, leading up to the 1970 elections, Rogers Morton was considered one of the strongest potential candidates to challenge incumbent Democratic senator Joseph Tydings.

Rogers Morton had sought the Republican nomination for Maryland's other US Senate seat in the 1968 elections, but bowed out in favor of Congressman Charles Mathias to prevent a primary battle.

Speculation that Rogers Morton would seek election to Tydings' seat increased after an editorial in the Baltimore Sun encouraged him to challenge Tydings.

Sources within the administration of Vice President Spiro Agnew, who was formerly governor of Maryland, were commenting that Rogers Morton would make a strong candidate and would likely run.

When Rogers Morton stated he would be making an important announcement with President Nixon in December 1969, it seemed all but certain at the time that it would be to declare his candidacy.

However, Republicans around the country were concerned that Rogers Morton, who had just been appointed chairman of the RNC in January 1969, would resign during the election season to better handle the battle with Tydings.

President Nixon shared their concerns, and encouraged Rogers Morton to remain as chairman.

On December 16,1969, with Nixon by his side, Rogers Morton announced that his priorities were with the national committee, and that he would not seek Tydings' seat.

Rogers Morton continued to serve in the House and as chairman of the RNC until 1971, when he was nominated to be Secretary of the Interior by President Nixon.

Rogers Morton was unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate Subcommittee on the Interior, though some concerns regarding Morton's record of environmental protection were raised by Phillip Berry, then-President of the Sierra Club.

Rogers Morton was the only person from the east coast to serve as Interior Secretary in the 20th century.

Furthermore, though Rogers Morton was the one who announced the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System, speculation was put forward that he did not play a major role in determining its route.

Rogers Morton was criticized for lacking the vigor necessary to serve as head of a cabinet department, and for failing to see through the proposed creation of a new, stronger cabinet department that would have replaced Interior.

In March 1975, while still serving as the head of the Interior Department, Rogers Morton was nominated by Ford to serve as the next Secretary of Commerce.

In January 1976, Ford announced Rogers Morton would be resigning as commerce secretary to instead serve as Counselor to the President with cabinet rank.

In rebuttal, Rogers Morton stated "you can't separate government from politics", and that Presidential aides should be allowed to offer political advice.

Rogers Morton replaced former US Representative Bo Callaway of Georgia, who was forced to resign following allegations of improper use of authority while he was Secretary of the Army.

Rogers Morton directed Ford's campaign until August 25,1976, when he was reassigned as chairman of a steering committee and was replaced by James Baker of Houston, Texas.

Rogers Morton's demotion was at his own request; he said that he no longer wished to bear "the responsibility and accountability of the chairmanship".

Rogers Morton had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 1973, but he said that the disease was in its early phase and was still treatable.

In 1979 Rogers Morton died of the cancer at his home in Easton.

Rogers Morton is interred in Old Wye Cemetery in Wye Mills, Maryland.