If Nixon had the 1960 US Presidential election, who would have been in his cabinet and in his White House staff? I've tried to look into this to come up with ideas but all I've really been able to discover is that his Vice President would have been Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. Any suggestions?
The Nixon White House 1960
- Thread starter Starchilde
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This period of time came about when I was 8 years old, so I don't recall a whole lot about politics at that point. That said, one likely cabinet member would have been Maryland governor Theodore McKeldin: he was respected and rather well thought of (I believe he might have made the short list of running mates for Nixon in '60, in fact), so his nomination as, perhaps, attorney general doesn't seem too far-fetched to me.
Going a bit further, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that Ike's last Secretary of State, Christian Herter, would have been kept on. Perhaps long-time California Senator William Knowland might have been appointed to head the Department of the Interior.
Going a bit further, it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility that Ike's last Secretary of State, Christian Herter, would have been kept on. Perhaps long-time California Senator William Knowland might have been appointed to head the Department of the Interior.
Thanks for the responses so far, especially those from 1940LaSalle. You folks have brought some names to the table that I can research. In terms of bringing people over from the Eisenhower administration, I begin to wonder if Allen Welsh Dulles would have been kept on as the head of the CIA.
It's interesting to note that (apparently) during the 1960 campaign Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. made a comment that, if elected, the Nixon administration would be a progressive one and place an African-American in a cabinet position. Regrettably I have no idea to whom or which cabinet position he may have been referring.
I'll do some more searching and post back with what I find. Again, thanks for the help and please keep making suggestions!
It's interesting to note that (apparently) during the 1960 campaign Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. made a comment that, if elected, the Nixon administration would be a progressive one and place an African-American in a cabinet position. Regrettably I have no idea to whom or which cabinet position he may have been referring.
I'll do some more searching and post back with what I find. Again, thanks for the help and please keep making suggestions!
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He did. Anyway, Nixon was seriously pissed off over Lodge the entire campaign and one of the major reasons he picked Agnew in 1968 was because he didn't want his VP candidate shooting his mouth off.
I think too Nixon would have kept a number of people on from Eisenhower's administration. As Vice President, Nixon had worked with these people, knew them and how they worked, I assume he worked well with them. So keeping some of them on at least in the early years of this Nixon Administration would have made a smoother transition between administrations.
I'm not sure if Lodge would have been Vice President if Nixon had been re-elected in 1964. We didn't see or hear much from Vice Presidents back then, so it's possible Lodge might have been put on a short leash and kept on to give the appearence of continuity.
I'm not sure if Lodge would have been Vice President if Nixon had been re-elected in 1964. We didn't see or hear much from Vice Presidents back then, so it's possible Lodge might have been put on a short leash and kept on to give the appearence of continuity.
All right, based on suggestions here and some research on my part I have come up with a partial list of people for the 1960 Nixon White House.
Pres. Richard Nixon
V.P Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Attorney General Theodore McKeldin
Sec. of State Christian Herter
Sec. of Defense William Knowland
Sec. of Interior Thomas S. Gates, Jr.
Herter and Knowland are holdovers from the later part of the Eisenhower administration. They were relatively young men and have a fair likihood of staying on. Although I do have some worries about this part since Nixon and Eisenhower never really got along - Ike even making some off-handed comments about Nixon's abilities. I begin to wonder if all of Ike's people felt the same way and whether any would have stayed on.
Additionally, I can see Allen Dulles continuing to run the CIA. I can certainly see Curtis LeMay becoming Chief of Staff of the USAF and lasting longer in that position than 1961.
Pres. Richard Nixon
V.P Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Attorney General Theodore McKeldin
Sec. of State Christian Herter
Sec. of Defense William Knowland
Sec. of Interior Thomas S. Gates, Jr.
Herter and Knowland are holdovers from the later part of the Eisenhower administration. They were relatively young men and have a fair likihood of staying on. Although I do have some worries about this part since Nixon and Eisenhower never really got along - Ike even making some off-handed comments about Nixon's abilities. I begin to wonder if all of Ike's people felt the same way and whether any would have stayed on.
Additionally, I can see Allen Dulles continuing to run the CIA. I can certainly see Curtis LeMay becoming Chief of Staff of the USAF and lasting longer in that position than 1961.
In this Time article of october 31 1960 is mentioned that his top campaign lieutenants were Labor Secretary James Mitchell, Attorney General William Rogers and Interior Secretary Fred Seaton.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938661,00.html
So I suppose that these three names should stay in a possible Nixon cabinet after his ATL victory at presidential elections of 1960.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,938661,00.html
So I suppose that these three names should stay in a possible Nixon cabinet after his ATL victory at presidential elections of 1960.