United States
HISTORY

Secretaries of Agriculture

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As early as 1796, President Washington called on Congress to establish a national board of agriculture. Although the bill was considered in that session, it never reached a vote and it would be another 40 years before agriculture would be represented by a federal agency. From 1836 to 1862, agricultural interests were promoted by the Patent Office. Commissioner Henry Leavitt Ellsworth helped lay the foundation for the subsequent Department of Agriculture through his work.

Largely through efforts by the U.S. Agricultural Society in the 1850's, a law was passed in 1862 establishing the Department of Agriculture with Isaac Newton as its first commissioner. In 1884, the Bureau of Animal Industry was created and six years later the Weather Bureau was transferred from the War Department. Only in 1889 did the Department achieve cabin status, after a long campaign on its behalf by the National Grange.

The Department of Agriculture's mission is to enhance the quality of life for the American people by supporting production of agriculture, to

• ensure a safe, affordable, nutritious and accessible food supply
• care for agricultural, forest and range lands
• support sound development of rural communities
• provide economic opportunities for farm and rural residents
• expand global markets for agricultural and forest products and services
• and work to reduce hunger in America and throughout the world.

The Secretary of Agriculture is appointed by the president with the approval of the Senate. The undersecretary is the secretary's assistant and serves as acting secretary in his or her absence. The staff also includes assistant secretaries and service directors.

Term of Service	Secretary	Home State	Administration
1889	Norman J. Coleman	Missouri	Cleveland
1889 - 1893	Jeremiah M. Rusk	Wisconsin	B. Harrison
1893 - 1897	J. Sterling Morton	Nebraska	Cleveland
1897 - 1901	James Wilson	Iowa	McKinley
1901 - 1909	James Wilson	Iowa	T. Roosevelt
1909 - 1913	James Wilson	Iowa	Taft
1913 - 1920	David F. Houston	Missouri	Wilson
1920 - 1921	Edwin T. Meredith	Iowa	Wilson
1921 - 1923	Henry C. Wallace	Iowa	Harding
1923 - 1924	Henry C. Wallace	Iowa	Coolidge
1924 - 1925	Howard M. Gore	West Virginia	Coolidge
1925 - 1929	William M. Jardine	Kansas	Coolidge
1929 - 1933	Arthur M. Hyde	Missouri	Hoover
1933 - 1940	Henry A. Wallace	Iowa	F.D. Roosevelt
1940 - 1945	Claude R. Wickard	Indiana	F.D. Roosevelt
1945 - 1948	Clinton P. Anderson	New Mexico	Truman
1948 - 1953	Charles F. Brannan	Colorado	Truman
1953 - 1961	Ezra Taft Benson	Utah	Eisenhower
1961 - 1963	Orville L. Freeman	Minnesota	Kennedy
1963 - 1969	Orville L. Freeman	Minnesota	L.B. Johnson
1969 - 1974	Clifford M. Hardin	Indiana	Nixon
1974	Earl L. Butz	Indiana	Nixon
1974 - 1976	Earl L. Butz	Indiana	Ford
1976 - 1977	John A. Knebel	Virginia	Ford
1977 - 1981	Bob Bergland	Minnesota	Carter
1981 - 1986	John R. Block	Illinois	Reagan
1986 - 1989	Richard E. Lyng	California	Reagan
1989 - 1991	Clayton K. Yeutter	Nebraska	G.H.W. Bush
1991 - 1993	Edward Madigan	Illinois	G.H.W. Bush
1993 - 1995	Mike Espy	Mississippi	Clinton
1995 - 2001	Dan Glickman	Kansas	Clinton
2001 -	Ann M. Veneman	California	G.W. Bush

See cabinet officers sorted by administration.

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