William L. Clayton on the cover of Time Magazine, August 17, 1936

William Lockhart Clayton February 7, 1880 - February 8, 1966 was an American business leader and government official. Born near Tupelo, Mississippi, he grew up in Jackson, Tennessee. Leaving school at age 13, he became an expert stenographer, which earned him a job as private secretary to Jerome Hall, a Saint Louis cotton merchant. In 1896, Clayton went to work for the American Cotton Company in New York City, becoming an assistant general manager in 1904. He left the company later that year to join with two other partners in starting Anderson, Clayton and Company, a cotton marketing firm based in Oklahoma City. In 1916, the firm moved its headquarters to Houston, Texas, where it grew to be the world's largest cotton-trading enterprise. February 7 is the 38th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1880 was a leap year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1966 was a common year starting on Saturday (link goes to calendar) // Events January January 1 - In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa ousts president David Dacko and takes over the Central African Republic. ... Tupelo is a city located in Lee County, Mississippi. ... Jackson is a city located in Madison County, Tennessee. ... Shorthand is a writing method that can be done at speed because an abbreviated or symbolic form of language is used. ... Saint Louis (pronounced in English, in French), frequently spelled St. ... Cotton is a soft fibre that grows around the seeds of the cotton plant, a shrub native to the tropical and subtropical regions of both the Old World and the New World. ... 1896 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Midtown Manhattan, looking north from the Empire State Building, 2005 New York City (officially named the City of New York) is the most populous city in the United States, the most densely populated major city in North America, and is at the center of international finance, politics, entertainment, and culture. ... 1904 is a leap year starting on a Friday (link will take you to calendar). ... Downtown Oklahoma City The State Capitol of Oklahoma From The South Oklahoma City is the capital and largest city of the state of Oklahoma in the United States of America. ... 1916 is a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar) // Events January-February January 1 -The first successful blood transfusion using blood that had been stored and cooled. ... Downtown Houston Uptown Houston City nickname: Space City Location in the state of Texas Founded   â€” Incorporated 1836 1837 Counties Harris County Fort Bend County Montgomery County Mayor Bill White Area   â€” Land   â€” Water 601. ...

Clayton entered government service in World War I as a member of the Cotton Distribution Committee. Although he was a Democrat, he opposed the New Deal agricultural policies of Democratic President Franklin D. Roosevelt, but the New Deal's free trade policies led him to support Roosevelt in the 1936 election. the world war was a time of cheese ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States. ... The New Deal was President Franklin D. Roosevelts legislative agenda for rescuing the United States from the Great Depression. ... President is a title held by many leaders of organizations, companies, universities, and countries. ... Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882–April 12, 1945), 32nd President of the United States, the longest-serving holder of the office and the only man to be elected President more than twice, was one of the central figures of 20th century history. ... Free trade is an economic concept referring to the selling of products between countries without tariffs or other trade barriers. ... 1936 was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ...

IN 1940, Clayton returned to government service in the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, then moved to the Export-Import Bank, where he worked to procure strategic materials for the United States and to deny them to Nazi Germany. After a series of administrative shuffles, Clayton found himself working under Vice-President Henry A. Wallace. Disagreements between them led Clayton to resign in January 1944, only to return to government service a month later as Surplus War Property Administrator under James F. Byrnes in the Office of War Mobilization. 1940 was a leap year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was chartered under United States President Herbert Hoover in 1932. ... The Export-Import Bank of the United States (“Ex-Im Bank”, “Exim Bank” or “Eximbank”) is an independent bank established by Congress that finances or insures foreign purchases of U.S. goods for customers unable or unwilling to accept credit risk. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... A vice president is an officer in government or business who is next in rank below a president. ... Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) served as the 33rd Vice President of the United States. ... 1944 was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will take you to calendar). ... Portrait of U.S. Secretary of State James F. Byrnes James Francis Byrnes (May 2, 1879 – April 9, 1972) was a confidante of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and at one point was suggested as his running mate for Vice President. ...

At the end of 1944, Clayton was named the first Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, a post that allowed him to promote the free trade policies that he believed in. He was a member of the Interim Committee appointed to advise Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson and President Harry S. Truman on problems expected to arise from the development of the atomic bomb and he was an economic advisor to Truman at the Potsdam Conference. The Seal of the United States Secretary of State The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. ... The Secretary of War was a member of the Presidents Cabinet, beginning with George Washingtons administration. ... Henry L. Stimson Henry Lewis Stimson (September 21, 1867 – October 20, 1950) was an American statesman, who served as Secretary of War, Governor-General of the Philippines, and Secretary of State at various times. ... Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884–December 26, 1972) was the thirty-fourth Vice President (1945) and the thirty-third President of the United States (1945 – 1953), succeeding to the office upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt. ... The mushroom cloud of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, 1945, rose some 18 km (11 mi) above the epicenter. ... Attlee, Truman, and Stalin at Potsdam The Potsdam Conference was a conference held in Potsdam, Germany (near Berlin), from July 17 to August 2, 1945. ...

Clayton strongly supported American economic aid to rebuild Europe after World War II and had a major role in shaping the Marshall Plan in 1947. In 1948, he returned to his private business in Houston, but remained active in efforts to promote free trade and economic cooperation between the United States and its allies during the Cold War. In 1963, when Clayton was in his eighties, President John F. Kennedy asked him to work on the national export expansion program and the limited nuclear test ban treaty. World War II was a truly global conflict with many facets: immense human suffering, fierce indoctrinations, and the use of new, extremely devastating weapons like the atom bomb World War II, also known as the Second World War, was by far the bloodiest, most expensive, and most significant war in... Map of Europe showing the countries that received Marshall Plan aid. ... 1947 was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... 1948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). ... For the generic term for a high-tension rivalry between countries, see cold war (war). ... 1963 was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... JFK redirects here. ... The Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space, and Under Water, often abbreviated as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT), Limited Test Ban Treaty (LTBT), or Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (NTBT), although the former also refers to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), is a treaty...

Reference

John A. Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds),Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement No. 8, 1966-1970, New York:Charles Scribner's Sons (1988) pp. 88-90.