Free-trade champion who built the world's largest cotton firm, then set the Marshall Plan in motion with his memo on Europe's collapse
In his memo to Secretary Marshall on May 27, 1947, Clayton wrote: 'Without further prompt and substantial aid from the United States, economic, social and political disintegration will overwhelm Europe.'
Clayton left school at thirteen and rose from stenographer to build Anderson, Clayton & Company into the world's largest cotton trading firm. A Democratic free-trader, he was named Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs in 1944 and Under Secretary in 1946; returning from Europe in May 1947, he sent George Marshall his memo 'The European Crisis,' warning that 'without further prompt and substantial aid from the United States, economic, social and political disintegration will overwhelm Europe.' The memo became the direct catalyst for the Marshall Plan announcement, and Charles Bohlen drew heavily on Clayton's language when drafting the speech. In retirement he championed free trade and Atlantic alliance, co-founding the Atlantic Council with Christian Herter in 1961.
Career Timeline
- 1880Born on a cotton farm near Tupelo, Mississippi
- 1904Co-founded Anderson, Clayton & Company in Oklahoma City as a cotton brokerage
- 1916Moved headquarters to Houston; firm grew into the world's largest cotton trader
- 1918Served on the Cotton Distribution Committee of the War Industries Board
- 1940–1944Served successively with the RFC, Export-Import Bank, and Surplus War Property Administration
- 1944–1946Assistant Secretary of State for Economic Affairs; economic adviser at the Potsdam Conference
- 1946–1947Under Secretary for Economic Affairs; his 'European Crisis' memo catalyzed the Marshall Plan
- 1961Co-founded the Atlantic Council with Christian Herter