Leon Henderson (May 26, 1895 – October 19, 1986) was the administrator of the

Office of Price Administration The Office of Price Administration (OPA) was established within the Office for Emergency Management of the United States government by Executive Order 8875 on August 28, 1941. The functions of the OPA were originally to control money ( price con ...

from 1941 to 1942. He also served as a member of several United States federal government agencies during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Life and career

Henderson was born in

Millville, New Jersey Millville is a city in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's population was 27,491, a decrease of 909 (−3.2%) from the 2010 census count of 28,400, which in turn reflected an in ...

, where he attended Millville High School, and later

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

. Hired by the

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Maryland to its south, West ...

to serve during the first term of Governor Gifford Pinchot, Henderson assisted Pinchot in creating the Pennsylvania State Employees’ Retirement System in 1923 and served as deputy secretary of state. He also taught at Carnegie Tech (now

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

) and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

. From 1925 to 1934, Henderson was the director of remedial loans at the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...

. Henderson worked as an economic adviser in President

Franklin Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

's administration before he was appointed to the

Securities and Exchange Commission The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government, created in the aftermath of the Wall Street crash of 1929. Its primary purpose is to enforce laws against market m ...

in 1939. In 1941 he became head of the

. His tenure there was controversial and he was deeply unpopular, especially with farmers.

Edwin W. Pauley Edwin Wendell Pauley Sr. (January 7, 1903 – July 28, 1981) was an American businessman and political leader. Early life Born in Indianapolis, Indiana, to Elbert L. Pauley and the former Ellen Van Petten, he attended Occidental College, in nor ...

, secretary of the

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

in 1942, listed five factors for Democratic losses in the 1942 election, and resentment of Leon Henderson was listed as one of the top five reasons for that defeat. As he wrote, "This was the most universal and serious complaint of all ... It appears from the letters that the complaint is directed rather at Mr. Henderson and his attitude and methods than at the abstract question of ... rationing and price control."Blum, John Morton. ''V Was For Victory''. New York, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. Pg 233. Those losses ensured that no more

New Deal The New Deal was a series of wide-reaching economic, social, and political reforms enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1938, in response to the Great Depression in the United States, Great Depressi ...

social measures would be passed by the US during World War II, and that many of them would be repealed. Henderson was replaced after the 1942 election and went into a career in business. He died in 1986. Before his death, he personally donated many of his papers to the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library.

References

External links

Leon Henderson

United Nations
Leon Henderson 1945.04.25 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, Leon 1895 births 1986 deaths Millville High School (New Jersey) alumni People from Millville, New Jersey Swarthmore College alumni Members of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission New Jersey Democrats Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel