Frederick Andrew Seaton (December 11, 1909 – January 16, 1974) was an American newspaperman and politician. He represented the U.S. state of

Nebraska Nebraska ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Ka ...

in the U.S. Senate and served as U.S. Secretary of the Interior during Dwight D. Eisenhower's administration.

Early life

Seaton was born in Washington, D.C., on December 11, 1909, the son of Dorothea Elizabeth (''née'' Schmidt) and Fay Noble Seaton. He attended the Manhattan High School in

Manhattan, Kansas Manhattan is a city in and the county seat of Riley County, Kansas, United States, although the city extends into Pottawatomie County, Kansas, Pottawatomie County. It is located in northeastern Kansas at the junction of the Kansas River and Big ...

. He graduated from Kansas State University in 1931, and married Gladys Hope Dowd (November 5, 1910 – January 5, 1999) in the same year. They had four children: Donald Richard, Alfred Noble, Johanna Christine, and Monica Margaret Seaton. In 1937, Seaton moved to

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city in and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Neb ...

, where he was for many years the publisher of the '' Hastings Tribune''.

Political career

Seaton was active in Republican politics. He served in the

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

from 1945 to 1949. He was appointed to the U.S. Senate on December 10, 1951, by Gov. Val Peterson to fill the vacancy created by the death of Kenneth S. Wherry. A Rockefeller Republican, Seaton was senator for less than a year; he had to vacate the post on November 4, 1952, when Dwight Griswold won the 1952 special election to complete the Senate term. He was the second of six Senators to serve during the fifteenth Senate term for Nebraska's Class 2 seat, from January 3, 1949, to January 3, 1955. Seaton served in various White House and subcabinet posts in Eisenhower's administration, including Assistant Secretary of Defense for Legislative Affairs, before he was appointed as the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. He served in that office from June 8, 1956, until January 20, 1961. During his tenure,

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

became the 49th and 50th states admitted to the Union. He was instrumental in the passing of the Alaska Statehood Act, appointing and recommending pro-Alaska politicians to high positions, such as

Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a United States Senate, U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Party (United St ...

to Senior Counsel to the Secretary of Interior (later becoming Solicitor in 1960) and Mike Stepovich to Governor of the Territory of Alaska. He ran for governor of Nebraska in

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

but was defeated by the incumbent Democrat, Gov. Frank B. Morrison (Olson, p. 335). Following his defeat, Seaton became a strong advocate for campaign finance reform in Nebraska. Seaton died in

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, on January 16, 1974, and is interred in Parkview Cemetery in Hastings, Nebraska.

External links

Papers of Fred A. Seaton, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential LibraryCongressional biography
biography at Kansas State Historical Society Website * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seaton, Fred A. 1909 births 1974 deaths American newspaper publishers (people) Kansas State University alumni Recipients of the Medal of Freedom Republican Party Nebraska state senators United States secretaries of the interior American Episcopalians Politicians from Washington, D.C. Politicians from Manhattan, Kansas Politicians from Hastings, Nebraska Republican Party United States senators from Nebraska Eisenhower administration cabinet members United States Assistant Secretaries of Defense 20th-century United States senators 20th-century members of the Nebraska Legislature

Early life

Political career

Further reading

External links