Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford
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| Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford | |
|---|---|
| Name | Clark Clifford |
| Caption | Clifford in 1968 |
| Birth date | May 25, 1906 |
| Birth place | Kansas City, Missouri |
| Death date | October 10, 1998 |
| Death place | Bethesda, Maryland |
| Occupation | Lawyer, advisor, statesman |
| Title | United States Secretary of Defense |
| Term start | January 21, 1968 |
| Term end | March 31, 1969 |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
Secretary of Defense Clark Clifford was an American lawyer, political adviser, and senior statesman who served as United States Secretary of Defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson from 1968 to 1969. A longtime counselor to Democratic presidents and candidates, he influenced policy across administrations, bridging relationships with figures such as Harry S. Truman, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, and Jimmy Carter. Clifford’s tenure coincided with pivotal moments in the Vietnam War, debates over civil-military relations, and ensuing controversies that shaped his later reputation.
Early life and education
Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Clifford grew up during the progressive and post‑Progressive eras that followed the Panic of 1907 and World War I. He attended Westport High School (Kansas City), then matriculated at University of Missouri where he studied law and joined campus organizations linked to regional politics and the Missouri legal establishment. Clifford completed his law degree at the University of Michigan Law School, gaining credentials that launched a career bridging private practice and national politics amid the interwar and Great Depression periods.
Legal and political career before the Department of Defense
Clifford established himself as a partner at the prominent law firm Sullivan & Cromwell-style firms in the Midwestern corporate environment, later co‑founding influential practices in St. Louis and Washington, D.C.. He served as counsel to national figures including Harry S. Truman during postwar transition discussions and became a close adviser to Adlai Stevenson II in the 1952 United States presidential election and 1960 United States presidential election cycles. Clifford chaired or advised commissions and institutions such as the Democratic National Committee and engaged with policy networks connected to the Marshall Plan era and North Atlantic Treaty Organization. His roles entwined legal representation with political strategy, earning him a reputation as a discreet fixer in administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt legacy officials and Cold War policymaking circles.
Appointment as Secretary of Defense
In late 1967 and early 1968, amid the political turmoil of the Tet Offensive and growing domestic unrest after the 1968 Democratic National Convention precursor crises, President Lyndon B. Johnson selected Clifford to replace Robert McNamara as Secretary of Defense. Clifford’s nomination reflected his status as a trusted counselor within the Democratic Party and his relationships with congressional leaders such as Mike Mansfield and Carl Vinson. The choice aimed to stabilize ties between the Pentagon bureaucracy, the White House, and lawmakers during a campaign season shaped by the Civil Rights Movement and antiwar protests associated with organizations like the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee.
Tenure and domestic policy initiatives
As Secretary, Clifford managed interactions among the Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and civilian agencies including the State Department and Central Intelligence Agency. He sought administrative reforms affecting procurement and personnel, consulted with figures such as George C. Marshall veterans and modernizers who had shaped the National Security Act of 1947, and worked with congressional committees led by lawmakers like Wayne Morse and Strom Thurmond on oversight. Clifford engaged with domestic political issues where defense policy intersected with social unrest, coordinating military support for federal law enforcement under statutes influenced by precedents from the Insurrection Act of 1807 and court decisions emerging from the Warren Court era.
Vietnam War and military policy
Clifford arrived during a turning point in Vietnam War strategy after escalations under Robert McNamara and advisement from military commanders such as William Westmoreland. While initially defending administration policy, Clifford grew critical of expansionary options and advocated for negotiations involving representatives akin to envoys like Dean Rusk and intermediaries influenced by Henry Kissinger-style shuttle diplomacy. He recommended de-escalation measures, troop rotations, and greater emphasis on diplomatic avenues leading toward the later Paris Peace Accords (1973) trajectory. His stewardship involved balancing civil‑military relations with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and responding to congressional pressures from proponents of both continued prosecution and negotiated settlement.
Controversies and criticisms
Clifford’s postwar career attracted controversies, particularly related to his private legal work and corporate clients such as energy and defense contractors that intersected with federal policy decisions. Critics in the press, Congress, and watchdogs compared his advisory roles to conflicts highlighted in cases involving firms like Pennzoil and sectors tied to the OPEC era energy disputes. Questions arose over influence peddling and the revolving door between government and private practice, provoking inquiries reminiscent of ethics debates prompted by scandals involving figures in the Nixon administration and reform impulses that produced statutes modeled after ethics recommendations of the Watergate investigations. Academic critics and journalists debated Clifford’s shifting public positions on Vietnam relative to his prior counseling during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
Later career, legacy, and death
After leaving the Department of Defense in 1969, Clifford resumed private law practice, served on corporate boards including major banks and oil companies, and counseled presidents and candidates such as Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton on national affairs. He participated in commissions addressing defense reform, energy policy, and diplomatic initiatives linked to the later Cold War détente with the Soviet Union and arms control dialogues like the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks. Historians place Clifford among influential mid‑20th century advisors whose careers illuminate intersections of law, politics, and national security; his papers and accounts informed biographies and studies by scholars of the Vietnam War and presidential decision‑making. Clifford died in Bethesda, Maryland in 1998, leaving a contested legacy debated in works about the Johnson administration, Cold War policy, and American public ethics.