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Stewart E. McClure

Chief Clerk, Senate Committee on Labor, Education, and Public Welfare

When the Russians launched Sputnik, Stewart McClure as Chief Clerk of the Committee on Labor, Education and Public Welfare suggested that an education bill currently being considered might stand a better chance of passage if it were packaged as a defense measure. From his memo was born the National Defense Education Act. Having previously served as Administrative Assistant to Senator Guy Gillette (an Iowa Democrat), McClure became Chief of Staff of the Labor Committee in 1955 under the chairmanship of Senator Lister Hill, and again in 1971 under the chairmanship of Senator Harrison Williams. He recounts the avalanche of domestic legislation that the committee handled during the Great Society and offers candid assessments of the internal politics and stresses of committee life during those years.

Table of Contents:

Preface

1) On the Staff of Guy Gillette

2) The Senate in the 1950s

3) With Lister Hill on the Labor Committee

4) The National Defense Education Act

5) Life on the Senate Staff

6) The Great Society

7) On the Public Works Committee

8) Harrison Williams and the Labor Committee

Index

Citation: Scholarly citation: "Stewart E. McClure: Chief Clerk, Senate Committee on Labor, Education, and Public Welfare (1949-1973)," Oral History Interviews, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.

Deed of Gift: I, Stewart E. McClure, do hereby give to the Senate Historical Office the tape recordings and transcripts of my interviews on December 8, and December 16, 1982, and January 11, January 28, March 1, March 22, April 14, and May 3, 1983. I authorize the Senate Historical Office to use the tapes and transcripts in such a manner as may best serve the educational and historical objectives of their oral history program. I also approve the deposits of the transcripts at the Library of Congress, National Archives, Senate Library, and any other institution which the Senate Historical Office may deem appropriate. Selected portions of the transcripts will remain closed until January 1, 1990. In making this gift, I voluntarily convey ownership of the tapes and transcripts to the public domain. Stewart E. McClure August 6, 1984 Accepted on behalf of the Senate Historical Office by: Richard A. Baker