After MHS and Kansas State (member of the Class of 31), Fred Seaton began his career in politics and public service
when he became secretary to 1936 presidential candidate Alfred M. Landon. In 1937, he moved to Hastings, Nebraska
to publish the local newspaper. He was elected to the Nebraska State Legislature from 1945-1949, and then
appointed to the United States Senate in 1951. He next served in various White House and sub-cabinet posts during
President Eisenhower’s administration, including Assistant Secretary of Defense 1953-1955, administrative assistant to
the President, and deputy assistant until May 1956. Seaton organized the Army-McCarthy hearings that brought down
Sen. Joseph McCarthy. For his service in the Defense Department, he received the Presidential Medal of Honor.
In 1956, he was appointed U. S. Secretary of the Interior. As Secretary of the Interior, Seaton advocated long
range planning between federal and local governments and private enterprise. He was a strong advocate of
conservation, promoting the most comprehensive long range program of park development to that time. Alaska and
Hawaii gained statehood during his tenure and he is given most of the credit for bringing them to statehood. Fred
Seaton died in 1974.
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