This blog post was written by History Ph.D. candidate Emma Fenske. It will be featured in three parts covering former Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson, his speeches, the Christian Right, and American agriculture politics from 1958-1961.
The Communist Threat
Ezra Taft Benson was given approval for his position as Secretary of Agriculture by Church president David O. McKay and granted a special blessing on the position, which led Benson to see the position as a divine “call from God” to stand against socialism and communism. [9]
Benson’s speeches deeply reflect this belief. Filled with language that warns of the threat of communism in the United States, Benson directly calls out the “revolution of the proletariat,” “communist philosophy,” the “Kremlin,” the “Soviets” and the “communist system.” [10] Benson ties extended government support and control as a slippery slope to Communism:
“The trend in many parts of the world has veered towards socialistic controls – toward regimentation – toward letting the government do it. This has reached its peak in Communist countries.” [11]
For Ezra Taft Benson, the farm, the family, and freedom were central to success within America in the fight against Communism:
“We are in a Cold War with Communism. In this conflict, our agriculture is one of our greatest assets. The productivity of our farmers outclasses that of Russian farmers, four or five to one. This is a tremendous asset. The underdeveloped nations need our agricultural science and our food. Let us continue to put this advantage to work. To do this we must stay free. I have faith in the people of the United States.” [12]
In 1959, Benson and some of his staff visited seven countries in Russia and Europe, and his experiences in these countries became central to the how he understood American prosperity on the farm. [13] Benson frequently mentioned within his speeches that he believed the “abundant blessings” of America were based on three pillars:
“1. Free enterprise – the right to venture – to choose.
- Private property – the right to own.
- A market economy – the right to exchange.” [14]
He found America’s great rates of productivity and agricultural abundance to be directly tied to the freedom of the farm. Communism simply did not allow the prosperity of the untied American farms. Benson believed that the slippery slope of federal funding would reduce the success of American farms, even if reducing this support meant cutting federal subsidies for small farmers.
Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson and his family on the farm [15]
While controversial for not supporting small farmers, the idea of the small farm and family were both deeply embedded in his identity and central to the War on Communism. To Benson, the independent spirit of the farm represented a space that was wholly American.
“Farmers, free to engage in production for the market, can continue to give America a horn of plenty and a balanced healthful diet. And in doing so, under freedom’s flag, they will share in the great and challenging task that lies ahead to make all men economically, socially, and spiritually free.” [16]
The family played another key role within Benson’s War on Communism. As a key theological position within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, as well as to the growing Christian Right movement, family values and embrace of the nuclear family appear within Benson’s rhetoric. [17]
In his speech to the National Youthpower Congress in Chicago on February 12, 1960, Benson highlighted the importance of nutrition and health for young people – but also highlighted Cold War threats, the centrality of the family, and the role of religion. Benson talks about how the “abundance and prosperity” of the United States, in contrast to the production of the USSR, can allow Americans to “get a little soft.” [18] Benson argues that American prosperity does not directly lead to good nutrition, and that nutritional education at school and within the home is central to this fight.
“But one of the most important factors of all in good nutrition is a happy family mealtime. Actually, it is my firm belief that where families fail in this respect, the effects extend far past nutrition. This is a factor in the weakening of family life. I believe it is a factor in the rise of juvenile delinquency.” [19]
“Mealtime, too, should be a period of communion with God – of family prayer. A few generations ago it was the common practice for mealtime to include a few moments of prayer, reading of the Scriptures, or singing familiar hymns. The asking of God’s blessing is still a part of mealtime in millions of homes. It contributes greatly to the strength and unity of the home and of the nation… Traditional family mealtimes is a value we cannot afford to lose. It is inseparable from healthy family living.” [20]
“There is nothing that makes for a stronger nation than good homes and unified and happy family living. On the other hand, there is no greater threat to a nation than the weakening of the home and the breakdown of the family.” [21]
But these family values also clearly meant a specific type of family values. For Benson, and the rising Christian right, this deeply meant heteronormative families with conservative gender norms. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the rising Evangelical movement shaped themselves around strong positioning on these family roles and traditional values that mirror the separate spheres of the Victorian Era: Fathers at work and women within the home. [22]
On May 8, 1959, Benson speaks to Mothers in his speech to the American Mothers Committee Inc., where he states:
“But it seems to me that, despite the great demands that certainly are made on the American farmer, he meets his match in our American mother. She is not only housekeeper, maid, and nurse – not only nutritionist, cook, and waitress – not only seamstress, model, and valet – not only storyteller, audience and teacher – not only diplomat, politician, and secretary – she is also wife, sweetheart and glamour girl. Yes, our American women play many roles, but the finest role of all is that of wife and mother.” [23]
Benson goes on to describe how USDA research is meant to benefit the homes, from the produce women want to the clothes they wear. He references inflation and peace from war.
“Our homes have been the bulwark of the nation, the most fundamental institution of society. There is convincing evidence that a creeping rot of moral disintegration is eating into the very vitals of this temple of American civilization. We must reaffirm the truth – that marriage, home, and family are sacred institutions. They are not man-made. They have been established by a kind Providence for the blessing of His children. In the record of that first marriage recorded in Genesis, the Lord makes four significant pronouncements: First, that it is not good for a man to be alone; second, that woman was created to be a helpmeet for man; third, that the twain should become one flesh; and fourth, that man should leave his father and mother and cleave unto his wife.” [24]
Benson continues, explaining that the early pioneers in America followed and believed these pronouncements. Because they did so, America was blessed – the current move away from these precepts would jeopardize the future of America. Benson warns about the rise of juvenile delinquency before he concludes listing five things America needs: parents spending “more time in the home,” “daily devotion in the home,” “more parental instruction in life’s problems,” “family recreation and cultural activities together,” and “a closer parent-child relationship.” [25]
He concludes his speech by quoting from Proverbs 31, “Yes, honored Mothers of 1959, whether your children are with you or ten thousand miles away, you are to them a living presence, ‘a virtuous woman’ whose ‘price is far above rubies,’ whose children ‘arise up and call her blessed.’” [26]
Benson spoke strongly about the home, the nuclear family, and religion on the American farm, and how these factors are what made the American farm stronger than the farms in Communist countries. Mirroring the rise of the Christian right with themes and language of family values, Benson as both a leader within The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and the Executive Branch of government preached a gospel of family, America, and anti-communism in his speeches as the head of the USDA.
Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Taft Benson and his visit to a Russian Baptist Church in Moscow [27]
[9] Harris, Watchman on the Tower, p. 32.
[10] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 181, Folder 12). Super Market Institute, Talk Highlights, May 26, 1958, p.1.
[11] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 44). Rotary Club and Other Civic Organization, Talk Highlight, October 30, 1958.
Also Seen in – Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 181, Folder 7). South Bend Knife and Fork Club, October 14, 1958.
[12] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 40) Poultry Producers Association Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, November 4, 1960.
[13] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 179, Folder 35) Chicago Dental Society, Talk Highlights, February 8, 1960, P. 13.
[14] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 181, Folder 7). South Bend Knife and Fork Club, October 14, 1958.
Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 32). National Restaurant Association, Talk Highlights, May 11, 1960.
Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 40) Poultry Producers Association Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, November 4, 1960. P. 12.
Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 181, Folder 2). Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and Salt Lake Rotary Club Joint Meeting, Talk Highlights, April 5, 1960. P. 2.
[15] Image: https://history.churchofjesuschrist.org/exhibit/prophets-of-the-restoration-ezra-taft-benson?lang=eng#mv8
[16] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 30). National Peach Council, Talk Highlights, February 23, 1960.
[17] Evangelical – Seth Dowland, Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right, University of Pennsylvania Press, (Philadelphia, 2015).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/comeuntochrist/belong/family/forever-family
[18] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 34) National Youthpower Congress, Talk Highlights, February 12, 1960.
[19] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 34) National Youthpower Congress, Talk Highlights, February 12, 1960. P. 6.
[20] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 34) National Youthpower Congress, Talk Highlights, February 12, 1960. P. 7.
[21] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 180, Folder 34) National Youthpower Congress, Talk Highlights, February 12, 1960. P. 7.
[22] Evangelical – Seth Dowland, Family Values and the Rise of the Christian Right.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints – Benjamin E. Parks, American Zion: A New History of Mormonism, Liveright: W.W. Norton & Company, (2024). P. 251.
https://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/article/gay
[23] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 179, Folder 26) American Mothers Committee, Inc., Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, May 8, 1959, p. 2.
[24] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 179, Folder 26) American Mothers Committee, Inc., Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, May 8, 1959, p. 8.
[25] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 179, Folder 26) American Mothers Committee, Inc., Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, May 8, 1959, p. 10-12.
[26] Baylor Collection of Political Materials W.R. Poage Legislative Library, Waco, Texas. (Hyde H. Murray: Speeches, Box 179, Folder 26) American Mothers Committee, Inc., Annual Meeting, Talk Highlights, May 8, 1959, p. 14.
[27] Image: Leffler, Warren K, photographer. Moscow, first Baptist church / WKL. Moscow Russian Federation, 1959. [Washington, D.C.: U.S. News & World Report Magazine, 10-9-59 9 October] Photograph. https://www.loc.gov/item/2015647655/.