Rogers Clark Ballard Morton

Rogers C. B. Morton (1914–1979) came from a business background running the family-owned flour mill Ballard & Ballard, later acquired by Pillsbury. Beginning in 1962 he was elected to five terms representing Maryland in the U.S. House of Representatives and helped to pass significant legislation for the Chesapeake Bay. His work on the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs acquainted him with the Department of the Interior, and—after serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee—Morton was the logical choice for secretary after Hickel's dismissal. Morton was the only person from the Atlantic seaboard to serve as secretary of the Interior in the 20th century. His tenure coincided with several high-profile issues, including the American Indian Movement's takeover of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' offices in 1972; the 1973 Oil Crisis; the Wounded Knee incident involving the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation; approval of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System; and coal mine safety. Morton continued with the Ford Administration after Nixon's resignation but became secretary of Commerce and then served as President Ford's campaign manager in 1976. Morton retired to his cattle farm on Maryland's Eastern Shore in 1977.