Sherman Adams
Llewelyn Sherman Adams (January 8, 1899 – October 27, 1986) was an American businessman and politician, best known as White House Chief of Staff for President Dwight D. Eisenhower, the culmination of an 18-year political career that also included a stint as the 67th governor of New Hampshire. He lost his White House position in a scandal when he accepted an expensive vicuña coat.[1]
Sherman Adams
Early life[edit]
Born in East Dover, Vermont to grocer Clyde H. Adams and Winnie Marion Sherman,[2] Adams was educated in public schools in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating from Hope High School. He received an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College (1920), having taken time off briefly for a six-month World War I stint in the United States Marine Corps. While at Dartmouth, Adams helped found Cabin and Trail,[3] Dartmouth's influential hiking club, and was a member of the New Hampshire Alpha chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.[4] He then went into the lumber business, first in Healdville, Vermont (1921), then to a combined lumber and paper business in Lincoln, New Hampshire. He also was involved in banking.
Political beginnings[edit]
Adams entered state politics in New Hampshire as a Republican legislator (1941–44; Speaker of the House, 1944). He served a term in the United States House of Representatives (1945–47), making a failed effort to capture the 1946 Republican gubernatorial nomination in New Hampshire. He lost to incumbent Charles M. Dale. Adams won the governorship two years later, in 1948.
New Hampshire governorship[edit]
When Adams took office as governor, New Hampshire was suffering post-war recession. He called for frugality and thrift in both personal and state expenditures. Retirees were (and are) a significant part of New Hampshire's population; Adams called for increased state aid for the aged, and for legislation which would enable the state's seniors to qualify for Federal Old Age & Survivors Insurance. In 1950 he formed a Reorganization Committee to recommend changes in state operations, and he called for the legislature to act on the recommendations.
Adams's clipped New Hampshire twang and calls for frugality made him a virtual poster boy for Republican balanced budget values of the time. He served as chairman of the U.S. Conference of Governors (1951–52).
1952 campaign[edit]
Adams took charge of the Eisenhower campaign in the New Hampshire primary, winning all the delegates to the national convention. He campaigned for Eisenhower across the country, was Eisenhower's floor leader at the convention in battling against Senator Robert A. Taft, and impressed Eisenhower with his hard work, mastery of detail, and skill in political maneuvering. He became the campaign manager for the 1952 presidential campaign, where he was always at Eisenhower's side. He was the obvious choice for White House Chief of Staff—and was the first person in this position to hold the explicit title of "Chief of Staff," which Eisenhower had copied from military practice.[5]
Post-political life[edit]
Adams returned to Lincoln, New Hampshire where he started construction on Loon Mountain, today one of the largest ski resorts in New England. He was also a member of the Society of Colonial Wars and the Sons of the American Revolution.
Adams died in 1986. His remains are buried at Riverside Cemetery, also in Lincoln.[7]