Nelson Rockefeller
Encyclopedia
Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 January 26, 1979) was the 41st Vice President of the United States
(1974-1977), serving under President
Gerald Ford
, and the 49th Governor of New York (1959-1973), as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions. A member of the Rockefeller family
, he was also a noted businessman, art collector, and philanthropist.
Rockefeller, a Republican, was relatively liberal and his views were generally closer to those of the opposing Democratic Party. In his time, moderates in Republican party were called "Rockefeller Republicans". As Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973 his achievements included the expansion of the State University of New York
, efforts to protect the environment, the building of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza in Albany, increased facilities and personnel for medical care, and creation of the New York State Council on the Arts. After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968, he served as Vice President (under the 25th Amendment) from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald R. Ford
, but did not join the 1976 Republican national ticket with President Ford, marking his retirement from politics.
As a businessman he was President and later Chairman of Rockefeller Center, Inc., and he formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947. Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts. He served as trustee, treasurer, and president, of the Museum of Modern Art
, and founded the Museum of Primitive Art
in 1954. In the area of philanthropy, he established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946, and with his four brothers he founded the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 1940 and helped guide it.
, Maine
. He was the son of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
. He was the grandson of Standard Oil
founder and chairman John Davison Rockefeller, Sr.
and United States Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich, a Republican from Rhode Island
. He had a sister, Abby
(1903–1976); and four brothers: John D. 3rd (1906–1978), Laurance S.
(1910–2004), Winthrop
(1912–1973), and David
(1915-). He received his elementary and high school education at the Lincoln School, an experimental school administered by Teachers College of Columbia University. In 1930, he graduated cum laude with an A.B. in economics from Dartmouth College
, where he was a member of Casque and Gauntlet
(a senior society), Phi Beta Kappa, and the Zeta chapter of the Psi Upsilon
fraternity. Following his graduation he worked in a number of family related businesses including Chase National Bank (later Chase Manhattan), 1931; Rockefeller Center
, Inc., joining the Board of Directors in 1931, serving as President, 1938–1945 and 1948–1951, and as Chairman, 1945–1953 and 1956–1958; and Creole Petroleum
, the Venezuelan subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, 1935-1940. From 1932 to 1979 he served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art
. He also served as Treasurer, 1935–1939, and President, 1939–1941 and 1946-1953. He and his four brothers established the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
, a philanthropy, in 1940. He served as trustee, 1940–1975 and 1977–1979, and as president in 1956.
. He became fluent in Spanish. In 1940, after expressing his concern to President Franklin D. Roosevelt over Nazi influence in Latin America, the President appointed him to the new position of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
(CIAA) in the Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA). Rockefeller was charged with overseeing a program of US cooperation with the nations of Latin America to help raise the standard of living, to achieve better relations among the nations of the western hemisphere, and to counter rising Nazi influence in the region. His efforts included spreading anti-Axis propaganda to head off Nazi fifth column activity, which was subsequently laughed at and booed by the Latin American population resulting in pro-Axis riots. The movie Down Argentina Way had to be refilmed because it was actually considered offensive, while The Great Dictator
was banned in several countries.
In 1944 President Roosevelt appointed Rockefeller Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. As Assistant Secretary of State he initiated the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace in 1945. The conference produced the Act of Chapultepec which provided the framework for economic, social and defense cooperation among the nations of the Americas and set the principle that an attack on one of these nations would be regarded as an attack on all and jointly resisted. Rockefeller signed the Act on behalf of the United States.
Rockefeller was a member of the US delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco in 1945. At the Conference there was considerable opposition to the idea of permitting, within the UN charter, the formation of regional pacts such as the Act of Chapultepec. Rockefeller, who believed that the inclusion was essential, especially to US policy in Latin America, successfully urged the need for regional pacts within the framework of the UN. Rockefeller was also instrumental in persuading the UN to establish its headquarters in New York City.
After resigning as Assistant Secretary of State Rockefeller returned to private life in 1945. He served as Chairman of Rockefeller Center, Inc., (1945–1953 and 1956–1958) and began a program of physical expansion. He established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development (AIA), in 1946, and the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC), in 1947 to jointly continue the work he had begun as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
. He intermittently served as president of both through 1958. AIA was a philanthropy for the dissemination of technical and managerial expertise and equipment to underdeveloped countries to support grass roots efforts in overcoming illiteracy, disease and poverty. IBEC was a for-profit business that established companies that would stimulate underdeveloped economies of certain countries. It was hoped the success of these companies would encourage investors in those countries to set up competing or supporting businesses and further stimulate the local economy. Using AIA and IBEC Rockefeller established model farms in Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil. He maintained a home at Monte Sacro, the farm in Venezuela. Rockefeller returned to public service in 1950 when President Harry S. Truman appointed him Chairman of the International Development Advisory Board. The Board was charged with developing a plan for implementing the President’s Point IV
program of providing foreign technical assistance. In 1952 President-Elect Dwight D. Eisenhower asked Rockefeller to Chair the President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization
to recommend ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness of the executive branch of the federal government. Rockefeller recommended thirteen reorganization plans, all of which were implemented. The plans implemented organizational changes in the Department of Defense, the Office of Defense Mobilization and the Department of Agriculture. His recommendations also led to the creation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Rockefeller was appointed Under-Secretary of this new department in 1953. Rockefeller was active in HEW’s legislative program and implemented measures that added ten million people under the Social Security program.
In 1954 he was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Foreign Affairs (sometimes referred to as Special Assistant to the President for Psychological Warfare). He was tasked with providing the President with advice and assistance in developing programs by which the various departments of the government could counter Soviet foreign policy challenges. As part of this responsibility he was named as the President’s representative on the Operations Coordinating Board
, a committee of the National Security Council
. The other members were the Undersecretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the director of the Foreign Operations Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency director. The OCB’s purpose was to oversee coordinated execution of security policy and plans, including clandestine operations.
Rockefeller broadly interpreted his directive and became an advocate for foreign economic aid as indispensable to national security. Most of Rockefeller’s initiatives were blocked by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his Under Secretary, Herbert Hoover, Jr., both traditionalists who resented what they perceived as outside interference from Rockefeller, and by Treasury Secretary George Humphrey for financial reasons. However, in June 1955 Rockefeller convened a week-long meeting of experts from various disciplines to assess the US position in the psychological aspects of the Cold War and develop proposals that could give the US the initiative at the upcoming Summit Conference in Geneva. The meeting was held at the Marine Corps school at Quantico, Virginia and became known as the Quantico Study. The Quantico panel developed a proposal called “open skies” wherein the US and the Soviet Union would exchange blueprints of military installations and agree to mutual aerial reconnaissance. Thus military buildups would be revealed and the danger of surprise attacks minimized. It was a counter proposal to the Soviet proposal of universal disarmament. The feeling was that the Soviets could not refuse the proposal if they were serious about disarmament.
In March 1955 Rockefeller proposed the creation of the Planning Coordination Group
, a small high level group that would plan and develop national security operations, both overt and covert. The group consisted of the Undersecretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the director the CIA, and Special Assistant Rockefeller as chairman. The group’s purpose was to oversee CIA operation and other anti-communist actions. However, State Department officials and CIA Director Allen Dulles refused to cooperate with the group and its initiatives were stymied or ignored. In September Rockefeller recommended the abolishment of the PCG and in December he resigned as Special Assistant to the President.
In 1956, he created the Special Studies Project
, a major seven-panel planning group directed by Henry Kissinger
and funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
, of which he was then president. It was an ambitious study created to define the central problems and opportunities facing the U.S. in the future, and to clarify national purposes and objectives. The reports were published individually as they were released and were republished together in 1961 as Prospect for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports.
The Special Studies Project came into national prominence with the early release of its military subpanel's report, whose principal recommendation was a massive military buildup to counter a then-perceived military superiority threat posed by the USSR. The report was released two months after the October 1957 launch of Sputnik, and its recommendations were fully endorsed by Eisenhower in his January 1958 State of the Union
address. Some of the Special Studies Project’s domestic policy recommendations became part of President John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier initiative.
This initial contact with Kissinger was to develop into a lifelong relationship; Kissinger was later to be described as his closest intellectual associate. From this period Rockefeller employed Kissinger as a personally funded part-time consultant, principally on foreign policy issues, until the appointment to his staff became full-time in late 1968. In 1969, when Kissinger entered Richard Nixon
's administration, Rockefeller paid him $50,000 as a severance payment.
state and national politics. From September 1956 to April 1958 he chaired the Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention. That was followed by his chairmanship of the Special Legislative Committee on the Revision and Simplification of the Constitution. These two appointments served to educate him on the workings of New York state government and to make him visible in state political circles. In 1958, he was elected governor
by over 600,000 votes, defeating the incumbent, multi-millionaire W. Averell Harriman
, even though 1958 was a banner year for Democrats elsewhere in the nation. Rockefeller was ultimately elected to four, four-year terms as governor of New York State. Re-elected in 1962, 1966 and 1970, Rockefeller vastly increased the state's role in education, environmental protection, transportation, housing, welfare, medical aid, civil rights, and the arts. He resigned three years into his fourth term.
into the largest system of public higher education in the United States. Under his governorship it grew from 29 campuses and 38,000 full-time students to 72 campuses and 232,000 full-time students. Other accomplishments included more than quadrupling state aid to primary and secondary schools; providing the first state financial support for educational television; and requiring special education for mentally retarded children in public schools.
." In September 1968, Rockefeller appointed the Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks
. This led to his introduction to the Legislature in 1971 of a bill to create the controversial Adirondack Park Agency
, which was designed to protect the Adirondack State Park from encroaching development. Also, he launched the Pure Waters Program, the first state bond issue to end water pollution; created the Department of Environmental Conservation; banned DDT and other dangerous pesticides; and established the Office of Parks and Recreation
.
which vastly improved road transportation in the state of New York. Rockefeller introduced the state’s first support for mass transportation. He reformed the governing of New York City
's transportation system, creating the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1965. It merged the New York City subway system
with the publicly owned Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
, the Long Island Rail Road
, the Staten Island Rapid Transit
and later the Metro North Railroad, which were purchased by the state from private owners in a massive public bailout of bankrupt railroads. He also created the State Department of Transportation.
In taking over control of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Rockefeller shifted power away from Robert Moses
, who controlled several of New York state's public infrastructure authorities. Under the New York MTA, toll revenue collected from the bridges and tunnels, which had previously been used to build more bridges, tunnels, and highways, now went to support mass transportation
operations, thus shifting costs from general state funds to the motorist. In one controversial move, Rockefeller abandoned one of Moses's most desired projects, a Long Island Sound
bridge from Rye to Oyster Bay in 1973 due to environmental opposition.
, condemn property
, and create financing schemes to carry out desired development. The financing involved the creation of a new sort of bond—what came to be called "moral obligation" bonds. They were not backed by the full faith and credit of the State, but the quasi-public arrangements were meant to, and did, convey the impression that the State would not let them fail. Rockefeller is criticized in some quarters for having contributed to the "Too Big To Fail
" phenomenon in U.S. finance in general. (UDC is now called the Empire State Development Corporation
.) By 1973, the Rockefeller administration had completed or started over 88,000 units of housing for limited income families and the aging.
in Saratoga Spa State Park.
New York was the last state to have a mandatory death penalty for premeditated first degree murder. In 1963 Rockefeller signed legislation abandoning that and establishing a two stage trial for murder cases with punishment determined in the second stage. Rockefeller was a supporter of capital punishment
and oversaw 14 executions by electrocution
as Governor. The last execution, of Eddie Mays
in 1963, remains to date the last execution in New York and was the last execution before Furman v. Georgia
in the Northeast. However, despite his personal support for capital punishment, Rockefeller signed a bill in 1965 to abolish the death penalty except in cases involving the murder of police officers.
Rockefeller was also a supporter of the "law and order
" platform.
” were a product of Rockefeller’s attempt to deal with the rapid increase in narcotics addiction and related crime. In 1962 he proposed a program of voluntary rehabilitation for addicted convicts rather than prison time. This was approved by the legislature, but by 1966 it was evident this program was not working as most addicts chose short prison terms rather than three years of treatment. He then turned to a program of compulsory treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare for three years. While this program saw success in rehabilitating addicts, it did little to reduce the narcotics trade and associated crime. Rockefeller was also frustrated that the federal government was not doing anything significant to address the problem. Feeling that existing laws and the way they were being implemented did not solve the problem of the "drug pusher", and pressured by voters angry about the drug problem, Rockefeller proposed a hard line approach. As approved by the legislature in 1973, the new drug laws included mandatory life sentences without the possibility of plea-bargaining or parole for all drug users, dealers, and those convicted of drug-related violent crimes; a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of drug pushers; and deleting less harsh penalties for youthful offenders. Public support for the measures was mixed, as were the results. They did not lead more addicts to seek rehabilitation as hoped, and ultimately did not solve the problem of drug trafficking. These were among the toughest drug laws in the United States when they were enacted and are still on the books, albeit in moderated form. To carry out the rehabilitation program Rockefeller created the State Narcotics Addiction Control Commission (later the State Drug Abuse Control Commission.) New York also provided the financial support for research in methadone maintenance and the administration of the largest methadone
maintenance program in the US.
to the rioters, with passage out of the country and removal of the prison's superintendent. When negotiations stalled and the hostages appeared to be in imminent danger, Rockefeller ordered New York State Police
and national guard
troops to restore order and take back the prison on September 13. Thirty nine people died in the assault, including ten of the hostages. An additonal eighty people were wounded in what was called "a turkey shoot" by state prosecutor Malcolm Bell.
A later investigation showed all but three of the deaths were caused by the gunfire of the national guard and police. The other three were inmates killed by other inmates at the beginning of the riot. Opponents blamed Rockefeller for these deaths in part because of his refusal to go to the prison and talk with the inmates, while his supporters, including many conservatives who had often vocally differed with him in the past, defended his actions as being necessary to the preservation of law and order. "I was trying to do the best I could to save the hostages, save the prisoners, restore order, and preserve our system without undertaking actions which could set a precedent which would go across this country like wildfire," Rockefeller later said.
In a telephone call with President Nixon
, Rockefeller explained the deaths by saying "that's life."
, later renamed the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
by Gov. Hugh Carey in 1978. It is a 98 acres (39.7 ha) campus of skyscrapers housing state offices and public plazas punctuated by an egg-shaped arts center. While in office he supported the construction of the World Trade Center.
law in the US which was increased five times during his administration. Additional accomplishments of Rockefeller’s fifteen years as governor of New York include initiating the state lottery and off-track betting; adopting modern treatment techniques in state mental hospitals to reduce the number of mentally ill patients by over 50%; creating the State Office of the Aging and constructing nearly 12,000 units of housing for the aging; the first mandatory seatbelt law in the US; and creating the State Consumer Protection Board.
laws beginning around 1968. The proposals supported by his administration would not have repealed the long-standing prohibition, but would have expanded the exceptions allowed for the protection of the mother's health, or in circumstances of fetal abnormality
.
The reform bills did not pass. But an outright repeal of the prohibition did pass, in 1970, and Rockefeller signed it. Further, in 1972 he vetoed another bill that would have restored the abortion ban.
He said in his 1972 veto message: "I do not believe it right for one group to impose its vision of morality on an entire society."
, increased spending on education including a massive expansion of the State University of New York, and increased the state’s involvement in environmental issues. Rockefeller had good relations with unions, especially the construction trades, which benefited from his extensive building programs.
In foreign affairs, Rockefeller supported US involvement in the United Nations
as well as US foreign aid. He also supported the U.S.'s fight against communism and its membership in NATO. As a result of Rockefeller's policies, some conservatives sought to gain leverage by creating the Conservative Party of New York
. The small party acted as a minor counter-weight to the Liberal Party of New York
. The most common criticism of Rockefeller’s governorship of New York is that he tried to do too much too fast, vastly increasing the level of state debt which later contributed to New York’s fiscal crisis in 1975. Rockefeller created some 230 public-benefit authorities like the Urban Development Corporation. They were often used to issue bonds in order to avoid the requirement of a vote of the people for the issuance of a bond; such authority-issued bonds bore higher interest than if they had been issued directly by the state. The state budget went from $2.04 billion in 1959-60 to $8.8 billion in his last year, 1973-74. “Rockefeller sought and obtained eight tax increases during his fifteen years in office.” "During his administration, the tax burden rose to a higher level than in any other state, and the incidence of taxation shifted, with a greater share being borne by the individual taxpayer."
Rockefeller sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968. His bid in 1960 was ended early when then-Vice President Richard Nixon
surged ahead in the polls. After quitting the campaign, Rockefeller backed Nixon, and concentrated his efforts on introducing more moderate planks into Nixon's platform.
Rockefeller, favored by moderate and liberal Republicans, was considered the front-runner for the 1964 campaign
against conservative Senator Barry Goldwater
of Arizona
, who led the right wing of the Republican Party. In 1963, a year after Rockefeller's divorce from his first wife, he married Margaretta "Happy" Murphy, a divorcee with four children. This turned many in the party off, especially women. The divorce hurt Rockefeller's standing among voters and was widely condemned by politicians, including US Senator Prescott Bush (R-Connecticut), father of President George H.W. Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush who spoke out condemning Rockefeller for his infidelity,divorce, and remarriage. Rockefeller finished third in the New Hampshire primary
in March, behind write-in Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
(from neighboring Massachusetts) and Goldwater. He then endured poor showings in several primaries, before winning an upset in the Oregon
primary in May. The birth of Rockefeller's child during the California
campaign put the divorce and remarriage issue back in the headlines. After a furious contest, Rockefeller narrowly lost the California primary in early June and dropped out of the race. However, at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco in July, Rockefeller was given five minutes to speak before the convention in defense of five amendments to the party platform put forth by the moderate wing of the Republican Party to counter the Goldwater plank. Right wing delegates booed and heckled Rockefeller for 16 minutes while he stood firmly at the podium insisting on his right to speak. Rockefeller refused to support Goldwater in the general election.
Rockefeller again sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. His opponents were Nixon and Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California. In the contest, Rockefeller again represented the liberals in the GOP, Reagan representing the conservative Goldwater element, and Nixon representing moderates and liberals also. Rather than formally announce his candidacy and enter the state primaries, Rockefeller spent the first half of 1968 alternating between hints that he would run, and pronouncements that he would not be a candidate. Shortly before the Republican convention, Rockefeller finally let it be known that he was available to be the nominee, and he sought to round up uncommitted delegates and woo reluctant Nixon delegates to his banner, armed with public opinion polls that showed him doing better among voters than either Nixon or Reagan against Democrat Hubert Humphrey
. Nixon easily defeated both Reagan and Rockefeller, however.
After Gerald Ford
's elevation to the Presidency, Rockefeller was named Vice-President, and he was initially mentioned and reportedly considered running for President for a fourth time in 1976
, if Ford declined to seek his own term.
to establish the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, and served as chairman until December 1974. The Commission was a private study project on national and international policy similar to the Special Studies Project he led 15 years earlier. It was made up of a nationally representative, bipartisan group of 42 prominent Americans drawn from far-ranging fields of interest who served on a voluntary basis. Members included the majority and minority leaders of both houses of Congress. The Commission gathered information and insights to better understand the problems facing America, and to present to the American public the “critical choices” to be made in facing those problems. He resigned as Governor of New York in December 1973, devoting himself to his new commission and the possibility of another presidential run.
nominated Rockefeller on August 20 to serve as Vice President of the United States
. Rockefeller's top competitor had been George H.W. Bush.
While acknowledging that many conservatives opposed Rockefeller, Ford believed that he would bring executive expertise to the administration and would broaden the ticket’s appeal if they ran in 1976. Ford also felt he could demonstrate his own self confidence by selecting a strong personality like Rockefeller for the number two spot.
Although he had said he was “just not built for standby equipment,” Rockefeller accepted the President’s request to serve as Vice President:
Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made massive gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger
and used his personal fortune to finance a scurrilous biography of political opponent Arthur Goldberg (See Peter Carroll "It Seemed Like Nothing Happened, p. 162). He had not paid all his taxes, owing nearly one million in federal income taxes, but no illegalities were uncovered, and he was confirmed. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation. However, some, including Barry Goldwater
, Jesse Helms
, Trent Lott
, and others voted against him. Many conservative groups campaigned against Rockefeller's nomination, including the National Right to Life Committee, the American Conservative Union, and others. The New York Conservative Party also opposed his confirmation. On the left, Americans for Democratic Action opposed Rockefeller's confirmation because it said his wealth posed too much of a conflict of interest .
Beginning his service upon taking the oath of office on Thursday, December 19, 1974 at 10:11 PM EST, Rockefeller was the second person appointed vice president under the 25th Amendment
the first being Ford himself. Rockefeller thus became the first (and only) person to serve in an executive position in the federal government who was not at the time in any elected office. Rockefeller often seemed concerned that Ford gave him little or no power, and few tasks, while he was Vice President. Ford initially said he wanted Rockefeller to chair the Domestic Council. But Ford's new White House staff had no intention of sharing power with the vice president and his staff.
Rockefeller’s attempt to take charge of domestic policy was thwarted by White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld
, who objected to policy makers reporting to the president through the vice president. When Rockefeller had one of his former aides, James Cannon, appointed executive director the Domestic Council, Rumsfeld cut its budget. Rockefeller was excluded from the decision making process on many important issues. When he learned that Ford had proposed cuts in federal taxes and spending he responded: “This is the most important move the president has made, and I wasn't even consulted." Nevertheless, Ford appointed him to the Commission on the Organization of Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy, and appointed him Chairman of the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States, the National Commission on Productivity, the Federal Compensation Committee, and the Committee on the Right to Privacy. Ford also put Rockefeller in charge of his "Whip Inflation Now
" initiative.
While Rockefeller was vice president, the official vice presidential residence was established at Number One Observatory Circle
on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory
. This residence had previously been the home of the Chief of Naval Operations
; prior vice presidents had been responsible for maintaining their own homes at their own expense, but the necessity of massive full-time Secret Service
security had made this custom impractical to continue. Rockefeller already had a well-secured Washington residence and never lived in the home as a principal residence, although he did host several official functions there. His wealth enabled him to donate millions of dollars of furnishings to the house.
Rockefeller donated the salary he received as vice president to two causes. Half was given to the creation of federal programs to educate inner-city, low income children and to fund youth and family centers in the urban cities. The other half was donated to the preservation and promotion of programs teaching the arts in low income public school systems.
Rockefeller was slow to embrace the use of the government aircraft that were provided for vice presidential transportation. Rockefeller continued to use his own Gulfstream
for the first part of his time in office. Initially Rockefeller felt he was doing the taxpayer a favor saving money by not using government funded transportation. Finally the Secret Service
was able to convince him they were spending more money flying agents around to meet the needs of his protective detail and he began to fly on the DC-9
that was serving as Air Force Two
at the time.
In November 1975, Rockefeller told Ford that he would not run for election in 1976, saying that he "didn't come down (to Washington) to get caught up in party squabbles which only make it more difficult for the President in a very difficult time..." However, Ford, a moderate, under pressure from the conservative wing of the party and in response to Ronald Reagan’s challenge for the presidential nomination, had decided to drop Rockefeller in favor of the more conservative Senator Robert Dole from Kansas
. Reagan had indicated that he could not support Ford if Rockefeller were on the ticket, and Goldwater also said he did not want Rockefeller on the ticket. So Rockefeller was dropped from the ticket because he was too liberal. Ford was the last president to do this; every president since has run for re-election with the same vice president that he served with during his first term. Ford later said dropping Rockefeller was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. With Dole as his running mate, Ford narrowly lost to Jimmy Carter
in the presidential race. What difference Rockefeller's presence on the ticket would have made remains a matter of speculation. Rockefeller campaigned actively for the Republican ticket. In what would become an iconic photo of the 1976 campaign, Rockefeller famously responded to hecklers at a rally in Binghamton, New York
with a raised middle finger
. "At the time, Rockefeller's finger flashing was scandalous. Writing about the moment 20 years later, Michael Oricchio of the San Jose Mercury News
said the action became known euphemistically as 'the Rockefeller gesture.'"
On January 10, 1977, Ford presented Rockefeller with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
.
Rockefeller visited George Bush's ranch on Texas in 1977, along with his wife.
from 1932 to 1979. He also served as treasurer, 1935–1939, and president, 1939–1941 and 1946-1953. In 1933 Rockefeller was a member of the committee selecting art for the new Rockefeller Center
. For the wall opposite the main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza Nelson Rockefeller wanted Henri Matisse
or Pablo Picasso
to paint a mural because he favored their modern style
, but neither was available. Diego Rivera
was one of Nelson Rockefeller's mother's favorite artists and therefore was commissioned to create the huge mural. He was given a theme: New Frontiers. Rockefeller wanted the painting to make people pause and think. Rivera submitted a sketch for a mural entitled “Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future.” The sketch featured an anonymous man at the center. However, when it was painted the work caused great controversy due to the inclusion of a painting of Lenin (depicting communism
) at the center. The Directors of Rockefeller Center objected and Rockefeller asked Rivera to change the face of Lenin to that of an unknown laborer's face as was originally intended, but the painter refused.
The work was paid for on May 22, 1933, and immediately draped. Rockefeller suggested that the fresco could be donated to the Museum of Modern Art, but the trustees of the museum were not interested. People protested but it remained covered until the early weeks of 1934, when it was smashed by workers and hauled away in wheelbarrows. Rivera responded by saying that it was "cultural vandalism". At Rockefeller Center in its place is a mural by Jose Maria Sert which includes an image of Abraham Lincoln
. The Rockefeller-Rivera dispute is covered in the films Cradle Will Rock
and Frida
.
Rockefeller was a noted collector of both modern and non-Western art. During his governorship, New York State acquired major works of art for the new Empire State Plaza in Albany. He continued his mother's work at the Museum of Modern Art
as president, and turned the basement of his Kykuit
mansion into a gallery while placing works of sculpture around the grounds (an activity he enjoyed personally supervising, frequently moving the pieces from place to place by helicopter). While he was overseeing construction of the State University of New York system, Rockefeller built, in collaboration with his lifelong friend Roy Neuberger
, the Neuberger Museum on the campus of SUNY Purchase College, designed by Philip Johnson
.
He commissioned Master Santiago Martínez Delgado
to make a canvas mural for the Bank of New York (City Bank) in Bogotá, Colombia; this ended up being the last work of the artist, as he died while finishing it.
Rockefeller's early visits to Mexico
kindled a collecting interest in pre-Columbian and contemporary Mexican art, to which he added works of traditional African and Pacific Island art. In 1954 he established the Museum of Primitive Art
devoted to the indigenous art of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and early Asia and Europe. His personal collection formed the core of the collection. The museum opened to the public in 1957 in a townhouse on West 54th Street in New York City
. In 1969 he gave the museum's collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
where it became the Michael C. Rockefeller Collection.
In 1978, Alfred A. Knopf
published a book on primitive art from Rockefeller's collection. Rockefeller, impressed with the work of photographer Lee Boltin and editor/publisher Paul Anbinder on the book, co-founded Nelson Rockefeller Publications, Inc. with them, with the goal of publishing fine art books of high quality. After Rockefeller's death less than a year later, the company continued as Hudson Hills Press, Inc.
In 1977 he founded Nelson Rockefeller Collection, Inc., (NRC) an art reproduction company that produced and sold licensed reproductions of selected works from Rockefeller’s collection. In the introduction to the NRC catalog he stated he was motivated by his desire to share with others “the joy of living with these beautiful objects.”
. They had five children: Rodman
, Ann, Steven, and twins Mary and Michael
. Michael disappeared in New Guinea in 1961, presumed drowned while trying to swim to shore after his dugout canoe capsized.
Nelson and Mary were divorced in 1962. The two lived in a two floor apartment at 810 Fifth Avenue
. The 30-room apartment was renovated for the Rockefellers by Wallace Harrison
and decorated by Jean-Michel Frank
. She retained the apartment after the divorce.
On May 4, 1963 he married Margaretta "Happy" Murphy. He and his second wife had two children together, Nelson, Jr. and Mark
. They moved to a penthouse that encompassed the top three floors at 810 Fifth Avenue
. The apartment was expanded by purchasing a floor of 812 Fifth Avenue. The two spaces connected via a flight of six steps. Nelson and Happy Rockefeller used the entrance at 812 Fifth, while his first wife entered through 810 Fifth. They remained married until his death in 1979.
. An initial report had incorrectly stated that he was at his office at Rockefeller Center
working on a book about his art collection, and a security guard found him slumped over his desk. However, the report was soon corrected to state that Rockefeller actually had the fatal heart attack in another office he owned in a townhouse at 13 West 54th Street
in the presence of Megan Marshack, an aide. After the heart attack, Marshack called her friend, news reporter Ponchitta Pierce, to the townhouse, and Pierce phoned an ambulance approximately an hour after the heart attack. There was some speculation in the press regarding the possibility of an intimate relationship between Rockefeller and Marshack. For example, long-time Rockefeller aide Joe Persico said in the PBS
documentary about the Rockefeller family "It became known that he had been alone with a young woman who worked for him, in undeniably intimate circumstances, and in the course of that evening had died from a heart attack." Rockefeller’s four oldest children issued a statement saying they had conducted their own review, they believed that their father could not have been saved, and that all those who tried to help had acted responsibly. Neither Marshack nor the family has commented since on the circumstances surrounding Rockefeller's death. It is likely that Rockefeller died immediately or shortly after his heart attack.
On January 29, 1979, family and close friends gathered to inter Rockefeller’s ashes in a private Rockefeller family cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York
. His remains had been cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery
in nearby Hartsdale
. A memorial service was held at Riverside Church
in New York on February 2, attended by 2,200 people. Attendees included President Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford, more than 100 members of the US Senate and House of Representatives including Senator Barry Goldwater, and official representatives from 71 foreign countries. Eulogies were delivered by two of Rockefeller’s children, his brother David and Henry Kissinger.
|-
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
(1974-1977), serving under President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, and the 49th Governor of New York (1959-1973), as well as serving the Roosevelt, Truman and Eisenhower administrations in a variety of positions. A member of the Rockefeller family
Rockefeller family
The Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
, he was also a noted businessman, art collector, and philanthropist.
Rockefeller, a Republican, was relatively liberal and his views were generally closer to those of the opposing Democratic Party. In his time, moderates in Republican party were called "Rockefeller Republicans". As Governor of New York from 1959 to 1973 his achievements included the expansion of the State University of New York
State University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
, efforts to protect the environment, the building of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza in Albany, increased facilities and personnel for medical care, and creation of the New York State Council on the Arts. After unsuccessfully seeking the Republican presidential nomination in 1960, 1964, and 1968, he served as Vice President (under the 25th Amendment) from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald R. Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
, but did not join the 1976 Republican national ticket with President Ford, marking his retirement from politics.
As a businessman he was President and later Chairman of Rockefeller Center, Inc., and he formed the International Basic Economy Corporation in 1947. Rockefeller assembled a significant art collection and promoted public access to the arts. He served as trustee, treasurer, and president, of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
, and founded the Museum of Primitive Art
Museum of Primitive Art
The Museum of Primitive Art, is a now defunct museum devoted to the arts of the indigenous cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas as well as the early civilizations of Europe and Asia. It was founded in 1954 by Nelson Rockefeller, who donated his own collection of Tribal art. The museum...
in 1954. In the area of philanthropy, he established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development in 1946, and with his four brothers he founded the Rockefeller Brothers Fund in 1940 and helped guide it.
Early life
Rockefeller was born in Bar HarborBar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
, Maine
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
. He was the son of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller
Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, , was a prominent socialite and philanthropist and the second-generation matriarch of the renowned Rockefeller family...
. He was the grandson of Standard Oil
Standard Oil
Standard Oil was a predominant American integrated oil producing, transporting, refining, and marketing company. Established in 1870 as a corporation in Ohio, it was the largest oil refiner in the world and operated as a major company trust and was one of the world's first and largest multinational...
founder and chairman John Davison Rockefeller, Sr.
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
and United States Senator Nelson Wilmarth Aldrich, a Republican from Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. He had a sister, Abby
Abby Rockefeller Mauzé
Abigail "Abby" Rockefeller Mauzé was the first child and only daughter of John Davison Rockefeller, Jr. and Abigail "Abby" Greene Aldrich Rockefeller...
(1903–1976); and four brothers: John D. 3rd (1906–1978), Laurance S.
Laurance Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller was a venture capitalist, financier, philanthropist, a major conservationist and a prominent third-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He was the fourth child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and brother to John D...
(1910–2004), Winthrop
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller was a politician and philanthropist who served as the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since Reconstruction. He was a third-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Early life:...
(1912–1973), and David
David Rockefeller
David Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
(1915-). He received his elementary and high school education at the Lincoln School, an experimental school administered by Teachers College of Columbia University. In 1930, he graduated cum laude with an A.B. in economics from Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, where he was a member of Casque and Gauntlet
Casque and Gauntlet
Casque and Gauntlet is the second-oldest of the eight senior societies at Dartmouth College. C&G was founded in 1886, just after the Sphinx, and moved to its current location at 1 South Main Street in 1893...
(a senior society), Phi Beta Kappa, and the Zeta chapter of the Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon
Psi Upsilon is the fifth oldest college fraternity in the United States, founded at Union College in 1833. It has chapters at colleges and universities throughout North America. For most of its history, Psi Upsilon, like most social fraternities, limited its membership to men only...
fraternity. Following his graduation he worked in a number of family related businesses including Chase National Bank (later Chase Manhattan), 1931; Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
, Inc., joining the Board of Directors in 1931, serving as President, 1938–1945 and 1948–1951, and as Chairman, 1945–1953 and 1956–1958; and Creole Petroleum
Creole Petroleum Corporation
The Creole Petroleum Corporation was an American oil company, formed in 1920 to produce fields on Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. The company was acquired by Standard Oil of New Jersey in 1928. Until 1951 Creole Petroleum was the world's number one oil producer....
, the Venezuelan subsidiary of Standard Oil of New Jersey, 1935-1940. From 1932 to 1979 he served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
. He also served as Treasurer, 1935–1939, and President, 1939–1941 and 1946-1953. He and his four brothers established the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
, a philanthropy, in 1940. He served as trustee, 1940–1975 and 1977–1979, and as president in 1956.
Early public career
Rockefeller served as a member of the Westchester County (NY) Board of Health, 1933-1953. His service with Creole Petroleum led to his deep, life-long interest in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
. He became fluent in Spanish. In 1940, after expressing his concern to President Franklin D. Roosevelt over Nazi influence in Latin America, the President appointed him to the new position of Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation during the 1940s, especially in commercial and economic areas...
(CIAA) in the Office of Inter-American Affairs (OIAA). Rockefeller was charged with overseeing a program of US cooperation with the nations of Latin America to help raise the standard of living, to achieve better relations among the nations of the western hemisphere, and to counter rising Nazi influence in the region. His efforts included spreading anti-Axis propaganda to head off Nazi fifth column activity, which was subsequently laughed at and booed by the Latin American population resulting in pro-Axis riots. The movie Down Argentina Way had to be refilmed because it was actually considered offensive, while The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator
The Great Dictator is a comedy film by Charlie Chaplin released in October 1940. Like most Chaplin films, he wrote, produced, and directed, in addition to starring as the lead. Having been the only Hollywood film maker to continue to make silent films well into the period of sound films, this was...
was banned in several countries.
In 1944 President Roosevelt appointed Rockefeller Assistant Secretary of State for American Republic Affairs. As Assistant Secretary of State he initiated the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace in 1945. The conference produced the Act of Chapultepec which provided the framework for economic, social and defense cooperation among the nations of the Americas and set the principle that an attack on one of these nations would be regarded as an attack on all and jointly resisted. Rockefeller signed the Act on behalf of the United States.
Rockefeller was a member of the US delegation at the United Nations Conference on International Organization at San Francisco in 1945. At the Conference there was considerable opposition to the idea of permitting, within the UN charter, the formation of regional pacts such as the Act of Chapultepec. Rockefeller, who believed that the inclusion was essential, especially to US policy in Latin America, successfully urged the need for regional pacts within the framework of the UN. Rockefeller was also instrumental in persuading the UN to establish its headquarters in New York City.
After resigning as Assistant Secretary of State Rockefeller returned to private life in 1945. He served as Chairman of Rockefeller Center, Inc., (1945–1953 and 1956–1958) and began a program of physical expansion. He established the American International Association for Economic and Social Development (AIA), in 1946, and the International Basic Economy Corporation (IBEC), in 1947 to jointly continue the work he had begun as Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs
The Office of the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs was a United States agency promoting inter-American cooperation during the 1940s, especially in commercial and economic areas...
. He intermittently served as president of both through 1958. AIA was a philanthropy for the dissemination of technical and managerial expertise and equipment to underdeveloped countries to support grass roots efforts in overcoming illiteracy, disease and poverty. IBEC was a for-profit business that established companies that would stimulate underdeveloped economies of certain countries. It was hoped the success of these companies would encourage investors in those countries to set up competing or supporting businesses and further stimulate the local economy. Using AIA and IBEC Rockefeller established model farms in Venezuela, Ecuador and Brazil. He maintained a home at Monte Sacro, the farm in Venezuela. Rockefeller returned to public service in 1950 when President Harry S. Truman appointed him Chairman of the International Development Advisory Board. The Board was charged with developing a plan for implementing the President’s Point IV
Point Four Program
The Point Four Program was a technical assistance program for "developing countries" announced by United States President Harry S. Truman in his inaugural address on January 20, 1949...
program of providing foreign technical assistance. In 1952 President-Elect Dwight D. Eisenhower asked Rockefeller to Chair the President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization
Advisory Committee on Government Organization
The U.S. President’s Advisory Committee on Government Organization was established by Executive Order 10432 on January 24, 1953. Members of the committee were appointed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower and served without compensation. Nelson A. Rockefeller served as Chairman until 1958; upon his...
to recommend ways of improving efficiency and effectiveness of the executive branch of the federal government. Rockefeller recommended thirteen reorganization plans, all of which were implemented. The plans implemented organizational changes in the Department of Defense, the Office of Defense Mobilization and the Department of Agriculture. His recommendations also led to the creation of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.
Rockefeller was appointed Under-Secretary of this new department in 1953. Rockefeller was active in HEW’s legislative program and implemented measures that added ten million people under the Social Security program.
In 1954 he was appointed Special Assistant to the President for Foreign Affairs (sometimes referred to as Special Assistant to the President for Psychological Warfare). He was tasked with providing the President with advice and assistance in developing programs by which the various departments of the government could counter Soviet foreign policy challenges. As part of this responsibility he was named as the President’s representative on the Operations Coordinating Board
Operations Coordinating Board
The Operations Coordinating Board was a committee of the United States Executive created in 1953 by President Eisenhower's Executive Order 10483...
, a committee of the National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
. The other members were the Undersecretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the director of the Foreign Operations Administration, and the Central Intelligence Agency director. The OCB’s purpose was to oversee coordinated execution of security policy and plans, including clandestine operations.
Rockefeller broadly interpreted his directive and became an advocate for foreign economic aid as indispensable to national security. Most of Rockefeller’s initiatives were blocked by Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his Under Secretary, Herbert Hoover, Jr., both traditionalists who resented what they perceived as outside interference from Rockefeller, and by Treasury Secretary George Humphrey for financial reasons. However, in June 1955 Rockefeller convened a week-long meeting of experts from various disciplines to assess the US position in the psychological aspects of the Cold War and develop proposals that could give the US the initiative at the upcoming Summit Conference in Geneva. The meeting was held at the Marine Corps school at Quantico, Virginia and became known as the Quantico Study. The Quantico panel developed a proposal called “open skies” wherein the US and the Soviet Union would exchange blueprints of military installations and agree to mutual aerial reconnaissance. Thus military buildups would be revealed and the danger of surprise attacks minimized. It was a counter proposal to the Soviet proposal of universal disarmament. The feeling was that the Soviets could not refuse the proposal if they were serious about disarmament.
In March 1955 Rockefeller proposed the creation of the Planning Coordination Group
NSC 5412/2 Special Group
The NSC 5412/2 Special Group, often referred simply as the Special Group, was an initially secret, but later public, subcommittee of the United States National Security Council responsible for coordinating government covert operations...
, a small high level group that would plan and develop national security operations, both overt and covert. The group consisted of the Undersecretary of State, the Deputy Secretary of Defense, the director the CIA, and Special Assistant Rockefeller as chairman. The group’s purpose was to oversee CIA operation and other anti-communist actions. However, State Department officials and CIA Director Allen Dulles refused to cooperate with the group and its initiatives were stymied or ignored. In September Rockefeller recommended the abolishment of the PCG and in December he resigned as Special Assistant to the President.
In 1956, he created the Special Studies Project
Special Studies Project
The Special Studies Project was a study funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund and conceived by its then president, Nelson Rockefeller, to 'define the major problems and opportunities facing the U.S. and clarify national purposes and objectives, and to develop principles which could serve as the...
, a major seven-panel planning group directed by Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
and funded by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund
Rockefeller Brothers Fund
The Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
, of which he was then president. It was an ambitious study created to define the central problems and opportunities facing the U.S. in the future, and to clarify national purposes and objectives. The reports were published individually as they were released and were republished together in 1961 as Prospect for America: The Rockefeller Panel Reports.
The Special Studies Project came into national prominence with the early release of its military subpanel's report, whose principal recommendation was a massive military buildup to counter a then-perceived military superiority threat posed by the USSR. The report was released two months after the October 1957 launch of Sputnik, and its recommendations were fully endorsed by Eisenhower in his January 1958 State of the Union
State Of The Union
"State Of The Union" is the debut single from British singer-songwriter David Ford. It had previously been featured as a demo on his official website, before appearing as a track on a CD entitled "Apology Demos EP," only on sale at live shows....
address. Some of the Special Studies Project’s domestic policy recommendations became part of President John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier initiative.
This initial contact with Kissinger was to develop into a lifelong relationship; Kissinger was later to be described as his closest intellectual associate. From this period Rockefeller employed Kissinger as a personally funded part-time consultant, principally on foreign policy issues, until the appointment to his staff became full-time in late 1968. In 1969, when Kissinger entered Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
's administration, Rockefeller paid him $50,000 as a severance payment.
Governor of New York, 1959-1973
Rockefeller left federal service in 1956 to concentrate on New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
state and national politics. From September 1956 to April 1958 he chaired the Temporary State Commission on the Constitutional Convention. That was followed by his chairmanship of the Special Legislative Committee on the Revision and Simplification of the Constitution. These two appointments served to educate him on the workings of New York state government and to make him visible in state political circles. In 1958, he was elected governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the State of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
by over 600,000 votes, defeating the incumbent, multi-millionaire W. Averell Harriman
W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman was an American Democratic Party politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was the son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman. He served as Secretary of Commerce under President Harry S. Truman and later as the 48th Governor of New York...
, even though 1958 was a banner year for Democrats elsewhere in the nation. Rockefeller was ultimately elected to four, four-year terms as governor of New York State. Re-elected in 1962, 1966 and 1970, Rockefeller vastly increased the state's role in education, environmental protection, transportation, housing, welfare, medical aid, civil rights, and the arts. He resigned three years into his fourth term.
Education
Rockefeller was the driving force in turning the State University of New YorkState University of New York
The State University of New York, abbreviated SUNY , is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. It is the largest comprehensive system of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the United States, with a total enrollment of 465,000 students, plus...
into the largest system of public higher education in the United States. Under his governorship it grew from 29 campuses and 38,000 full-time students to 72 campuses and 232,000 full-time students. Other accomplishments included more than quadrupling state aid to primary and secondary schools; providing the first state financial support for educational television; and requiring special education for mentally retarded children in public schools.
Conservation
Consistent with his personal interest in design and planning, Rockefeller began expansion of the New York State Parks system and improvement of park facilities. He persuaded voters to approve three major bond acts to raise more than $300 million for acquisition of park and forest preserve land and he built or started 55 new state parks. Rockefeller initiated studies of environmental issues, such as loss of agricultural land through development—an issue now characterized as "sprawlSprawl
Sprawl can refer to:*Sprawl , a defensive technique in wrestling and martial arts used to prevent a takedown.*Urban sprawl, also called suburban sprawl...
." In September 1968, Rockefeller appointed the Temporary Study Commission on the Future of the Adirondacks
Adirondack Mountains
The Adirondack Mountains are a mountain range located in the northeastern part of New York, that runs through Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Saint Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties....
. This led to his introduction to the Legislature in 1971 of a bill to create the controversial Adirondack Park Agency
Adirondack Park Agency
The Adirondack Park Agency was created in 1971 by New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller as a governmental agency that performs long-range planning for the future of the Adirondack Park. It oversees development plans of private land-owners as well as activities within the Adirondack Forest Preserve...
, which was designed to protect the Adirondack State Park from encroaching development. Also, he launched the Pure Waters Program, the first state bond issue to end water pollution; created the Department of Environmental Conservation; banned DDT and other dangerous pesticides; and established the Office of Parks and Recreation
New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
The New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation operates :*168 state parks*35 state historic sites*76 developed beaches*53 water recreational facilities*27 golf courses*39 full service cottages*818 cabins...
.
Transportation
In 1967 Rockefeller won approval of the largest state bond issue at the time ($2.5 billion) for the coordinated development of mass transportation, highways and airports. He initiated the creation and/or expansion of over 22000 miles (35,405.5 km) of highway including Long Island Expressway, the Southern Tier Expressway, the Adirondack Northway, and Interstate 81Interstate 81
Interstate 81 is an Interstate Highway in the eastern part of the United States. Its southern terminus is at Interstate 40 in Dandridge, Tennessee; its northern terminus is on Wellesley Island at the Canadian border, where the Thousand Islands Bridge connects it to Highway 401, the main freeway...
which vastly improved road transportation in the state of New York. Rockefeller introduced the state’s first support for mass transportation. He reformed the governing of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's transportation system, creating the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority in 1965. It merged the New York City subway system
New York City Transit Authority
The New York City Transit Authority is a public authority in the U.S. state of New York that operates public transportation in New York City...
with the publicly owned Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, legal name Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, is a division of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, that operates seven intrastate toll bridges and two tunnels in New York City...
, the Long Island Rail Road
Long Island Rail Road
The Long Island Rail Road or LIRR is a commuter rail system serving the length of Long Island, New York. It is the busiest commuter railroad in North America, serving about 81.5 million passengers each year. Established in 1834 and having operated continuously since then, it is the oldest US...
, the Staten Island Rapid Transit
Staten Island Railway
The Staten Island Rapid Transit Operating Authority, publicly known as MTA Staten Island Railway or SIR, is the operator of the lone rapid transit line in the borough of Staten Island, New York City, USA...
and later the Metro North Railroad, which were purchased by the state from private owners in a massive public bailout of bankrupt railroads. He also created the State Department of Transportation.
In taking over control of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, Rockefeller shifted power away from Robert Moses
Robert Moses
Robert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
, who controlled several of New York state's public infrastructure authorities. Under the New York MTA, toll revenue collected from the bridges and tunnels, which had previously been used to build more bridges, tunnels, and highways, now went to support mass transportation
Public transport
Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...
operations, thus shifting costs from general state funds to the motorist. In one controversial move, Rockefeller abandoned one of Moses's most desired projects, a Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
bridge from Rye to Oyster Bay in 1973 due to environmental opposition.
Housing
To create more low-income housing, Rockefeller created the New York State Urban Development Corporation (UDC), with unprecedented powers to override local zoningZoning
Zoning is a device of land use planning used by local governments in most developed countries. The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another...
, condemn property
Eminent domain
Eminent domain , compulsory purchase , resumption/compulsory acquisition , or expropriation is an action of the state to seize a citizen's private property, expropriate property, or seize a citizen's rights in property with due monetary compensation, but without the owner's consent...
, and create financing schemes to carry out desired development. The financing involved the creation of a new sort of bond—what came to be called "moral obligation" bonds. They were not backed by the full faith and credit of the State, but the quasi-public arrangements were meant to, and did, convey the impression that the State would not let them fail. Rockefeller is criticized in some quarters for having contributed to the "Too Big To Fail
Too Big to Fail
Too Big to Fail is a television drama film in the United States broadcast on HBO on May 23, 2011. It is based on the non-fiction book Too Big to Fail by Andrew Ross Sorkin. The TV film was directed by Curtis Hanson...
" phenomenon in U.S. finance in general. (UDC is now called the Empire State Development Corporation
Empire State Development Corporation
The Urban Development Corporation, doing business as Empire State Development Corporation is a public authority of the state of New York in the United States that has financed and operated several ambitious state projects by issuing tax exempt bonds....
.) By 1973, the Rockefeller administration had completed or started over 88,000 units of housing for limited income families and the aging.
Welfare and Medicaid
In the area of public assistance the Rockefeller administration carried out the largest state medical care program for the needy in the United States under Medicaid; achieved the first major decline in New York States’s welfare rolls since World War II; required employable welfare recipients to take available jobs or job training; began the state breakfast program for children in low income areas; and established the first state loan fund for non-profit groups to start day-care centers.Civil Rights
Rockefeller achieved virtual total prohibition of discrimination in housing and places of public accommodation. He outlawed job discrimination based on gender or age; increased by nearly 50% the number of African Americans and Hispanics holding state jobs; appointed women to head the largest number of state agencies in state history; prohibited discrimination against women in education, employment, housing and credit applications; admitted the first women to the State Police; initiated affirmative action programs for women in state government; and backed New York’s ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the US Constitution. He outlawed “block-busting” as a means of artificially depressing housing values and banned discrimination in the sale of all forms of insurance.The Arts
Rockefeller created the first State Council on the Arts in the country, which became a model for the National Endowment for the Arts. He also oversaw the construction of the Saratoga Performing Arts CenterSaratoga Performing Arts Center
The Saratoga Performing Arts Center is an amphitheater in Saratoga Springs, New York, which presents summer festivals of all kinds of music , dance, and opera, as well as a Wine & Food Festival...
in Saratoga Spa State Park.
Crime
During his fifteen years as governor Rockefeller doubled the size of the State Police, established the New York State Police Academy, adopted the “stop and frisk” and "no-knock” laws to strengthen police powers, and authorized 228 additional state judgeships to reduce court congestion.New York was the last state to have a mandatory death penalty for premeditated first degree murder. In 1963 Rockefeller signed legislation abandoning that and establishing a two stage trial for murder cases with punishment determined in the second stage. Rockefeller was a supporter of capital punishment
Capital punishment in New York
Capital punishment in New York has not been practiced since 1963, when Eddie Mays was electrocuted at Sing Sing Prison. The state was the first to adopt the electric chair as a method of execution, which replaced hanging. The state is third in recorded number of executions since 1608, after...
and oversaw 14 executions by electrocution
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
as Governor. The last execution, of Eddie Mays
Eddie Mays
Eddie Lee Mays was convicted of murder and robbery in 1962 and executed by the State of New York in 1963. He was the last person executed by the State of New York....
in 1963, remains to date the last execution in New York and was the last execution before Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia
Furman v. Georgia, was a United States Supreme Court decision that ruled on the requirement for a degree of consistency in the application of the death penalty. The case led to a de facto moratorium on capital punishment throughout the United States, which came to an end when Gregg v. Georgia was...
in the Northeast. However, despite his personal support for capital punishment, Rockefeller signed a bill in 1965 to abolish the death penalty except in cases involving the murder of police officers.
Rockefeller was also a supporter of the "law and order
Law and order (politics)
In politics, law and order refers to demands for a strict criminal justice system, especially in relation to violent and property crime, through harsher criminal penalties...
" platform.
Tough laws on drug users
What became known as the “Rockefeller drug lawsRockefeller drug laws
The Rockefeller Drug Laws is the term used to denote the statutes dealing with the sale and possession of "narcotic" drugs in the New York State Penal Law. The laws are named after Nelson Rockefeller, who was the state's governor at the time the laws were adopted...
” were a product of Rockefeller’s attempt to deal with the rapid increase in narcotics addiction and related crime. In 1962 he proposed a program of voluntary rehabilitation for addicted convicts rather than prison time. This was approved by the legislature, but by 1966 it was evident this program was not working as most addicts chose short prison terms rather than three years of treatment. He then turned to a program of compulsory treatment, rehabilitation and aftercare for three years. While this program saw success in rehabilitating addicts, it did little to reduce the narcotics trade and associated crime. Rockefeller was also frustrated that the federal government was not doing anything significant to address the problem. Feeling that existing laws and the way they were being implemented did not solve the problem of the "drug pusher", and pressured by voters angry about the drug problem, Rockefeller proposed a hard line approach. As approved by the legislature in 1973, the new drug laws included mandatory life sentences without the possibility of plea-bargaining or parole for all drug users, dealers, and those convicted of drug-related violent crimes; a $1,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of drug pushers; and deleting less harsh penalties for youthful offenders. Public support for the measures was mixed, as were the results. They did not lead more addicts to seek rehabilitation as hoped, and ultimately did not solve the problem of drug trafficking. These were among the toughest drug laws in the United States when they were enacted and are still on the books, albeit in moderated form. To carry out the rehabilitation program Rockefeller created the State Narcotics Addiction Control Commission (later the State Drug Abuse Control Commission.) New York also provided the financial support for research in methadone maintenance and the administration of the largest methadone
Methadone
Methadone is a synthetic opioid, used medically as an analgesic and a maintenance anti-addictive for use in patients with opioid dependency. It was developed in Germany in 1937...
maintenance program in the US.
Attica prison riot
On September 9, 1971, prisoners at the state penitentiary at Attica, NY, took control of a cell block and seized thirty-nine guards as hostages. After four days of negotiations, Department of Correctional Services Commissioner Russell Oswald agreed to most of the inmates' demands for various reforms but refused to grant complete amnestyAmnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
to the rioters, with passage out of the country and removal of the prison's superintendent. When negotiations stalled and the hostages appeared to be in imminent danger, Rockefeller ordered New York State Police
New York State Police
The New York State Police is the state police force of over 4,600 sworn Troopers for the state of New York. It was established on April 11, 1917 by the New York Legislature, in response to the 1913 murder of a construction foreman named Sam Howell in Westchester County, which at that time did not...
and national guard
United States National Guard
The National Guard of the United States is a reserve military force composed of state National Guard militia members or units under federally recognized active or inactive armed force service for the United States. Militia members are citizen soldiers, meaning they work part time for the National...
troops to restore order and take back the prison on September 13. Thirty nine people died in the assault, including ten of the hostages. An additonal eighty people were wounded in what was called "a turkey shoot" by state prosecutor Malcolm Bell.
A later investigation showed all but three of the deaths were caused by the gunfire of the national guard and police. The other three were inmates killed by other inmates at the beginning of the riot. Opponents blamed Rockefeller for these deaths in part because of his refusal to go to the prison and talk with the inmates, while his supporters, including many conservatives who had often vocally differed with him in the past, defended his actions as being necessary to the preservation of law and order. "I was trying to do the best I could to save the hostages, save the prisoners, restore order, and preserve our system without undertaking actions which could set a precedent which would go across this country like wildfire," Rockefeller later said.
In a telephone call with President Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, Rockefeller explained the deaths by saying "that's life."
Buildings and public works programs
Rockefeller engaged in massive building projects that left a profound mark on the state of New York. (Some of his detractors claimed that he had an "Edifice Complex.") He was personally interested in the planning, design, and construction of the many projects initiated during his administration, consistent with his interest in architecture. In addition, Rockefeller's construction programs included the US$2 billion South Mall in AlbanyAlbany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, later renamed the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
Empire State Plaza
The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
by Gov. Hugh Carey in 1978. It is a 98 acres (39.7 ha) campus of skyscrapers housing state offices and public plazas punctuated by an egg-shaped arts center. While in office he supported the construction of the World Trade Center.
Other programs
Rockefeller worked with the legislature and unions to create generous pension programs for many public workers, such as teachers, professors, firefighters, police officers, and prison guards. He proposed the first statewide minimum wageMinimum wage
A minimum wage is the lowest hourly, daily or monthly remuneration that employers may legally pay to workers. Equivalently, it is the lowest wage at which workers may sell their labour. Although minimum wage laws are in effect in a great many jurisdictions, there are differences of opinion about...
law in the US which was increased five times during his administration. Additional accomplishments of Rockefeller’s fifteen years as governor of New York include initiating the state lottery and off-track betting; adopting modern treatment techniques in state mental hospitals to reduce the number of mentally ill patients by over 50%; creating the State Office of the Aging and constructing nearly 12,000 units of housing for the aging; the first mandatory seatbelt law in the US; and creating the State Consumer Protection Board.
Abortion
Rockefeller supported reform of New York's abortionAbortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
laws beginning around 1968. The proposals supported by his administration would not have repealed the long-standing prohibition, but would have expanded the exceptions allowed for the protection of the mother's health, or in circumstances of fetal abnormality
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
.
The reform bills did not pass. But an outright repeal of the prohibition did pass, in 1970, and Rockefeller signed it. Further, in 1972 he vetoed another bill that would have restored the abortion ban.
He said in his 1972 veto message: "I do not believe it right for one group to impose its vision of morality on an entire society."
Moderate Republican
Reflecting his interdisciplinary approach to problem solving Rockefeller took a pragmatic approach to governing. In their book Rockefeller of New York: Executive Power in the State House, Robert Connery and Gerald Benjamin state, “Rockefeller was not committed to any ideology. Rather, he considered himself a practical problem solver, much more interested in defining problems and finding solutions around which he could unite support sufficient to ensure their enactment in legislation than in following either a strictly liberal or strictly conservative course. Rockefeller’s programs did not consistently follow either liberal or conservative ideology.” Early fiscal policies were conservative while later ones were not so. In the later years of his administration “conservative decisions on social programs were paralleled by liberal ones on environmental issues.” Rockefeller was opposed by conservatives in the GOP such as Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan because of his liberal political views. As governor, Rockefeller spent more than his predecessors. Rockefeller expanded the state's infrastructureInfrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, increased spending on education including a massive expansion of the State University of New York, and increased the state’s involvement in environmental issues. Rockefeller had good relations with unions, especially the construction trades, which benefited from his extensive building programs.
In foreign affairs, Rockefeller supported US involvement in the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
as well as US foreign aid. He also supported the U.S.'s fight against communism and its membership in NATO. As a result of Rockefeller's policies, some conservatives sought to gain leverage by creating the Conservative Party of New York
Conservative Party of New York
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....
. The small party acted as a minor counter-weight to the Liberal Party of New York
Liberal Party of New York
The Liberal Party of New York is a minor American political party that has been active only in the state of New York. Its platform supports a standard set of social liberal policies: it supports right to abortion, increased spending on education, and universal health care.As of 2007, the Liberal...
. The most common criticism of Rockefeller’s governorship of New York is that he tried to do too much too fast, vastly increasing the level of state debt which later contributed to New York’s fiscal crisis in 1975. Rockefeller created some 230 public-benefit authorities like the Urban Development Corporation. They were often used to issue bonds in order to avoid the requirement of a vote of the people for the issuance of a bond; such authority-issued bonds bore higher interest than if they had been issued directly by the state. The state budget went from $2.04 billion in 1959-60 to $8.8 billion in his last year, 1973-74. “Rockefeller sought and obtained eight tax increases during his fifteen years in office.” "During his administration, the tax burden rose to a higher level than in any other state, and the incidence of taxation shifted, with a greater share being borne by the individual taxpayer."
National politics
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
surged ahead in the polls. After quitting the campaign, Rockefeller backed Nixon, and concentrated his efforts on introducing more moderate planks into Nixon's platform.
Rockefeller, favored by moderate and liberal Republicans, was considered the front-runner for the 1964 campaign
United States presidential election, 1964
The United States presidential election of 1964 was held on November 3, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had come to office less than a year earlier following the assassination of his predecessor, John F. Kennedy. Johnson, who had successfully associated himself with Kennedy's...
against conservative Senator Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
of Arizona
Arizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
, who led the right wing of the Republican Party. In 1963, a year after Rockefeller's divorce from his first wife, he married Margaretta "Happy" Murphy, a divorcee with four children. This turned many in the party off, especially women. The divorce hurt Rockefeller's standing among voters and was widely condemned by politicians, including US Senator Prescott Bush (R-Connecticut), father of President George H.W. Bush and grandfather of President George W. Bush who spoke out condemning Rockefeller for his infidelity,divorce, and remarriage. Rockefeller finished third in the New Hampshire primary
New Hampshire primary
The New Hampshire primary is the first in a series of nationwide political party primary elections held in the United States every four years , as part of the process of choosing the Democratic and Republican nominees for the presidential elections to be held the subsequent November.Although only a...
in March, behind write-in Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr.
Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. was a Republican United States Senator from Massachusetts and a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, South Vietnam, West Germany, and the Holy See . He was the Republican nominee for Vice President in the 1960 Presidential election.-Early life:Lodge was born in Nahant,...
(from neighboring Massachusetts) and Goldwater. He then endured poor showings in several primaries, before winning an upset in the Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
primary in May. The birth of Rockefeller's child during the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
campaign put the divorce and remarriage issue back in the headlines. After a furious contest, Rockefeller narrowly lost the California primary in early June and dropped out of the race. However, at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco in July, Rockefeller was given five minutes to speak before the convention in defense of five amendments to the party platform put forth by the moderate wing of the Republican Party to counter the Goldwater plank. Right wing delegates booed and heckled Rockefeller for 16 minutes while he stood firmly at the podium insisting on his right to speak. Rockefeller refused to support Goldwater in the general election.
Rockefeller again sought the Republican presidential nomination in 1968. His opponents were Nixon and Governor Ronald W. Reagan of California. In the contest, Rockefeller again represented the liberals in the GOP, Reagan representing the conservative Goldwater element, and Nixon representing moderates and liberals also. Rather than formally announce his candidacy and enter the state primaries, Rockefeller spent the first half of 1968 alternating between hints that he would run, and pronouncements that he would not be a candidate. Shortly before the Republican convention, Rockefeller finally let it be known that he was available to be the nominee, and he sought to round up uncommitted delegates and woo reluctant Nixon delegates to his banner, armed with public opinion polls that showed him doing better among voters than either Nixon or Reagan against Democrat Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
. Nixon easily defeated both Reagan and Rockefeller, however.
After Gerald Ford
Gerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
's elevation to the Presidency, Rockefeller was named Vice-President, and he was initially mentioned and reportedly considered running for President for a fourth time in 1976
United States presidential election, 1976
The United States presidential election of 1976 followed the resignation of President Richard Nixon in the wake of the Watergate scandal. It pitted incumbent President Gerald Ford, the Republican candidate, against the relatively unknown former governor of Georgia, Jimmy Carter, the Democratic...
, if Ford declined to seek his own term.
Presidential Mission to Latin America
In 1969 at the request of President Nixon, Rockefeller and a team of 23 advisors visited 20 American republics to solicit opinions of US inter-American policies and to determine the needs and conditions of each country. Among the recommendations in Rockefeller’s report to the President were preferential trade agreements with Latin American countries, refinancing the region’s foreign debt, and removing bureaucratic impediments that prevented the efficient use of US aid. The Nixon administration did little to implement the report’s recommendations.National Commission on Water Quality
In May 1973 President Nixon appointed Rockefeller chairman of the National Commission on Water Quality, charged with determining the technological, economic, social and environmental implications of meeting water quality standards mandated by the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972. The Commission issued its report in March 1976 and he testified before Congress on its findings. He served until July 1976.Commission on Critical Choices for Americans
In November 1973, Rockefeller worked with former Delaware Governor Russell W. PetersonRussell W. Peterson
Russell Wilbur "Russ" Peterson was an American scientist and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He served as Governor of Delaware as a member of the Republican Party...
to establish the Commission on Critical Choices for Americans, and served as chairman until December 1974. The Commission was a private study project on national and international policy similar to the Special Studies Project he led 15 years earlier. It was made up of a nationally representative, bipartisan group of 42 prominent Americans drawn from far-ranging fields of interest who served on a voluntary basis. Members included the majority and minority leaders of both houses of Congress. The Commission gathered information and insights to better understand the problems facing America, and to present to the American public the “critical choices” to be made in facing those problems. He resigned as Governor of New York in December 1973, devoting himself to his new commission and the possibility of another presidential run.
Vice Presidency 1974-1977
Following President Nixon's resignation on August 9, 1974, President Gerald FordGerald Ford
Gerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
nominated Rockefeller on August 20 to serve as Vice President of the United States
Vice President of the United States
The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
. Rockefeller's top competitor had been George H.W. Bush.
While acknowledging that many conservatives opposed Rockefeller, Ford believed that he would bring executive expertise to the administration and would broaden the ticket’s appeal if they ran in 1976. Ford also felt he could demonstrate his own self confidence by selecting a strong personality like Rockefeller for the number two spot.
Although he had said he was “just not built for standby equipment,” Rockefeller accepted the President’s request to serve as Vice President:
"It was entirely a question of there being a Constitutional crisis and a crisis of confidence on the part of the American people...I felt there was a duty incumbent on any American who could do anything that would contribute to a restoration of confidence in the democratic process and in the integrity of government."Rockefeller was also persuaded by Ford’s promise to make him “a full partner” in his presidency, especially in domestic policy.
Rockefeller underwent extended hearings before Congress, which caused embarrassment when it was revealed he made massive gifts to senior aides, such as Henry Kissinger
Henry Kissinger
Heinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
and used his personal fortune to finance a scurrilous biography of political opponent Arthur Goldberg (See Peter Carroll "It Seemed Like Nothing Happened, p. 162). He had not paid all his taxes, owing nearly one million in federal income taxes, but no illegalities were uncovered, and he was confirmed. Although conservative Republicans were not pleased that Rockefeller was picked, most of them voted for his confirmation. However, some, including Barry Goldwater
Barry Goldwater
Barry Morris Goldwater was a five-term United States Senator from Arizona and the Republican Party's nominee for President in the 1964 election. An articulate and charismatic figure during the first half of the 1960s, he was known as "Mr...
, Jesse Helms
Jesse Helms
Jesse Alexander Helms, Jr. was a five-term Republican United States Senator from North Carolina who served as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee from 1995 to 2001...
, Trent Lott
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott, Sr. , is a former United States Senator from Mississippi and has served in numerous leadership positions in the House of Representatives and the Senate....
, and others voted against him. Many conservative groups campaigned against Rockefeller's nomination, including the National Right to Life Committee, the American Conservative Union, and others. The New York Conservative Party also opposed his confirmation. On the left, Americans for Democratic Action opposed Rockefeller's confirmation because it said his wealth posed too much of a conflict of interest .
Beginning his service upon taking the oath of office on Thursday, December 19, 1974 at 10:11 PM EST, Rockefeller was the second person appointed vice president under the 25th Amendment
Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution
The Twenty-fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution deals with succession to the Presidency and establishes procedures both for filling a vacancy in the office of the Vice President, as well as responding to Presidential disabilities...
the first being Ford himself. Rockefeller thus became the first (and only) person to serve in an executive position in the federal government who was not at the time in any elected office. Rockefeller often seemed concerned that Ford gave him little or no power, and few tasks, while he was Vice President. Ford initially said he wanted Rockefeller to chair the Domestic Council. But Ford's new White House staff had no intention of sharing power with the vice president and his staff.
Rockefeller’s attempt to take charge of domestic policy was thwarted by White House Chief of Staff Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
, who objected to policy makers reporting to the president through the vice president. When Rockefeller had one of his former aides, James Cannon, appointed executive director the Domestic Council, Rumsfeld cut its budget. Rockefeller was excluded from the decision making process on many important issues. When he learned that Ford had proposed cuts in federal taxes and spending he responded: “This is the most important move the president has made, and I wasn't even consulted." Nevertheless, Ford appointed him to the Commission on the Organization of Government for the Conduct of Foreign Policy, and appointed him Chairman of the Commission on CIA Activities within the United States, the National Commission on Productivity, the Federal Compensation Committee, and the Committee on the Right to Privacy. Ford also put Rockefeller in charge of his "Whip Inflation Now
Whip inflation now
Whip Inflation Now was an attempt to spur a grassroots movement to combat inflation, by encouraging personal savings and disciplined spending habits in combination with public measures, urged by U.S. President Gerald Ford...
" initiative.
While Rockefeller was vice president, the official vice presidential residence was established at Number One Observatory Circle
Number One Observatory Circle
Number One Observatory Circle is the official residence of the Vice President of the United States.Located on the northeast grounds of the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, the house was built in 1893 for its superintendent. The Chief of Naval Operations liked the house so much...
on the grounds of the United States Naval Observatory
United States Naval Observatory
The United States Naval Observatory is one of the oldest scientific agencies in the United States, with a primary mission to produce Positioning, Navigation, and Timing for the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense...
. This residence had previously been the home of the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
; prior vice presidents had been responsible for maintaining their own homes at their own expense, but the necessity of massive full-time Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
security had made this custom impractical to continue. Rockefeller already had a well-secured Washington residence and never lived in the home as a principal residence, although he did host several official functions there. His wealth enabled him to donate millions of dollars of furnishings to the house.
Rockefeller donated the salary he received as vice president to two causes. Half was given to the creation of federal programs to educate inner-city, low income children and to fund youth and family centers in the urban cities. The other half was donated to the preservation and promotion of programs teaching the arts in low income public school systems.
Rockefeller was slow to embrace the use of the government aircraft that were provided for vice presidential transportation. Rockefeller continued to use his own Gulfstream
Gulfstream Aerospace
Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation is a producer of several models of jet aircraft. Gulfstream has been a unit of General Dynamics since 1999.The company has produced more than 1,500 aircraft for corporate, government, private, and military customers around the world...
for the first part of his time in office. Initially Rockefeller felt he was doing the taxpayer a favor saving money by not using government funded transportation. Finally the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
was able to convince him they were spending more money flying agents around to meet the needs of his protective detail and he began to fly on the DC-9
McDonnell Douglas DC-9
The McDonnell Douglas DC-9 is a twin-engine, single-aisle jet airliner. It was first manufactured in 1965 with its maiden flight later that year. The DC-9 was designed for frequent, short flights. The final DC-9 was delivered in October 1982.The DC-9 was followed in subsequent modified forms by...
that was serving as Air Force Two
Air Force Two
Air Force Two is the air traffic control call sign used by any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the Vice President, but not the President. The term is often associated with the Boeing C-32, a modified 757 which is most commonly used as the Vice President's transport. The C-40 Clipper, a...
at the time.
In November 1975, Rockefeller told Ford that he would not run for election in 1976, saying that he "didn't come down (to Washington) to get caught up in party squabbles which only make it more difficult for the President in a very difficult time..." However, Ford, a moderate, under pressure from the conservative wing of the party and in response to Ronald Reagan’s challenge for the presidential nomination, had decided to drop Rockefeller in favor of the more conservative Senator Robert Dole from Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
. Reagan had indicated that he could not support Ford if Rockefeller were on the ticket, and Goldwater also said he did not want Rockefeller on the ticket. So Rockefeller was dropped from the ticket because he was too liberal. Ford was the last president to do this; every president since has run for re-election with the same vice president that he served with during his first term. Ford later said dropping Rockefeller was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. With Dole as his running mate, Ford narrowly lost to Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter
James Earl "Jimmy" Carter, Jr. is an American politician who served as the 39th President of the United States and was the recipient of the 2002 Nobel Peace Prize, the only U.S. President to have received the Prize after leaving office...
in the presidential race. What difference Rockefeller's presence on the ticket would have made remains a matter of speculation. Rockefeller campaigned actively for the Republican ticket. In what would become an iconic photo of the 1976 campaign, Rockefeller famously responded to hecklers at a rally in Binghamton, New York
Binghamton, New York
Binghamton is a city in the Southern Tier of New York in the United States. It is near the Pennsylvania border, in a bowl-shaped valley at the confluence of the Susquehanna and Chenango Rivers...
with a raised middle finger
Finger (gesture)
In Western culture, the finger , also known as the middle finger, is an obscene hand gesture, often meaning the phrases "fuck off" , "fuck you" or "up yours"...
. "At the time, Rockefeller's finger flashing was scandalous. Writing about the moment 20 years later, Michael Oricchio of the San Jose Mercury News
San Jose Mercury News
The San Jose Mercury News is a daily newspaper in San Jose, California. On its web site, however, it calls itself Silicon Valley Mercury News. The paper is owned by MediaNews Group...
said the action became known euphemistically as 'the Rockefeller gesture.'"
On January 10, 1977, Ford presented Rockefeller with the Presidential Medal of Freedom
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
.
Rockefeller visited George Bush's ranch on Texas in 1977, along with his wife.
Art patronage
Rockefeller served as a trustee of the Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
from 1932 to 1979. He also served as treasurer, 1935–1939, and president, 1939–1941 and 1946-1953. In 1933 Rockefeller was a member of the committee selecting art for the new Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
. For the wall opposite the main entrance of 30 Rockefeller Plaza Nelson Rockefeller wanted Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
or Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
to paint a mural because he favored their modern style
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
, but neither was available. Diego Rivera
Diego Rivera
Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
was one of Nelson Rockefeller's mother's favorite artists and therefore was commissioned to create the huge mural. He was given a theme: New Frontiers. Rockefeller wanted the painting to make people pause and think. Rivera submitted a sketch for a mural entitled “Man at the Crossroads Looking with Hope and High Vision to the Choosing of a New and Better Future.” The sketch featured an anonymous man at the center. However, when it was painted the work caused great controversy due to the inclusion of a painting of Lenin (depicting communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
) at the center. The Directors of Rockefeller Center objected and Rockefeller asked Rivera to change the face of Lenin to that of an unknown laborer's face as was originally intended, but the painter refused.
The work was paid for on May 22, 1933, and immediately draped. Rockefeller suggested that the fresco could be donated to the Museum of Modern Art, but the trustees of the museum were not interested. People protested but it remained covered until the early weeks of 1934, when it was smashed by workers and hauled away in wheelbarrows. Rivera responded by saying that it was "cultural vandalism". At Rockefeller Center in its place is a mural by Jose Maria Sert which includes an image of Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
. The Rockefeller-Rivera dispute is covered in the films Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock
Cradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein...
and Frida
Frida
Frida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
.
Rockefeller was a noted collector of both modern and non-Western art. During his governorship, New York State acquired major works of art for the new Empire State Plaza in Albany. He continued his mother's work at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
as president, and turned the basement of his Kykuit
Kykuit
Kykuit , also known as John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, New York, built by the oil businessman, philanthropist and founder of the prominent Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, and his son, John D...
mansion into a gallery while placing works of sculpture around the grounds (an activity he enjoyed personally supervising, frequently moving the pieces from place to place by helicopter). While he was overseeing construction of the State University of New York system, Rockefeller built, in collaboration with his lifelong friend Roy Neuberger
Roy Neuberger
Roy Rothschild Neuberger was an American financier who contributed money to raise public awareness of modern art through his acquisition of pieces he deemed worthy. He was a co-founder of the investment firm Neuberger Berman....
, the Neuberger Museum on the campus of SUNY Purchase College, designed by Philip Johnson
Philip Johnson
Philip Cortelyou Johnson was an influential American architect.In 1930, he founded the Department of Architecture and Design at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City, and later , as a trustee, he was awarded an American Institute of Architects Gold Medal and the first Pritzker Architecture...
.
He commissioned Master Santiago Martínez Delgado
Santiago Martínez Delgado
Santiago Martínez Delgado was a Colombian painter, sculptor, art historian and writer. He established a reputation as a prominent muralist during the 1940s and is also known for his watercolors, oil paintings, illustrations and woodcarvings....
to make a canvas mural for the Bank of New York (City Bank) in Bogotá, Colombia; this ended up being the last work of the artist, as he died while finishing it.
Rockefeller's early visits to Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
kindled a collecting interest in pre-Columbian and contemporary Mexican art, to which he added works of traditional African and Pacific Island art. In 1954 he established the Museum of Primitive Art
Museum of Primitive Art
The Museum of Primitive Art, is a now defunct museum devoted to the arts of the indigenous cultures of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas as well as the early civilizations of Europe and Asia. It was founded in 1954 by Nelson Rockefeller, who donated his own collection of Tribal art. The museum...
devoted to the indigenous art of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and early Asia and Europe. His personal collection formed the core of the collection. The museum opened to the public in 1957 in a townhouse on West 54th Street in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. In 1969 he gave the museum's collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
where it became the Michael C. Rockefeller Collection.
In 1978, Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf
Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. is a New York publishing house, founded by Alfred A. Knopf, Sr. in 1915. It was acquired by Random House in 1960 and is now part of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group at Random House. The publishing house is known for its borzoi trademark , which was designed by co-founder...
published a book on primitive art from Rockefeller's collection. Rockefeller, impressed with the work of photographer Lee Boltin and editor/publisher Paul Anbinder on the book, co-founded Nelson Rockefeller Publications, Inc. with them, with the goal of publishing fine art books of high quality. After Rockefeller's death less than a year later, the company continued as Hudson Hills Press, Inc.
In 1977 he founded Nelson Rockefeller Collection, Inc., (NRC) an art reproduction company that produced and sold licensed reproductions of selected works from Rockefeller’s collection. In the introduction to the NRC catalog he stated he was motivated by his desire to share with others “the joy of living with these beautiful objects.”
Marriages
On June 23, 1930, Rockefeller married Mary Todhunter ClarkMary Rockefeller
Mary Todhunter Clark Rockefeller was the first wife of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, a Governor of New York. He served, after their divorce, as the 41st Vice President of the United States.-Biography:...
. They had five children: Rodman
Rodman Rockefeller
Rodman Clark Rockefeller was the oldest son of former U.S. Vice President Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and his wife Mary Todhunter "Tod" Clark, and was a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family.-Biography:...
, Ann, Steven, and twins Mary and Michael
Michael Rockefeller
Michael Clark Rockefeller , was the youngest son of New York Governor Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and Mary Todhunter Rockefeller and a fourth generation member of the Rockefeller family...
. Michael disappeared in New Guinea in 1961, presumed drowned while trying to swim to shore after his dugout canoe capsized.
Nelson and Mary were divorced in 1962. The two lived in a two floor apartment at 810 Fifth Avenue
810 Fifth Avenue
810 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City.810 Fifth is located on the northeast corner of East 62nd Street, across the street from the Knickerbocker Club. It was designed by J. E. R. Carpenter for the Bricken Construction Company and built in 1926 on...
. The 30-room apartment was renovated for the Rockefellers by Wallace Harrison
Wallace Harrison
Wallace Kirkman Harrison , was an American architect.-Career:Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center...
and decorated by Jean-Michel Frank
Jean-Michel Frank
Jean-Michel Frank was a French interior designer known for minimalist interiors decorated with plain-lined but sumptuous furniture made of luxury materials, such as shagreen, mica, and intricate straw marquetry.-Life and career:...
. She retained the apartment after the divorce.
On May 4, 1963 he married Margaretta "Happy" Murphy. He and his second wife had two children together, Nelson, Jr. and Mark
Mark Rockefeller
Mark Fitler Rockefeller is a fourth-generation member of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest son of Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller and Happy Rockefeller...
. They moved to a penthouse that encompassed the top three floors at 810 Fifth Avenue
810 Fifth Avenue
810 Fifth Avenue is a luxury residential housing cooperative in Manhattan, New York City.810 Fifth is located on the northeast corner of East 62nd Street, across the street from the Knickerbocker Club. It was designed by J. E. R. Carpenter for the Bricken Construction Company and built in 1926 on...
. The apartment was expanded by purchasing a floor of 812 Fifth Avenue. The two spaces connected via a flight of six steps. Nelson and Happy Rockefeller used the entrance at 812 Fifth, while his first wife entered through 810 Fifth. They remained married until his death in 1979.
Death
Rockefeller died on January 26, 1979, at age 70 from a heart attackMyocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. An initial report had incorrectly stated that he was at his office at Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center
Rockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
working on a book about his art collection, and a security guard found him slumped over his desk. However, the report was soon corrected to state that Rockefeller actually had the fatal heart attack in another office he owned in a townhouse at 13 West 54th Street
54th Street (Manhattan)
54th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling west to east across Midtown Manhattan.-West Side Highway:*The route begins at the West Side Highway . Opposite the intersection is the New York Passenger Ship Terminal and the Hudson River...
in the presence of Megan Marshack, an aide. After the heart attack, Marshack called her friend, news reporter Ponchitta Pierce, to the townhouse, and Pierce phoned an ambulance approximately an hour after the heart attack. There was some speculation in the press regarding the possibility of an intimate relationship between Rockefeller and Marshack. For example, long-time Rockefeller aide Joe Persico said in the PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary about the Rockefeller family "It became known that he had been alone with a young woman who worked for him, in undeniably intimate circumstances, and in the course of that evening had died from a heart attack." Rockefeller’s four oldest children issued a statement saying they had conducted their own review, they believed that their father could not have been saved, and that all those who tried to help had acted responsibly. Neither Marshack nor the family has commented since on the circumstances surrounding Rockefeller's death. It is likely that Rockefeller died immediately or shortly after his heart attack.
On January 29, 1979, family and close friends gathered to inter Rockefeller’s ashes in a private Rockefeller family cemetery in Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow, New York
Sleepy Hollow is a village in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hudson River, about north of midtown Manhattan in New York City, and is served by the Philipse Manor stop on the Metro-North Hudson Line.Originally...
. His remains had been cremated at Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery
Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum is located on Secor Road in the hamlet of Hartsdale, town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York, about 25 miles north of Midtown Manhattan. It was founded in 1902, and is non-sectarian...
in nearby Hartsdale
Hartsdale, New York
Hartsdale is a hamlet and a census-designated place located in the town of Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. The population was 5,293 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Hartsdale is located at ....
. A memorial service was held at Riverside Church
Riverside Church
The Riverside Church in the City of New York is an interdenominational church in New York City, famous for its elaborate Neo-Gothic architecture—which includes the world's largest tuned carillon bell...
in New York on February 2, attended by 2,200 people. Attendees included President Jimmy Carter, President Gerald Ford, more than 100 members of the US Senate and House of Representatives including Senator Barry Goldwater, and official representatives from 71 foreign countries. Eulogies were delivered by two of Rockefeller’s children, his brother David and Henry Kissinger.
In popular media
- Rockefeller is portrayed by Edward NortonEdward NortonEdward Harrison Norton is an American actor, screenwriter, film director and producer. In 1996, his supporting role in the courtroom drama Primal Fear garnered him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor...
in the film FridaFridaFrida is a 2002 biographical film which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. It stars Salma Hayek in her Academy Award nominated portrayal as Kahlo and Alfred Molina as her husband, Diego Rivera....
and by John CusackJohn CusackJohn Paul Cusack is an American film actor and screenwriter. He has appeared in more than 50 films, including The Journey of Natty Gann, Say Anything..., Grosse Point Blank, The Thin Red Line, Stand by Me, Con Air, Being John Malkovich, High Fidelity, Serendipity, Runaway Jury, The Ice Harvest,...
in the film Cradle Will RockCradle Will RockCradle Will Rock is a 1999 drama film which chronicles the process and events that surrounded the production of the original 1937 musical The Cradle Will Rock by Marc Blitzstein...
, both depicting his involvement in the Diego RiveraDiego RiveraDiego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...
mural controversy. - The song "This Nelson RockefellerThis Nelson Rockefeller"This Nelson Rockefeller" was a single by the band McCarthy. It did not appear on any of the bands studio albums.The b-sides were "The Fall ", "The Funeral ", "The Enemy Is At Home " and "The Way Of The World "....
" by McCarthyMcCarthy (band)McCarthy were a British indie pop band, formed in Barking, Essex, England in 1984 by schoolmates Malcolm Eden and Tim Gane with John Williamson and Gary Baker...
is dedicated to him. - He is referenced in the title of the Charles MingusCharles MingusCharles Mingus Jr. was an American jazz musician, composer, bandleader, and civil rights activist.Mingus's compositions retained the hot and soulful feel of hard bop and drew heavily from black gospel music while sometimes drawing on elements of Third stream, free jazz, and classical music...
composition "Remember Rockefeller at Attica". - He is played by actor Edward HerrmannEdward HerrmannEdward Kirk Herrmann is a U.S. television and film actor. He is best known for his Emmy-nominated portrayals of Franklin D...
in the Oliver StoneOliver StoneWilliam Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
movie NixonNixon (film)Nixon is a 1995 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone for Cinergi Pictures that tells the story of the political and personal life of former US President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins....
. - In John LennonJohn LennonJohn Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
's 1972 song "Attica State" on the album Some Time in New York CitySome Time in New York CitySome Time in New York City was released in 1972 and is John Lennon's third post-Beatles album, fifth with Yoko Ono, and third with producer Phil Spector...
Lennon sings 'Media blames it on the prisoners/ But the prisoners did not kill/ "Rockefeller pulled the trigger"/ That is what the people feel'. - In Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, Rockefeller is President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in the parallel universeParallel universe (fiction)A parallel universe or alternative reality is a hypothetical self-contained separate reality coexisting with one's own. A specific group of parallel universes is called a "multiverse", although this term can also be used to describe the possible parallel universes that constitute reality...
of Earth-712, the alternate world inhabited by the Squadron SupremeSquadron SupremeThe Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first appeared in Avengers #85 - 86 The Squadron Supreme is a fictional superhero team that appears in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The Squadron Supreme first...
which is described as "strangely without a Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
". In this alternate timeline, Rockefeller succeeds President Hubert HumphreyHubert HumphreyHubert Horatio Humphrey, Jr. , served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the 38th Vice President of the United States. Humphrey twice served as a United States Senator from Minnesota, and served as Democratic Majority Whip. He was a founder of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party and...
. - Rockefeller's marriage to Happy is referenced in a third-season episode of the TV show Mad MenMad MenMad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
, set in New York in 1963, and the recurring fictional character Henry Francis is an aide in then-governor Rockefeller's office.
Awards Presented to Nelson A. Rockefeller
- Presidential Medal of FreedomPresidential Medal of FreedomThe Presidential Medal of Freedom is an award bestowed by the President of the United States and is—along with thecomparable Congressional Gold Medal bestowed by an act of U.S. Congress—the highest civilian award in the United States...
, 1977 - Universal Brotherhood Medal, Jewish Theological Seminary of America, 1961
- Charles Evans Hughes Medal, National Conference of Christians and Jews, 1965
- Distinguished Service to Conservation Award, National Wildlife Federation/Sears Roebuck Foundation, 1966
- Gold Medal Award, National Institute of Social Sciences, 1967 (awarded to all five Rockefeller brothers)
- Award of Merit, American Institute of Architects, New York Chapter, 1968
- Distinguished Service Award, State University of New York, 1973
- Four Freedoms Foundation Award, 1974
- Order of Merit, Chile, 1945
- National Order of the Southern CrossOrder of the Southern CrossThe National Order of the Southern Cross is a Brazilian order of chivalry founded by Emperor Pedro I on 1 December 1822. This order was intended to commemorate the independence of Brazil and the coronation of Pedro I...
, Brazil, 1946 - Order of the Aztec EagleOrder of the Aztec EagleThe Order of the Aztec Eagle is a Mexican order and is the highest decoration awarded to foreigners in the country.It was created by decree on December 29, 1933 by President Abelardo L. Rodríguez as a reward to services given to Mexico or humankind by foreigners...
, Mexico, 1949 - Order of Ruben Dario, Nicaragua, 1953
- Medallion de los Andes, University of the Andes, Colombia, 1958
- Commandeur of the Ordre des Arts et des LettresOrdre des Arts et des LettresThe Ordre des Arts et des Lettres is an Order of France, established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture, and confirmed as part of the Ordre national du Mérite by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963...
, France, 1958 - Grande Croix de l’Ordre de Leopold II of BelgiumOrder of Leopold IIThe Order of Leopold II is an order of Belgium and is named in honor of King Léopold II. The decoration was established on 24 August 1900 by Leopold II as king of the Congo Free State and was in 1908, upon Congo being handed over to Belgium, incorporated into the Belgian awards system...
, 1959 - Ramon Magsaysay AwardRamon Magsaysay AwardThe Ramon Magsaysay Award is an annual award established to perpetuate former Philippine President Ramon Magsaysay's example of integrity in government, courageous service to the people, and pragmatic idealism within a democratic society. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is often considered Asia's Nobel...
, Philippines, 1959 - Grand Cross of the Order of Orange-NassauOrder of Orange-NassauThe Order of Orange-Nassau is a military and civil order of the Netherlands which was created on 4 April 1892 by the Queen regent Emma of the Netherlands, acting on behalf of her under-age daughter Queen Wilhelmina. The Order is a chivalry order open to "everyone who have earned special merits for...
, Netherlands, 1960 - Prathamabhorn Knight Grand Cross of the Most Exalted Order of the White ElephantOrder of the White ElephantThe Most Exalted Order of the White Elephant is the most awarded order of Thailand. It was established in 1861 by King Rama IV of the Kingdom of Siam.The Order consists of eight classes:...
, Thailand, 1960 - Légion d'honneurLégion d'honneurThe Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, Commandeur, France, 1960 - Commander of the Order of Dannebrog, 1st Class, Denmark, 1960
- Grand Ufficials del ‘Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, Italy, 1962
- Order of the White RoseOrder of the White RoseThe Order of the White Rose of Finland is one of three official orders in Finland, along with the Order of the Cross of Liberty, and the Order of the Lion of Finland. The President of Finland is the Grand Master of all three orders. The orders are administered by boards consisting of a chancellor,...
, Commander 1st Class, Finland, 1962 - Agricultural Merit Award, Brazilian Rural Confederation, 1963
- Grand Cordon of the Order of the Brilliant Star, Nationalist China, 1969
- Nicholas Copericus Award, Poland, 1972
Memorials to Nelson A. Rockefeller
The following institutions and facilities have been named in honor of Nelson A. Rockefeller:- The Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York
- The Nelson A. Rockefeller Center, Dartmouth College, a social science research center
- Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York
- The Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Park, Battery City, New York
Awards Named for Nelson A. Rockefeller
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Award, Purchase College School of the Arts, presented annually to five individuals who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the arts or the environment.
- Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Award for Excellence in Public Service, State Academy for Public Administration.
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Distinguished Public Service Award, Nelson A. Rockefeller Center for the Social Sciences, Dartmouth College.
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Award, American Society for Public Administration, Empire State Capital Area Chapter, presented to an individual whose governmental career in New York State demonstrates exemplary leadership, performance, and achievement in shaping public policy, developing and implementing major public programs, or resolving major public problems.
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Award, The New York Water Environment Association, Inc., awarded to an elected official at a City (population over 250,000), State or National level who has made a substantial and meaningful contribution to advancing effective environmental programs.
- Nelson A. Rockefeller Public Service Award, Rockefeller Institute of Government (1988–1994).
See also
- Rockefeller RepublicanRockefeller RepublicanRockefeller Republican refers to a faction of the United States Republican Party who held moderate to liberal views similar to those of Nelson Rockefeller...
- Henry KissingerHenry KissingerHeinz Alfred "Henry" Kissinger is a German-born American academic, political scientist, diplomat, and businessman. He is a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He served as National Security Advisor and later concurrently as Secretary of State in the administrations of Presidents Richard Nixon and...
- Rockefeller familyRockefeller familyThe Rockefeller family , the Cleveland family of John D. Rockefeller and his brother William Rockefeller , is an American industrial, banking, and political family of German origin that made one of the world's largest private fortunes in the oil business during the late 19th and early 20th...
- David RockefellerDavid RockefellerDavid Rockefeller, Sr. is the current patriarch of the Rockefeller family. He is the youngest and only surviving child of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, and the only surviving grandchild of oil tycoon John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil. His five siblings were...
- KykuitKykuitKykuit , also known as John D. Rockefeller Estate, is a 40-room National Trust house in Westchester County, New York, built by the oil businessman, philanthropist and founder of the prominent Rockefeller family, John D. Rockefeller, and his son, John D...
The Rockefeller family estate - Rockefeller CenterRockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
- Museum of Modern ArtMuseum of Modern ArtThe Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
- Rockefeller Brothers FundRockefeller Brothers FundThe Rockefeller Brothers Fund , , is an international philanthropic organisation created and run by members of the Rockefeller family. It was set up in New York City in 1940 as the primary philanthropic vehicle of the five famous Rockefeller brothers: John D...
- GE BuildingGE BuildingThe GE Building is an Art Deco skyscraper that forms the centerpiece of Rockefeller Center in the midtown Manhattan section of New York City. Known as the RCA Building until 1988, it is most famous for housing the headquarters of the television network NBC...
(Room 5600 - The Rockefeller Family Office) - World Trade CenterWorld Trade CenterThe original World Trade Center was a complex with seven buildings featuring landmark twin towers in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States. The complex opened on April 4, 1973, and was destroyed in 2001 during the September 11 attacks. The site is currently being rebuilt with five new...
- Empire State PlazaEmpire State PlazaThe Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza is a complex of several state government buildings in downtown Albany, New York....
- Wallace HarrisonWallace HarrisonWallace Kirkman Harrison , was an American architect.-Career:Harrison started his professional career with the firm of Corbett, Harrison & MacMurray, participating in the construction of Rockefeller Center...
- Robert MosesRobert MosesRobert Moses was the "master builder" of mid-20th century New York City, Long Island, Rockland County, and Westchester County, New York. As the shaper of a modern city, he is sometimes compared to Baron Haussmann of Second Empire Paris, and is one of the most polarizing figures in the history of...
- J Edgar Hoover
- United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- Gerald FordGerald FordGerald Rudolph "Jerry" Ford, Jr. was the 38th President of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977, and the 40th Vice President of the United States serving from 1973 to 1974...
- Richard NixonRichard NixonRichard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
- Franklin D. RooseveltFranklin D. RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
External links
- Rockefeller Archive Center: Nelson Rockefeller Contains details on the collection of public and private papers available to researchers at the Center.
- The Rocky Roll An extended portrait by Time Magazine of Nelson campaigning for New York Governor in 1958.
- Rockefeller Archive Center: Archived papers of the Special Studies Project, 1956-1960.
- http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=R000363 Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress biography
- Spartacus Educational Biography
- www.rca5600.be Contains details about the relation between Rockefeller's role in US policy and his role in Cultural policy
- Finding aid for the Nelson Rockefeller Oral History, Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library
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