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David Houston
David F. Houstonc. 1906
48thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
In office February 2, 1920 – March 3, 1921
President	Woodrow Wilson
Preceded by	Carter Glass
Succeeded by	Andrew Mellon
5thUnited States Secretary of Agriculture
In office March 6, 1913 – February 2, 1920
President	Woodrow Wilson
Preceded by	Jim Wilson
Succeeded by	Edwin T. Meredith
8thChancellor of Washington University
In office 1908–1913
Preceded by	Marshall Snow(Acting)
Succeeded by	Frederic Hall
4thPresident of the University of Texas
In office September 1, 1905 – September 1, 1908
Preceded by	William Prather
Succeeded by	Sidney Mezes
6th President of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas
In office July 1, 1902 – September 1, 1905
Preceded by	Roger H. Whitlock(Acting)
Succeeded by	Henry Harrington
Personal details
Born	David Franklin Houston (1866-02-17)February 17, 1866 Monroe, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	September 2, 1940(1940-09-02) (aged 74) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Helen Beall ​ (m. 1895)​
Children	5, includingLawrence
Academic background
Education	University of South Carolina (BA) Harvard University (MA)
Academic work
Discipline	Political science
Institutions	University of Texas A&M College of Texas Washington University
Notable works	A Critical Study of Nullification in South Carolina (1896) Eight Years with Wilson's Cabinet (1926)

David Franklin Houston (February 17, 1866 – September 2, 1940) was an American academic, businessman andconservative Democrat.^[1] He served underPresident Wilson as the 5thSecretary of Agriculture and the 48thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury.

Houston was born inMonroe, North Carolina, on February 17, 1866. He was the son of William Henry Houston, a horse dealer and grocer, and his wife, the former Pamela Ann Stevens. He graduated from theUniversity of South Carolina in 1887, with honors,^[2] and completed his graduate work atHarvard University, where he received a M.A. inpolitical science in 1892.^[3] Houston married Helen Beall on December 11, 1895.^[2] They had five children: David Franklin, Jr., Duval, Elizabeth, Helen andLawrence R. Houston.^[4]

Houston taughtpolitical science at theUniversity of Texas inAustin. He became an adjunct member of the faculty in 1894 and was named dean of the faculty in 1899. He then became thepresident of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (nowTexas A&M University) from 1902 until 1905. In 1905 he returned to the University of Texas to become thepresident of the institution, serving until 1908. During his tenure at UT, the school opened a doctoral program and a law school.^[2]

Houston left Texas to serve as chancellor ofWashington University inSt. Louis, after being recommended byCharles W. Eliot, thepresident of Harvard University.^[2] He held the position from 1908 to 1913. During his tenure he established the School of Architecture and strengthened the medical school through partnerships withChildren's andBarnes hospitals. He left the university to become theU.S. Secretary of Agriculture.^[5]

UnderPresidentWilliam McKinley he was on the board of visitors of theUnited States Military Academy at West Point. Later in life, he was an overseer of Harvard University and on theColumbia University Board of Trustees.^[2]

Houston served as PresidentWoodrow Wilson'sSecretary of Agriculture from 1913 to 1920. During his time as Agriculture Secretary many important agricultural laws were passed by theU.S. Congress, including theSmith-Lever Act, theFarm Loan Act, theWarehouse Act, and theFederal Aid Road Act. However following theFood and Fuel Control Act responsibility for food was handed over toHerbert Hoover at theUnited States Food Administration. Hoover only accepted the position on the basis he would be free from interference from Houston.^[6]

He became theSecretary of the Treasury from 1920 to 1921 shortly following theFirst World War.^[7] His brief tenure was marked by stormy controversies over federalmonetary policies. Asex officioChairman of the Federal Reserve Board, he issued severe warnings and, increased rediscount rates in order to prevent theinflation that the European allies were experiencing. Houston predicted a fall in U.S. prices, particularly of farm products, after the optimism of the Armistice wore off. He pushed for easier credit for farmers and urged them to produce less.

But when prices fell more dramatically than expected in 1920, farm spokesmen unfairly accused Houston of deliberately wrecking agrarian prosperity. Abroad, England andFrance were pushing to cancel their war debts. Houston, the U.S. Congress and the President, against cancellation, converted the short-term debts to long-term loans. Houston resigned at the end of President Wilson's term, after only a year in office.

During his time in government Houston advocated other progressive measures such as the provision of a proper system of personal credit unions, aiding land settlement, the encouragement of farm ownership,^[8] and improvements in rural health and sanitation. In regards to the latter, Houston stated that “To what extent the further projection of effort is a matter for state or local action remains to be determined, but it seems clear that there should be no cessation of activity until there has been completed, in every community of the Union, an effective sanitary survey and, through the provision of adequate machinery, steps taken to control and eliminate the sources of disease and to provide the necessary modern medical and dental facilities easily accessible to the mass of the people.”^[9] Houston also argued that "The farmer, as well as the industrial worker, is entitled to a living wage and to a reasonable profit on his investment."^[10] He also argued that "We are all in sympathy with rational proposals for the improvement of the masses of the less fortunate people of the Nation and of the world, but this improvement must come by orderly processes. And we must recognize that, after all, the real progress of humanity is slow."^[11]

After leaving theU.S. federal government, Houston became as the president of theBell Telephone Securities and a vice president atAT&T. Houston also served as a director of AT&T, theGuaranty Trust Company and theUnited States Steel Corporation. He was president of theMutual Life Insurance Company of New York for ten years.^[2]

Houston died of aheart attack on September 2, 1940, atColumbia Presbyterian Medical Center inNew York City.^[2][12] He was buried next to his wife at Saint John's Church Cemetery inLaurel Hollow, New York.

Houston publishedA Critical Study of Nullification in South Carolina (1896) to establish his place in academia. He later published a two-volume memoir of his experiences as a cabinet member,Eight Years with Wilson's Cabinet.^[3]

• Media related toDavid F. Houston at Wikimedia Commons
• Works by or aboutDavid Franklin Houston atWikisource

• 1866 births
• 1940 deaths
• Chancellors of Washington University in St. Louis
• Presidents of the University of Texas at Austin
• Candidates in the 1924 United States presidential election
• Secretaries of agriculture of the United States
• United States secretaries of the treasury
• University of South Carolina alumni
• Harvard University alumni
• Presidents of Texas A&M University
• Columbia University people
• People from Monroe, North Carolina
• Episcopalians from North Carolina
• Woodrow Wilson administration cabinet members
• Phi Delta Theta members

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