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Rexford Guy Tugwell (July 10, 1891 – July 21, 1979) was an American economist who became part of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia University academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to the New Deal. Tugwell served in FDR's administration until he was forced out in 1936. He helped design the New Deal farm program and the Resettlement Administration that moved subsistence farmers into small rented farms under close supervision. He was denounced by conservatives who said his government-imposed planning violated the values of individualism. Roosevelt later appointed Tugwell as Governor of Puerto Rico in 1941, a post in which he served until 1946. He was the last non-Puerto Rican to govern the island.
In 1948, Tugwell served as chair of the platform committee for the Progressive Party, a coalition founded by Democratic Party breakaways to support Henry Wallace for President over Harry Truman.
Rexford Tugwell in Joe Steele[]
Literary comment[]
In the short story "Joe Steele", Rexford Tugwell appears at the Democratic convention in Chicago in 1932, alongside Louis Howe and James Farley as Franklin D. Roosevelt's proxies. Tugwell is not mentioned in the novel.
| Political offices (OTL) | ||
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| Preceded by José Miguel Gallardo |
Governor of Puerto Rico 1941-1946 |
Succeeded by Jesus T. Piñero |
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