Wickard was born on his family farm in
Carroll County, Indiana, near
Camden, on February 28, 1893. He was born to Iva Lenora (
née Kirkpatrick) and Andrew Jackson Wickard. He graduated from
Purdue University in 1915 with a bachelor's degree in agriculture, and he was chosen as "Master Farmer of Indiana" in 1927 for his improvements in stock feeding and farming. He was elected from the
Indiana Senate in 1932, and was appointed as Undersecretary of Agriculture. When
Henry A. Wallace resigned as the
secretary of agriculture in September 1940 to run for vice president in the
1940 presidential election, Wickard was appointed to the post. He was on the winning side in
Wickard v. Filburn, in which the
U.S. Supreme Court decided in a case that the federal government could control wheat that was grown in one state for the personal use of a farmer. During
World War II, Wickard headed the
War Food Administration, promoting increased farmer production as a matter of patriotism. His slogan was "Food Will Win the War and Write the Peace." On January 18, 1943, Wickard banned the sale of presliced bread, possibly to save tools and wax paper, as required at the time. The ban lasted for less than two months, being rescinded in March 1943. He resigned on June 29, 1945, to become Chief of the
Rural Electrification Administration, where he served until 1953. He ran unsuccessfully as a
Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1956, losing to incumbent
Homer E. Capehart. Wickard was killed in an automobile accident and died on April 29, 1967. Reportedly, he ran a stop sign at the intersection of
Indiana State Road 18 and the
U.S. Highway 421 near
Delphi, Indiana, and his vehicle was hit by a crushed-stone truck. He is interred in Maple Lawn Cemetery in
Flora, Indiana. ==See also==