The Inimitable Clifford Lord
In June 1946, thirty-four-year-old Clifford Lee Lord entered the State Historical Society of Wisconsin headquarters building to become the century-old institution’s sixth director. He was a scholar, author, editor, and administrator, and, for the next twelve momentous years, he would be the head of the Society. As William B. Hesseltine remembered in a tribute written after Lord’s departure, he was a “genial zealot, bringing with him an enthusiastic welcome for new ideas and a drive for putting them into operation.” This article focuses on those years during which he enacted a series of reforms that dramatically changed the Society and created a structure that, in many ways, still defines it today. It is not too much of an exaggeration to state that Lord’s dynamic leadership gave birth to the modern incarnation of the Wisconsin Historical Society.
When he arrived, the Society had reached the pinnacle of a certain type of development, which had begun in the nineteenth century with Lyman Draper and Reuben Gold Thwaites and continued in the twentieth century under Milo M. Quaife and Joseph Schafer. It was a scholarly institution, almost antiquarian, with a narrowly focused membership that was increasingly out of touch with the interests of the people of Wisconsin. Its primary connection was with the University of Wisconsin, as both institutions’ libraries shared overcrowded space at the Society’s headquarters at 816 State Street in Madison. It had barely withstood the damaging effects of the Great Depression and had had a long string of stagnant budgets.
After Schafer’s death in 1941, the Board of Curators, the governing body of the Society, decided to hire a director who would develop new policies and programs. The Board wanted a younger individual with a solid background in history who would be able to reach out to new audiences. After a prolonged search, the position was offered to Edward P. Alexander, the director of the New York State Historical Association in Cooperstown. As it happened, Alexander’s entire tenure was framed by World War II. The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred three months after his arrival, and that meant that most of his plans needed to be put on hold for the duration. Nevertheless, he succeeded in laying the groundwork for many improvements including new museum exhibits, an updated Wisconsin Magazine of History, increased local contacts, and planning for historic sites. Shortly after the war ended, he left Wisconsin for a position at Colonial Williamsburg.
Needing to hire a second director in five years, the Board of Curators again sought a younger candidate who combined scholarship with good management. The hiring committee quickly narrowed the pool to five finalists, including Clifford Lord, who was just completing his US Navy service. In a letter of recommendation to UW professor Merle Curti, the hiring committee chair, Columbia University history professor Allan Nevins described Lord as “brilliant,” but cautioned that he would likely not stay in Wisconsin for a lifetime career. Lord had impressed the committee with his energy and confidence, and it was clear that he wanted a position that would put him in the front ranks, nationally, of historical agency work. When their first choice dropped out, the committee offered the position to Lord, who quickly accepted. Although honored by the prospect of leading the Society, he was also thinking about his own future when he wrote his parents in New York that “I might be back east in five years.” As it happened, five years became twelve.
Born in 1912 in Mount Vernon, New York, Lord grew up in a middle-class household. After graduating from Cornell University, he considered entering an Episcopal seminary. Like
