Arthur Mastick Hyde was born near Princeton, Missouri on July 12, 1877. He attended the University of Michigan, where he obtained his BA, and then earned a J.D. from the State University of Iowa in 1902.

Hyde practiced law and held business interests in Missouri, and then, in 1920, was elected governor of Missouri. He served in that capacity from 1921 to 1925. President Herbert Hoover appointed him secretary of agriculture in March 1929, and Hyde remained in the cabinet for the duration of the Hoover presidency.

Upon leaving government service, Hyde returned to a private law practice in Trenton, Missouri. He died on October 17, 1947.