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Introduction
The Henry Cantwell Wallace Papers consist of copies of papers and a newspaper clipping related to his term as Secretary of Agriculture (1921-1924). The collection includes press releases, addresses, a newspaper clipping, and information from professional conferences. The collection contains 0.5 linear feet of documents, dating from 1921 to 1924. The materials were originally housed in the library of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics. Most of the materials are in good condition. There are no restrictions on the use of the materials. The collection was partially arranged and described by Sara Lee in 2004 and further arranged and described by Elizabeth Lowry, a student at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies, in 2006.
Finding Aid File
Biographical Sketch
May 11, 1866: Born Henry Cantwell Wallace in Rock Island, Illinois, to Nancy and Henry Wallace.
1885-1887: Attended the Iowa State Agricultural College, now the Iowa State University College of Agriculture.
November 24, 1887: Married Carrie May Broadhead of Muscatine, Iowa.
1891-1892: Returned to Iowa State Agricultural College and completed his degree.
1893-1894: Served as Associate Professor of Dairy Science in the Agricultural Department at Iowa State Agricultural College.
1894: Became one of the owners and publishers of the Farm and Dairy journal, with his father, Henry Wallace, and his brother, John P. Wallace. The journal's name was changed to Wallace's Farm and Dairy, and later changed again to Wallace's Farmer.
1916: Became head editor of Wallace's Farmer upon his father's death.
1921: Appointed Secretary of Agriculture by President Warren Gamaliel Harding. During his time in office, he re-structured and re-organized the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). He also played a role in framing agricultural legislation, inaugurated radio service for Market Reports, and successfully blocked attempts by Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall to have the U.S. Forest Service transferred to the Department of the Interior.
July 1, 1922: Established the Bureau of Agricultural Economics.
July 1, 1923: Established the Bureau of Home Economics.
1924: Re-appointed in his position as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by President Calvin Coolidge.
October 25, 1924: Died in office following gall bladder surgery.
1925: A book by Wallace, Our Debt and Duty to the Farmer, was published posthumously.
Scope and Content Note
Henry Cantwell Wallace (1866-1924) served as the Secretary of Agriculture from 1921 until his death in 1924. The collection contains transcripts of addresses and statements made by Wallace during his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, copies of letters by Wallace that were released to the press, a newspaper clipping of a New York Times article about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and information from the Conference of Agricultural Editors Association with the Department of Commerce, held in Washington D.C. in 1923.
The bulk of the collection consists of copies of speeches, most of them dating from 1921-1923, and copies of press releases, most dating from 1922-1923. The collection is divided into four series. Series I contains transcripts of speeches and addresses, including speeches concerning farmers' cooperatives and strikes, the economic development of Alaska, the meatpacking industry, and the effect of the federal government on agriculture. Series II contains copies of official statements by and about Wallace released to the press, as well as one newspaper clipping of a New York Times article explaining Wallace's stance on government aid for farmers. Subjects include farm credit and loans, Alaskan development, fire prevention, and agricultural production. Series III is composed of letters written by Wallace and released to the press. Subjects include Alaskan development, farm credit and loans, and agricultural exports. Series IV contains tables of agricultural statistics from the Conference of Agricultural Editors Association that Wallace attended in 1923.
Series Description
Series I. Speeches and Addresses. 1921-1924. 47 folders.
This series is composed of transcripts of speeches made by Henry Cantwell Wallace during his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, including speeches concerning farmers' cooperatives and strikes, the economic development of Alaska, the meatpacking industry, and the effect of the federal government on American agriculture. The series is arranged chronologically by the date each speech was given.
Series II. Press Releases. 1921-1924. 33 folders.
This series is composed of statements released to the press by and about Wallace during his term as Secretary of Agriculture, as well as one newspaper clipping of a New York Times article explaining Wallace's stance on government aid for farmers. Subjects of press releases include farm credit and loans, Alaskan development, fire prevention, and agricultural production. The statements are arranged chronologically by the date each one was released to the press.
Series III. Correspondence. 1921-1924. 8 folders.
This series is composed of letters written by Secretary Wallace and released to the press, arranged chronologically by the date each letter was written and sent. Subjects include Alaskan development, farm credit and loans, and agricultural exports.
Series IV. Conference Information. 1923. 1 folder.
This series includes tables of agricultural statistics from the Conference of Agricultural Editors Association in 1923.
Bibliography
Sources Used for Finding Aid:
Malone, Dumas, ed. Dictionary of American Biography, Vol. X (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1964).
United States, Agricultural History Branch. A Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States Department of Agriculture. (Washington, DC: Centennial Committee, USDA, 1963).
Related Collections at the National Agricultural Library:
USDA History Collection. (Series I, II, III). Manuscript Collection 182.
Wallace, Henry Agard Collection. Manuscript Collection 192.
Wallace, Henry Cantwell, Papers 1904-1930 [microform]. Film 1631.
Publications by Wallace at the National Agricultural Library:
Wallace, Henry C. Investigations of cheese-making.
Ames, Iowa : Iowa Agricultural College, Experiment Station, 1893.
NAL call number: 100 Io9 no.21
Wallace, Henry C. Our debt and duty to the farmer.
New York & London: The Century Co., 1925
NAL call number: 281 W15
Wallace, Henry C. Review of agricultural credits acts of 1923 by the Secretary of Agriculture.
Washington: Government Printing Office, April, 1923.
NAL call number: 284.2 W152
Wallace, Henry C. A study in churning.
Ames, Iowa : Iowa Agricultural College, Experiment Station, 1893.
NAL call number: 100 Io9 no.22
Wallace, Henry C. The wheat situation. A report to the president by Henry C. Wallace.
Washington: Government Printing Office, 1923.
NAL call number: 1 Ag86W
Related Collections at Other Institutions:
Wallace, Henry Cantwell, Papers 1904-1930. Manuscript Collection 179.
Located in the University of Iowa Libraries Special Collection Department, catalog of finding aids on the web at http://www.lib.uiowa.edu/sc/
For further research on Henry Cantwell Wallace:
Lord, Russell. The Wallaces of Iowa.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1947
NAL call number: 120 W155W
Winters, Donald L. Henry Cantwell Wallace, as Secretary of Agriculture, 1921-1924.
Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1970
NAL call number: S417.W34W55
Iowa State University Department of Animal Science. "Henry Cantwell Wallace: 1866-1924: A Brief Biography." Accessed November 16, 2006 from http://www.ans.iastate.edu/history/faculty/wallacehc/wallace_hc.html.