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Henry Agard Wallace Papers

 Collection
Identifier: MsC0177

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Scope and Contents

An extensive collection of papers of the 33rd Vice-President of the United States, this collection is comprised of ten series. The first series, Audiovisual contains many formats, from large records to CDs and is made up of sound and moving pictures of speeches and music.

The second series contains many clippings about Wallace and the Progressive Party.

The third series contains correspondence. The Wallace correspondence at Iowa is arranged chronologically. Large quantities of similar letters are also held at the Library of Congress and the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Library. With the help of a grant from the National Historical Publications Commission, all three collections were microfilmed in the early 1970s. At the end of the project, a printed index to the Microform Edition was published by the Libraries: The Wallace Papers: an index to the microfilm editions of the Henry A. Wallace papers in the University of Iowa Libraries, the Library of Congress, and the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library (Iowa City: University of Iowa Libraries, 1975). Copies of this two-volume work are held in the Main Library Reference Collection and in Special Collections. Copies of the work can be borrowed from the Libraries, as can be the microfilms themselves. These letters have been digitized as well and can be viewed in the Iowa Digital Library. Letters held by the Library of Congress are included in this collection in paper and digital, but those held by the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library are not. They are indexed in The Wallace Papers but to see the copy one must contact the FDR library.

As well, the library has obtained, and continues to obtain, letters that are not indexed in The Wallace Papers. In 2003 an index was made of these letters and this index will be made available via PDF in the near future.

The fourth series, Government documents contains information on campaigns, elections, and inaugurations; FBI files; the House Committee on Un-American Activities; materials from Wallace's time as Head of the Department of Agriculture; and the Progressive Party.

Series V is Miscellaneous and Memorabilia.

Series VI is Personal Papers. Here are found appointment books, awards, biographical material, books from the Wallace library, diaries, scrapbooks, and items having to with Wallace's travels.

Series VII is comprised of photographs and images and consists primarily of photographs from his trips to China and Russia and Latin America.

Series VIII is Research and is made up of notes, charts, and publications on the many research interests of Wallace. These are agriculture; land, money and the economy, population, railroads; miscellaneous topics; and spiritualism. This series is also home to research conducted on Wallace and includes items from Donald Murphy, who edited Wallace's diaries; Dean Albertson who conducted an oral history of Wallace; and Paul Richards who collected Wallace autographs. Also here will be found theses, dissertations, and other school papers written about Wallace.

Series IX contains materials on the publications with which Wallace was associated, Wallace's Farmer and The New Republic. Also in this series are found materials dealing with the various foundations and institutes which have grown up around the Wallace name - The Wallace Birthplace Foundation, Wallace House Foundation, Country Life Center, Wallace Institute for Alternative Agriculture, The Wallace Centers of Iowa, Pioneer Hybird Seed Corn Company.

Series X contains writings, which includes articles, speeches, and statement by and about Wallace.

Please note that the series are numbered with Arabic numerals in the finding aid, but the boxes themselves are numbered with Roman numerals for series numbers.

Under provision 5B of the donor's agreement:

"Donee shall be the sole and exclusive proprietor of the copyright estate therein. Donee shall, in its discretion, have the rights to use any or all of said papers with or without the general publications thereof , and it may, in its discretion, claim to itself or to its assigns the exclusive right to copy any or all of the said papers after publication and to perfect the statutory copyright thereto in accordance with the laws of the United States and any and all other countries."

A group of sound recordings is shelved in the wood cabinets just outside and to the right of the vault. -this is outdated LM 3/18

Note: the 2009 addendum is made up of photocopies of photographs. These photocopies may not be reproduced; however, there are notes with each photograph as to where to obtain copies. Sometimes copyright information is included with this information. jlr

There is a copy of The Wallace Papers in Special Collections Reference. This is an index to the bulk , though not all, of the correspondence. jlr

Dates

  • Creation: 1923-2004

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright restrictions may apply; please consult Special Collections staff for further information.

Extent

168.00 Linear Feet

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Editor of Wallaces' Farmer 1921-1933; Secretary of Agriculture, 1933-1940; Vice-President of the United States, 1941-1945; Secretary of Commerce, 1945-1946. Includes audio visual materials; clippings; an extensive collection of correspondence, including photocopies of the microfilm edition of the originals in the Library of Congress, Manuscript Division; government documents; personal papers; photographs; research materials, with an emphasis on agriculture, particularly corn, but including livestock, weather, strawberries, chickens, and gladioli; writings, and speeches.

Method of Acquisition

This collection consists of several different donations. Among the earliest were those by Henry A. Wallace himself in 1954 and 1956. In 1953, 1954, and 1955 Henry's brother James donated papers, and in 1954 Donald Murphy donated his research and manuscript for a biography of Wallace. Beginning in 1965, Paul D. Richards and his mother, Gladys Richards, donated print material and photographs to the collection. They gave other materials to the University over several following years. These were followed in 1967 by an additional donation by Wallace's heirs: Robert D. Wallace, Annabelle Wallace McLay, John B. Wallace, Janus Wallace, Mary Wallace Bruggmann, Ruth Wallace Wijkman, Margaret W. Voorheis, Josephine Wallace Farrell, John Clarke Wallace, Ross Wallace, Jr., Wallace Ashby, Nanette M. Ashby, N. Eunice Ashby, and Genevieve Ashby Hoffman. In 1970, Mrs. Henry A.(Ilo) Wallace, and Wallace's children, Mrs. Leslie (Jean Wallace) Douglas, Henry B. Wallace, and Robert B. Wallace released another gift to the University.

Related Materials

Culver, John C. American Dreamer: The Life and Times of Henry A. Wallace. New York: Norton, 2000 Papers of the Progressive Party, MsC0160 Papers of Fred Stover, MsC0165 Papers of C. B. Baldwin, MsC0343 Papers of Lew Frank, MsC0369 Lazarus Photographs. MsC0543. Truman, Harry S. Mr. President; the first publication from the personal diaries, private letters, papers, and revealing interviews of Harry S. Truman, thirty-second President of the United States of America. New York, Farrar, Straus and Young [1952] Wallace's page at the US Senate Ms D383c Democratic National Campaign Committee Campaign Materials, 1936

Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
eng

Repository Details

Part of the University of Iowa Special Collections Repository

Contact:
Special Collections Department
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5921
319-335-5900 (Fax)