Embracing the Pluralist Perspective: The Iowa Farm Bureau Federation and the McNary-Haugen Movement

Agricultural History

Volumn 74, Issue 2, 2000, Pages 381-392

  Porter, Kimberly K ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0348203640     PISSN: 00021482     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: None     Document Type: Review

References (67)

1. Quoted in Gilbert C. Fite, American Farmers: The New Minority (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), 46. For a biography of Peek, as well as a history of his plan generally referred to as the McNary-Haugen plan, the best source remains Fite's George N. Peek and the Fight for Farm Parity (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1954).
2. Quoted in Gilbert C. Fite, American Farmers: The New Minority (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1981), 46. For a biography of Peek, as well as a history of his plan generally referred to as the McNary-Haugen plan, the best source remains Fite's George N. Peek and the Fight for Farm Parity (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1954).
3. See Ellis W. Hawley, The Great War and the Search for a Modern Order: A History of the American People and Their Institutions, 1917-1933 (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1979), 93-94.
4. David E. Hamilton, From New Day to New Deal: American Farm Policy from Hoover to Roosevelt, 1928-1933 (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1991), 5-6, suggests that the seeds of pluralism in agriculture had been planted with the first defensive efforts to organize farmers to speak for themselves.
5. Fite, George N. Peek, 121-22.
6. Ibid., 38-39; George N. Peek and Hugh S. Johnson. "Equality for Agriculture," (Moline, Ill.: H. W. Harrington, 1922), 13-14.
7. Ibid., 38-39; George N. Peek and Hugh S. Johnson. "Equality for Agriculture," (Moline, Ill.: H. W. Harrington, 1922), 13-14.
8. Christiana McFadyen Campbell, The Farm Bureau and the New Deal: A Study in the Making of National Farm Policy, 1933-1940 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1962), 36-38. Other early supporters of the McNary-Haugen export plan included the Illinois and Missouri branches of the Farm Bureau. Campbell gives Henry A. Wallace credit for maneuvering a somewhat reluctant IFBF to endorse the scheme and thus giving his father, Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace, much-needed support. Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger, February-March 1924, 1 (hereafter IFBM).
9. Christiana McFadyen Campbell, The Farm Bureau and the New Deal: A Study in the Making of National Farm Policy, 1933-1940 (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1962), 36-38. Other early supporters of the McNary-Haugen export plan included the Illinois and Missouri branches of the Farm Bureau. Campbell gives Henry A. Wallace credit for maneuvering a somewhat reluctant IFBF to endorse the scheme and thus giving his father, Secretary of Agriculture Henry C. Wallace, much-needed support. Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger, February-March 1924, 1 (hereafter IFBM).
10. House Committee on Agriculture, McNary-Haugen Bill, 68th Cong., 1st sess., 12 March 1924, 498.
11. IFBM, May 1924, 1, 2, 4.
12. Fite, George N. Peek, 93; Minutes of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 9 June 1924, 1, 7, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, West Des Moines, Iowa (hereafter Minutes, [date]); IFBM, June 1924, 2; July 1924, 3; IFBM, August 1924, 2.
13. Fite, George N. Peek, 93; Minutes of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 9 June 1924, 1, 7, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, West Des Moines, Iowa (hereafter Minutes, [date]); IFBM, June 1924, 2; July 1924, 3; IFBM, August 1924, 2.
14. Fite, George N. Peek, 93; Minutes of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 9 June 1924, 1, 7, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, West Des Moines, Iowa (hereafter Minutes, [date]); IFBM, June 1924, 2; July 1924, 3; IFBM, August 1924, 2.
15. Fite, George N. Peek, 93; Minutes of the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, 9 June 1924, 1, 7, Iowa Farm Bureau Federation, West Des Moines, Iowa (hereafter Minutes, [date]); IFBM, June 1924, 2; July 1924, 3; IFBM, August 1924, 2.
16. Quoted in Fite, George N. Peek, 101-02.
17. George N. Peek, president, American Council of Agriculture, to Charles E. Hearst, president, IFBF, 6 January 1925, "Incoming 1925," box 1, Charles E. and James S. Hearst Papers, Special Collections, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, (hereafter Hearst Collection); IFBM, February 1925, 1-3, 4; Wallaces' Farmer, 23 January 1925, 8; Iowa Homestead, 22 January 1925, 3.
18. George N. Peek, president, American Council of Agriculture, to Charles E. Hearst, president, IFBF, 6 January 1925, "Incoming 1925," box 1, Charles E. and James S. Hearst Papers, Special Collections, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, (hereafter Hearst Collection); IFBM, February 1925, 1-3, 4; Wallaces' Farmer, 23 January 1925, 8; Iowa Homestead, 22 January 1925, 3.
19. George N. Peek, president, American Council of Agriculture, to Charles E. Hearst, president, IFBF, 6 January 1925, "Incoming 1925," box 1, Charles E. and James S. Hearst Papers, Special Collections, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa, (hereafter Hearst Collection); IFBM, February 1925, 1-3, 4; Wallaces' Farmer, 23 January 1925, 8; Iowa Homestead, 22 January 1925, 3.
20. Minutes, 16 January 1925, 1; Iowa Homestead, 29 January 1925, 2; Wallaces' Farmer, 30 January 1925, 5; IFBM, February 1925, 3; Joint Session of Congress, Hearings before Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, McNary-Haugen Bill, 68th Cong., 2d sess., 21 January 1925, 34.
21. Minutes, 16 January 1925, 1; Iowa Homestead, 29 January 1925, 2; Wallaces' Farmer, 30 January 1925, 5; IFBM, February 1925, 3; Joint Session of Congress, Hearings before Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, McNary-Haugen Bill, 68th Cong., 2d sess., 21 January 1925, 34.
22. Minutes, 16 January 1925, 1; Iowa Homestead, 29 January 1925, 2; Wallaces' Farmer, 30 January 1925, 5; IFBM, February 1925, 3; Joint Session of Congress, Hearings before Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, McNary-Haugen Bill, 68th Cong., 2d sess., 21 January 1925, 34.
23. Minutes, 16 January 1925, 1; Iowa Homestead, 29 January 1925, 2; Wallaces' Farmer, 30 January 1925, 5; IFBM, February 1925, 3; Joint Session of Congress, Hearings before Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry and House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, McNary-Haugen Bill, 68th Cong., 2d sess., 21 January 1925, 34.
24. Fite, George N. Peek, 115; IFBM, April 1925, 1-2; Yearbook of Agriculture, 1930 (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1931 ), 637, 639; Iowa Yearbook of Agriculture, 21st edition (Des Moines: Iowa Department of Agriculture, 1920), 381.
25. Fite, George N. Peek, 115; IFBM, April 1925, 1-2; Yearbook of Agriculture, 1930 (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1931 ), 637, 639; Iowa Yearbook of Agriculture, 21st edition (Des Moines: Iowa Department of Agriculture, 1920), 381.
26. Fite, George N. Peek, 115; IFBM, April 1925, 1-2; Yearbook of Agriculture, 1930 (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1931 ), 637, 639; Iowa Yearbook of Agriculture, 21st edition (Des Moines: Iowa Department of Agriculture, 1920), 381.
27. Fite, George N. Peek, 115; IFBM, April 1925, 1-2; Yearbook of Agriculture, 1930 (Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1931 ), 637, 639; Iowa Yearbook of Agriculture, 21st edition (Des Moines: Iowa Department of Agriculture, 1920), 381.
28. IFBM, April 1925, 2.
29. IFBM, June 1925, 5; Iowa Homestead, 21 May 1925, 1, 7, 8; Fite, George N. Peek, 138-39.
30. IFBM, June 1925, 5; Iowa Homestead, 21 May 1925, 1, 7, 8; Fite, George N. Peek, 138-39.
31. IFBM, June 1925, 5; Iowa Homestead, 21 May 1925, 1, 7, 8; Fite, George N. Peek, 138-39.
32. For a discussion of "counterorganization," see Hamilton, From New Day to New Deal, 5-6, 20-21, 24-25; Ellis W. Hawley, The New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly: A Study in Economic Ambivalence (New York: Fordham University Press, 1995), 187-89, 481-85.
33. For a discussion of "counterorganization," see Hamilton, From New Day to New Deal, 5-6, 20-21, 24-25; Ellis W. Hawley, The New Deal and the Problem of Monopoly: A Study in Economic Ambivalence (New York: Fordham University Press, 1995), 187-89, 481-85.
34. Wallaces' Farmer, 22 January 1926, 7; Iowa Homestead, 21 January 1926, 10-12; IFBM, February 1926, 6.
35. Wallaces' Farmer, 22 January 1926, 7; Iowa Homestead, 21 January 1926, 10-12; IFBM, February 1926, 6.
36. Wallaces' Farmer, 22 January 1926, 7; Iowa Homestead, 21 January 1926, 10-12; IFBM, February 1926, 6.
37. IFBM, January 1926, 3; Minutes, 29 January 1926, 3; House Committee on Agriculture, Agricultural Relief, 69th Cong., 1st sess., 23-24 March 1926; Hearst to Chester C. Davis, chair, Agricultural Service Lobby, 31 March 1926, "Outgoing, 1926," box 1, Hearst Collection; Hearst to Ray L. Gribben, secretary-treasurer, IFBF, 21 April 1926, 3, "Outgoing, 1926," box 1, Hearst Collection.
38. IFBM, January 1926, 3; Minutes, 29 January 1926, 3; House Committee on Agriculture, Agricultural Relief, 69th Cong., 1st sess., 23-24 March 1926; Hearst to Chester C. Davis, chair, Agricultural Service Lobby, 31 March 1926, "Outgoing, 1926," box 1, Hearst Collection; Hearst to Ray L. Gribben, secretary-treasurer, IFBF, 21 April 1926, 3, "Outgoing, 1926," box 1, Hearst Collection.
39. Hearst to Davis, 10 July 1926, "Outgoing, 1926," box 1, Hearst Collection.
40. IFBM, August 1926, 4. For Hoover's objections to the McNary-Haugen plan, see Joan Hoff Wilson, Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 105; Fite, George N. Peek, 126-30; Gary H. Koerselman, "Secretary Hoover and National Farm Policy: Problems of Leadership," Agricultural History 51 (April 1977): 378-95.
41. IFBM, August 1926, 4. For Hoover's objections to the McNary-Haugen plan, see Joan Hoff Wilson, Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 105; Fite, George N. Peek, 126-30; Gary H. Koerselman, "Secretary Hoover and National Farm Policy: Problems of Leadership," Agricultural History 51 (April 1977): 378-95.
42. IFBM, August 1926, 4. For Hoover's objections to the McNary-Haugen plan, see Joan Hoff Wilson, Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 105; Fite, George N. Peek, 126-30; Gary H. Koerselman, "Secretary Hoover and National Farm Policy: Problems of Leadership," Agricultural History 51 (April 1977): 378-95.
43. IFBM, August 1926, 4. For Hoover's objections to the McNary-Haugen plan, see Joan Hoff Wilson, Herbert Hoover: Forgotten Progressive (Boston: Little, Brown, 1975), 105; Fite, George N. Peek, 126-30; Gary H. Koerselman, "Secretary Hoover and National Farm Policy: Problems of Leadership," Agricultural History 51 (April 1977): 378-95.
44. Minutes, 6 December 1926, 1-2; Bureau Farmer, February 1927, 13, 14, 20. In December 1926 the Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger ceased publication. Beginning January 1927, news of specific importance to IFBF members arrived as an insert to the national monthly, the Bureau Farmer, hereafter BF. See Fite, "The Marriage of Corn and Cotton," in George N. Peek, chap. X, 151-168, for a discussion of the southern farm crisis.
45. Minutes, 6 December 1926, 1-2; Bureau Farmer, February 1927, 13, 14, 20. In December 1926 the Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger ceased publication. Beginning January 1927, news of specific importance to IFBF members arrived as an insert to the national monthly, the Bureau Farmer, hereafter BF. See Fite, "The Marriage of Corn and Cotton," in George N. Peek, chap. X, 151-168, for a discussion of the southern farm crisis.
46. Minutes, 6 December 1926, 1-2; Bureau Farmer, February 1927, 13, 14, 20. In December 1926 the Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger ceased publication. Beginning January 1927, news of specific importance to IFBF members arrived as an insert to the national monthly, the Bureau Farmer, hereafter BF. See Fite, "The Marriage of Corn and Cotton," in George N. Peek, chap. X, 151-168, for a discussion of the southern farm crisis.
47. Minutes, 6 December 1926, 1-2; Bureau Farmer, February 1927, 13, 14, 20. In December 1926 the Iowa Farm Bureau Messenger ceased publication. Beginning January 1927, news of specific importance to IFBF members arrived as an insert to the national monthly, the Bureau Farmer, hereafter BF. See Fite, "The Marriage of Corn and Cotton," in George N. Peek, chap. X, 151-168, for a discussion of the southern farm crisis.
48. BF, February 1927, 13, 14.
49. For the details of the assorted permutations of the McNary-Haugen bills, see Fite, George N. Peek, chaps. III through XI; Murray R. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 1790-1950; A Study of Their Origins and Development (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1953), chap. 10; Donald C. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1967), 234-35; Minutes, 18 February 1927.
50. For the details of the assorted permutations of the McNary-Haugen bills, see Fite, George N. Peek, chaps. III through XI; Murray R. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 1790-1950; A Study of Their Origins and Development (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1953), chap. 10; Donald C. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1967), 234-35; Minutes, 18 February 1927.
51. For the details of the assorted permutations of the McNary-Haugen bills, see Fite, George N. Peek, chaps. III through XI; Murray R. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 1790-1950; A Study of Their Origins and Development (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1953), chap. 10; Donald C. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1967), 234-35; Minutes, 18 February 1927.
52. For the details of the assorted permutations of the McNary-Haugen bills, see Fite, George N. Peek, chaps. III through XI; Murray R. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 1790-1950; A Study of Their Origins and Development (New York: Twentieth Century Fund, 1953), chap. 10; Donald C. McCoy, Calvin Coolidge: The Quiet President (Lawrence: University of Kansas Press, 1967), 234-35; Minutes, 18 February 1927.
53. Minutes, 12 April 1927, 22; BF, April 1927, 10.
54. Minutes, 14 January 1928, 9; 10 February 1928, 35; BF, February 1928, 27A.
55. Wallaces' Farmer, 20 January 1928, 6; BF, February 1928, 28A, 29A; BF, February 1928, 26, 29.
56. Wallaces' Farmer, 20 January 1928, 6; BF, February 1928, 28A, 29A; BF, February 1928, 26, 29.
57. Wallaces' Farmer, 20 January 1928, 6; BF, February 1928, 28A, 29A; BF, February 1928, 26, 29.
58. BF, April 1928, 6.
59. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 229-30; McCoy, Calvin Coolidge, 327; Veto Message Relating to the Agricultural Surplus Control Act, 70th Cong., 1st sess., 3 May 1928, (calendar day 23 May 1928).
60. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 229-30; McCoy, Calvin Coolidge, 327; Veto Message Relating to the Agricultural Surplus Control Act, 70th Cong., 1st sess., 3 May 1928, (calendar day 23 May 1928).
61. Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 229-30; McCoy, Calvin Coolidge, 327; Veto Message Relating to the Agricultural Surplus Control Act, 70th Cong., 1st sess., 3 May 1928, (calendar day 23 May 1928).
62. Minutes, 24 May 1928, 5-8, 27; Steve Neal, McNary of Oregon: A Political Biography (Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1985), 106; Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 229-30.
63. Minutes, 24 May 1928, 5-8, 27; Steve Neal, McNary of Oregon: A Political Biography (Portland: Oregon Historical Society, 1985), 106; Benedict, Farm Policies of the United States, 229-30.
64. Leland Sage, "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression," Annals of Iowa 47 (Fall 1983): 99; Leland Sage, A History of Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974), 268. Hearst was a staunch Republican and strong Lowden supporter and attended the 1928 Republican convention as an at-large delegate. Des Moines Register, 8 March 1928, 1; Charles E. Hearst, president of the IFBF, to Frank O. Lowden, former governor of Illinois, "Outgoing, 1928," box 1, 24 March 1928, Hearst Collection; Gilbert C. Fite, "The Agricultural Issue in the Presidential Campaign of 1928," Agricultural History 37 (March 1951): 653-72.
65. Leland Sage, "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression," Annals of Iowa 47 (Fall 1983): 99; Leland Sage, A History of Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974), 268. Hearst was a staunch Republican and strong Lowden supporter and attended the 1928 Republican convention as an at-large delegate. Des Moines Register, 8 March 1928, 1; Charles E. Hearst, president of the IFBF, to Frank O. Lowden, former governor of Illinois, "Outgoing, 1928," box 1, 24 March 1928, Hearst Collection; Gilbert C. Fite, "The Agricultural Issue in the Presidential Campaign of 1928," Agricultural History 37 (March 1951): 653-72.
66. Leland Sage, "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression," Annals of Iowa 47 (Fall 1983): 99; Leland Sage, A History of Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974), 268. Hearst was a staunch Republican and strong Lowden supporter and attended the 1928 Republican convention as an at-large delegate. Des Moines Register, 8 March 1928, 1; Charles E. Hearst, president of the IFBF, to Frank O. Lowden, former governor of Illinois, "Outgoing, 1928," box 1, 24 March 1928, Hearst Collection; Gilbert C. Fite, "The Agricultural Issue in the Presidential Campaign of 1928," Agricultural History 37 (March 1951): 653-72.
67. Leland Sage, "Rural Iowa in the 1920s and 1930s: Roots of the Farm Depression," Annals of Iowa 47 (Fall 1983): 99; Leland Sage, A History of Iowa (Ames: Iowa State University Press, 1974), 268. Hearst was a staunch Republican and strong Lowden supporter and attended the 1928 Republican convention as an at-large delegate. Des Moines Register, 8 March 1928, 1; Charles E. Hearst, president of the IFBF, to Frank O. Lowden, former governor of Illinois, "Outgoing, 1928," box 1, 24 March 1928, Hearst Collection; Gilbert C. Fite, "The Agricultural Issue in the Presidential Campaign of 1928," Agricultural History 37 (March 1951): 653-72.