Papers, 1919-1940 (bulk 1925-1935).

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Papers, 1919-1940 (bulk 1925-1935).

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15497418

The Nils A. Olsen Collection is comprised mainly of papers dealing with Olsen's connection with the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, United States Department of Agriculture, from 1925 to 1935. Olsen was an assistant to the Bureau Chief from 1925-1928, and was Bureau Chief from 1928 until his resignation in April, 1935. The greater part of the collection involves a diary kept by Olsen from 1925-1935, dealing with affairs of the Bureau, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the government. His writings reveal warm friendships with three Secretaries of Agriculture; William Jardine, Arthur Hyde, and most especially Henry A. Wallace, who Olsen had known for many years. Olsen had worked with H.A.'s father, Henry C. Wallace, when the elder Wallace was Secretary of Agriculture (1921-24). The main object of their collaboration, a foreign service for the Department of Agriculture, was finally realized in 1930, after a long battle with the Department of Commerce. The battle involved Herbert Hoover both as Secretary of State and as President, and is probably the major reason for Olsen's intense dislike of Hoover. Olsen's disfavor was not partisan: important New Dealers such as Rexford Guy Tugwell and Henry Morgenthau, Jr., also drew his fire. The diary of Nils A. Olsen and the correspondence which make up the collection give the unofficial views of a man involved in the decision-making process during the time of some of the most pivotal changes in governmental agricultural policies. The collection is an important resource for the study of the depression and New Deal governmental action. Correspondence and diary refer to Thomas Cooper, Chester Davis, Jerome Frank, Herbert Hoover, Arthur M. Hyde, William M. Jardine, Julius Klein, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., Charles McNary, George Peck, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry C. Taylor, Rexford Guy Tugwell, Henry A. Wallace, Milburn L. Wilson.

1.68 linear ft. (4 document boxes).

Iowa State University, Parks Library

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SNAC Resource ID: 6864257

Iowa State University, Parks Library

Related Entities

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United States

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Idaho became a state on July 3, 1890 with post offices being established as early as 1876. From the guide to the Franklin County, Idaho Post Office Location Records, 1876-1945, (Utah State University. Special Collections and Archives) These photographs document Region 4, started in 1910, of the US Forest Service, covering Utah, Nevada, Southern Idaho, and Western Wyoming. From the guide to the US Forest Service Photograph Collection., 19...

Wallace, Henry A. (Henry Agard), 1888-1965

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6wb60mp (person)

Henry Agard Wallace (October 7, 1888 – November 18, 1965) was an American politician, journalist, and farmer who served as the 11th U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, the 33rd vice president of the United States, and the 10th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. He was also the presidential nominee of the left-wing Progressive Party in the 1948 election. The oldest son of Henry C. Wallace, who served as the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture from 1921 to 1924, Henry A. Wallace was born in Adair County, Iowa in...

United States. Bureau of Agricultural Economics

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United States. Federal Farm Board

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Olsen, Nils Andreas, 1886-

http://n2t.net/ark:/99166/w6dj6v4g (person)

Chief, Bureau of Agricultural Economics of the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture and insurance company executive. Nils A. Olsen was born in Herscher, Illinois on August 31, 1886. He received a Bachelor's Degree from Luther College in 1907, did master's work at Johns Hopkins from 1907-08, and received his Master's Degree in economics from the University of Wisconsin in 1909. He was an instructor in history and economics at Muhlenberg College, Pennsylvania, and at Harvard University until 1912 when he und...