author
Henry A. (Henry Agard) Wallace
1888–1965
A major New Deal figure, this Iowa-born editor and agricultural thinker helped reshape U.S. farm policy before serving as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president. His career mixed practical work in agriculture with bold, often controversial political ideas that kept him in the public eye for decades.
1 Audiobook
Agricultural prices
by Henry A. (Henry Agard) Wallace
About the author
Born in Iowa in 1888, Henry Agard Wallace grew up in a family deeply connected to farming and agricultural journalism. After studying at Iowa State College, he became editor of Wallaces' Farmer and built a reputation as a knowledgeable voice on agriculture. He also experimented with corn breeding, linking his public career to the changing science and business of American farming.
Wallace entered national government in 1933 as U.S. secretary of agriculture under Franklin D. Roosevelt. In that role he became one of the best-known architects of New Deal farm policy, and in 1941 he became the 33rd vice president of the United States. He later served as secretary of commerce, showing how widely his influence reached across economic policy as well as agriculture.
Never an ordinary politician, Wallace was known for big ideas and a strong reform streak. After leaving the Roosevelt administration, he remained active in public debate and ran for president in 1948 as the Progressive Party candidate. He died in 1965, remembered as an unusual American leader: part farm expert, part editor, and part visionary public figure.