Henry Agard Wallace was born on a farm in Iowa on October 7, 1888. His father Henry Cantwell Wallace would serve as Secretary of Agriculture in the administrations of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge. But the son would surpass his father to become a leading figure of the 1930s and 1940s, even if many do not remember him today.
Henry A. Wallace served as Vice President of the United States (1941–1945), Secretary of Agriculture (1933–1940), and Secretary of Commerce (1945–1946). After serving in those offices, he helped found the Progressive Party and served as its presidential nominee in the 1948 presidential election.
Wallace was controversial at the time for many of his views. Although he was serving as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s vice president at the time, during the 1944 Democratic National Convention, the convention attendees through a manipulated process replaced him on the ticket with Harry S. Truman in what some have called a “coup.” Of course, had Wallace stayed on the ticket with Roosevelt, he would have gone on to be president instead of Truman when Roosevelt died.
His later candidacy for president in 1948 included many positions ahead of their time. The Progressive Party platform promoted universal health insurance, voting rights for African-Americans, an end to the Cold War, and an end to segregation. But Wallace was hurt because the Communist Party endorsed him, and he only received 2.4% of the popular vote.
Many critics argue that Wallace would not have been a good president because of his idealism and some other views. But most agree some of his most important work was in the area of agricultural science, not politics. His work led to a breeding chicken that that at one point supplied most of the world’s eggs.
“Wallace ’48”
Still, many look back fondly on his idealism and his hopes for a different world, wondering what might have been. For example, many historians conclude that he would not have used the atomic bombs on Japan.
The band The Hangdogs in recent years wrote and recorded the song “Wallace ’48” in tribute to the man. One may wonder that if Wallace had this catchy song for his presidential campaign as “the uncommon champion of the common man,” might history have been different.
The Hangdogs, unfortunately, are no longer together. But the New York-based country band made some great music worth checking out. Also, heycmdrcody recently did an interesting interview with the band’s Matthew Grimm about the history of the band.
As for Henry Wallace, he died on November 18, 1965. He was a complex man, in more ways than can be summarized in a song or a short post. But his complexity, such as the fact that he later supported Richard Nixon for president, is all the more reason to learn more about him.
Photo of Henry Wallace via public domain. Leave your two cents in the comments.
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