Who Was the Real Henry Wallace?
Henry Wallace is a name that is recognized by few Americans today, even though he served as 33rd vice-president of the United States (January 1941 to January 1945), during Franklin Roosevelt’s third term. Roosevelt dropped Wallace from the ticket for his fourth campaign for the White House, choosing Harry Truman instead. Why was Wallace a political hot potato?
Henry Wallace’s devotion to FDR’s New Deal wasn’t in question. Wallace wholeheartedly believed in the big government ideas of FDR’s administration, including the expanding role of government in telling farmers what they could grow, how much they could charge for their products, and even paying farmers not to produce on certain parcels of land. He faithfully served FDR for seven years as Secretary of Agriculture, then stepped up to become his number two man. Wallace was sure that he would be included on the ticket for FDR’s fourth term.
Of all the men who have served as vice-president, Henry Wallace was possibly the weirdest individual with views farthest to the left on the political spectrum. He graduated from Iowa State in 1910 with a degree in animal husbandry and became an expert on hybridized corn. Of course, that isn’t what made him unusual. Wallace traveled widely in the Far East, studying plants and also indulging in what amounted to pilgrimages to speak with various gurus. He searched for truth in a series of oddball religions and for years followed the teachings of Russian mystic agronomist Nicholas Roerich. Wallace became a huge admirer of the Soviet Union under Josef Stalin and thought such a society could become a socialist utopia. (For more on this, see “Courting Stalin” in Chapter 11, FDR Goes to War)
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