Henry A. Wallace: Iowa Time Machine January 20, 1941

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On January 20, 1941, Iowan Henry A. Wallace was sworn in as the 33rd Vice President of the United States under Franklin D. Roosevelt. A pioneer in hybrid corn genetics and the son of an Iowa farm publishing dynasty, Wallace is the only Iowan to ever serve as Vice President of the United States.

Wallace’s grandfather founded Wallaces' Farmer, transforming a modest farm journal into the region's most influential agricultural publication. His father served as Secretary of Agriculture under Presidents Harding and Coolidge before he died in 1924. Born on October 7, 1888, near Orient, Iowa, the young Henry absorbed farming wisdom from an early age. He graduated from Iowa State College in 1910 with a degree in animal husbandry and took over editing the family publication while conducting groundbreaking experiments in corn breeding.

Between 1913 and 1933, Wallace developed high-yielding hybrid corn strains that revolutionized American agriculture and dramatically increased crop production. In 1926, he founded the Hi-Bred Corn Company, which later became Pioneer Hi-Bred, and it made him wealthy. His 1915 invention of corn-hog ratio charts gave farmers crucial tools for market prediction.

When the Great Depression devastated rural America, Franklin Roosevelt tapped Wallace in 1933 to become Secretary of Agriculture, recognizing that the Iowa editor and scientist understood farmers' struggles better than any Washington insider. Roosevelt immediately assigned Wallace executive duties that far exceeded the traditional ceremonial role of presiding over the Senate. The president appointed him chairman of the Economic Defense Board, the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board, and the Board of Economic Warfare. The political winds shifted against Wallace by 1944. Roosevelt concluded that his vice president had become too liberal for conservative Democrats, whose support he needed for a fourth term. Without Roosevelt's endorsement, Democratic Party insiders successfully blocked Wallace's renomination and nominated Senator Harry Truman instead. #Iowa #OTD #History #Agriculture #Politics