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Wallace was born on a farm near Orient, Adair County, Iowa, and graduated from Iowa State College at Ames in 1910. He served on the editorial staff of Wallace's Farmer in Des Moines, Iowa from 1910 to 1924 and was editor from 1924 to 1929. He experimented with breeding high-yielding strains of corn (maize), and was the author of many publications on agriculture. In 1915 he devised the first corn- hog ratio charts indicating probable course of markets. The company he founded during this time is now known as Pioneer Hi-Bred , and is among the most profitable agriculture corporations in the United States today.
In 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu, Wallace was appointed United States Secretary of AgricultureThe United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture concerned with land and food as well as agriculture and rural development''. The Secretary is a member of the President's Cabinet. The department include in the Cabinetorder of precedence. The Cabinet is a part of the executive branch of the U. federal government consisting of the heads of federal executive departments. Despite having evolved as one of the most powerful organs of the contemporary U. government, the term of President Franklin Delano RooseveltFranklin Delano Roosevelt Order 32nd President Term of Office March 4, 1933 April 12, 1945 Predecessor Herbert Hoover Successor Harry S. Truman Date of Birth January 30, 1882 Place of Birth Hyde Park, New York Date of Death April 12, 1945 Place of Death W. (Wallace's father, Henry Cantwell Wallace , had been Secretary of Agriculture from 1921Events January 2 The first religious radio broadcast ( KDKA AM in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) January 2 Spanish liner Santa Isabel sinks off Villa Garcia 244 dead January 2 DeYoung Museum in Golden Gate Park San Francisco opens. January 20 Republic of Turke to 1925Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1870s 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s Years: 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 See also 1925 in aviation 1925 in film 1925 in literature 1925 in mu.) He had been a liberal Republican but supported Roosevelt's New Deal and soon switched to the Democratic Party. Wallace served as Secretary of Agriculture until September 1940, when he resigned, having been nominated for Vice President.
Wallace was elected in November 1940 as Vice President on the Democratic ticket with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and was inaugurated January 20, 1941, for the term ending January 20, 1945. He immediately set out to counter his predecessor John Nance Garner's claim that the vice-presidency was worthless.
Roosevelt named Wallace chairman of the Board of Economic Warfare (BEW) and Supply Priorities and Allocations Board (SPAB) in 1941. Both positions became important with the U.S. entry into World War II]. As he began to flex his newfound political muscle in his position with SPAB, Wallace came up against the conservative wing of the Democratic party in the form of World War II]. As he began to flex his newfound political muscle in his position with SPAB, Wallace came up against the conservative wing of the Democratic party in the form of Jesse H. Jones, Secretary of Commerce. The two differed on how to handle wartime supplies.
On May 8, 1942, Wallace delivered his most famous speech, which became known by the phrase "Century of the Common Man", to the Free World Association in New York City. This speech, grounded in Christian references, laid out a positive vision for the war beyond the simple defeat of the Nazis. The speech, and the book of the same name which was released the next year, proved quite popular, but it earned him enemies among the Democratic leadership and among important allied leaders like Winston Churchill.
In 1943 Wallace made a goodwill tour of Latin America, shoring up support among important allies. His trip was a success and helped convince 12 Latin American countries to declare war on Germany.
Wallace was far ahead of his time in trade relationships with Latin America. He convinced the BEW to add "labor clauses" to contracts with Latin American producers. These clauses required producers to pay fair wages and provide safe working conditions for their employees and it commmitted the United States to paying for up to half of the required improvements. Not surprisingly, this upset Jones at the U.S. Department of Commerce. The highly public conflict that ensued likely cost Wallace the vice-presidency.
Wallace was bumped from the Democratic ticket in 1944, largely due to party concerns over FDR's failing health, Wallace's perceived communist beliefs, as well as his unorthodox New Age tendencies. It was later revealed, after the fall of the Soviet Union, that his close associates Harry Dexter White and Lawrence Duggan were Soviet spies. The two would have attained high level cabinet positions, had Wallace become president. The party would go on to nominate Missouri Senator Harry S. Truman.