Bro. Henry Agard Wallace was an outstanding Freemason who served as Secretary of Agriculture, Vice-President, and Secretary of Commerce under his Masonic Brother President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.1
Brother Henry Agard Wallace, a
great public servant to America, was born near Orient, Iowa, in
Adair County, on 7 October 1888.2
At the age of 16, he conducted his first experiments with seed
corn. In 1923, such experiments culminated with the production
of the first successful hybrid seed corn for commercial use. In
1926, he founded the Pioneer Hi-Bred Seed Company, of which he
served as President until 1933.3
In 1910, Wallace graduated from Iowa State College in Ames, with a major in agriculture. From 1910 to 1924, he served as Associate Editor; and from the time of his father's death in 1924 to his appointment as Secretary of Agriculture in 1933, as Senior Editor of Wallace's Farmer and Iowa Homestead, a newspaper founded by his grandfather.4
The four complementary pillars on which Wallace's agrarian philosophy was based were economics, science, religion, and politics.5 He wrote a number of books on agriculture and politics, including, Whose Constitution?, Paths to Plenty, The American Choice, Sixty Million Jobs, The Century of the Common Man, Corn, and The Midwestern Farmer, Corn and Corn Growing, and Statesmanship and Religion.6
In 1932, Democratic Presidential nominee Franklin Delano Roosevelt, seeking to initiate contacts with important farm leaders, arranged a meeting with Wallace and was impressed with his views on the need for basic social and economic reforms. Editorials in Wallace's Farmer helped put Iowa, a largely Republican state, into the Democratic column.7
After his election, President Roosevelt appointed Wallace as Secretary of Agriculture. Wallace immediately confronted the immense responsibility of implementing a program of relief for American farmers. In 1938, he influenced Congress to pass the Agricultural Adjustment Act. At the heart of this act was the idea of the "ever-normal granary," by which surpluses were stored up in times of abundance in order to achieve stability of farm prices and to guarantee plentiful supplies of food in times of scarcity.8 His ideas on this subject have been compared to that of Joseph during his service as prime minister and chief grain merchant to Pharaoh in ancient Egypt.9
In 1940, Roosevelt selected Wallace as his Vice-Presidential running mate. Following Roosevelt's election to an unprecedented third term, Wallace played an important role in making foreign policy and served as chairman of the Supply Priorities and Allocations Board and the Board of Economic Warfare. In 1944, he received a major disappointment when the Democratic National Convention, due to pressure from southern conservatives and big-city political bosses, dropped him from the ticket and nominated Ill. Bro. Harry S. Truman for Vice-President.10 Roosevelt was elected to a fourth and final term and gave Wallace the position of Secretary of Commerce as a consolation price. On April 12, 1945, Roosevelt died and Truman became President. In September 1946, Wallace resigned his office in a dispute over policy toward the Soviet Union.11
After a brief tenure as editor of The New Republic (1946-47), Wallace announced his candidacy for President on the Progressive Party ticket in Chicago on 29 December 1947.12 He saw the Progressives as the true heirs of the New Deal, a legacy abandoned, he thought, by Truman.13 Wallace received only 1,157,326 votes compared to 24,105,182 for Truman; 21,970,065 for Republican Thomas E. Dewey, and 1,169,063 for Dixiecrat Strom Thurmond.14
Wallace was initiated as an Entered Apprentice on 20 September 1927, passed to the Degree of Fellowcraft on 27 September 1927, and raised to the Sublime Degree of Master Mason on 4 October 1927 in Capital Lodge No. 110 in Des Moines, Iowa.15 He received the 32nd Degree in the Des Moines Scottish Rite Bodies on 23 November 1928. After moving to Washington, D.C., he affiliated with the District of Columbia Scottish Rite Bodies on January 15, 1935.16 He continued his Masonic involvement throughout his years as Secretary of Agriculture, Vice-President, and Secretary of Commerce.
On 7 October 1932, while still editor of Wallace's Farmer, Wallace received a letter from S. R. Linn of Story County State Bank in Roland, Iowa, inquiring as to the religious denomination and Masonic affiliations of Louis Murphy, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senator. In his reply, he stated that he did not have the answer to this question and said: "My suggestion is that in politics you forget all about Masonic and church affiliations and concentrate on the problems of economic justice."17
In 1934, while serving as Secretary of Agriculture, Wallace, for the first time, saw a picture of the reverse of the Great Seal of the United States and took it to the President. He reported: "Roosevelt, as he looked at the colored reproduction of the Seal, was first struck with the representation of the all-seeing eye—a Masonic representation of the Great Architect of the Universe. Next, he was impressed with the idea that the foundation for the new order of the ages had been laid in 1776 but that it would be completed only under the eye of the Great Architect. Roosevelt, like myself, was a 32nd Degree Mason. He suggested that the Seal be put on the dollar bill."18
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Brother Wallace (l.) conferring with William S. Knudson, former Production Manager of Ford Motor Company, then Director General of the United States Office of Production Management, 1941–1945. Photo: Library of Congress |
On February 19, 1942, while serving as Vice President, he wrote a letter to Major Charles S. Coulter, Director of Welfare for the Masonic Service Association, in which he stated: "I know that the Masons are motivated by the highest sense of patriotism, as they have always been from the very moment of the founding of the Republic. I know your sole concern is that which will best serve our beloved country. I am glad to know of the mechanism you have for service and the spirit in which you propose to serve. The very heart of the nation is respect for the individual human soul. The present struggle, therefore, is one which should arouse to the utmost that which is deepest and best in Masonry."19
Wallace appears to have temporarily dropped out of Masonry shortly before launching his 1948 Presidential campaign. He demitted from the District of Columbia Scottish Rite Bodies on 2 December 1947 and from Capital Lodge No. 110 on 13 January 1948.20 While serving as editor of The New Republic, he settled near South Salem, New York, at Farvue Farm, which he and his sister had purchased in 1945. After the 1948 campaign, he spent most of his time on the farm, resuming his genetic experiments with corn, poultry, gladioli, and strawberries.21
On 10 December 1955, he wrote a letter to former President Truman saying: "It deeply disturbs me to refute statements from time to time which indicate differences between you and me—we who have served the same government and the same party and, for a time, in the same capacity.
"We have both taken the same Masonic vows. We both strive to serve the same God and at this joyous Holiday season we can both pray that the Message of the Prince of Peace will finally carry weight on earth even as it triumphs in Heaven."22 The subsequent article which appeared in The New York Times described Wallace and Truman as "fellow Masons."23
On 11 February 1964, after 16 years with no active involvement in Masonry, Wallace affiliated with Kisco Lodge No. 708 in Mount Kisco, New York.24 On 29 May 1964, Wallace wrote to Lloyd K. Perry, Secretary of the Des Moines Scottish Rite Bodies, stating that he had affiliated with Kisco Lodge No. 708 and had decided to become an active, dues-paying member of a New York Scottish Rite Temple.25
On 1 June 1964, Perry wrote back, expressing pleasure in Wallace's plans and sadness at the news of the death of a Brother Koch, a mutual friend who had encouraged Wallace to reinstate. Perry stated: "Having known of Brother Koch's interest in you, I know that he would have been very happy to learn that you are in the process of restoring your membership."26 On 10 September 1964, Wallace was elected to membership in the Long Island Scottish Rite Bodies. In his letter of acceptance, Secretary Henry R. Horne wrote: "We are very glad to have you with us and we hope that you will spend many pleasant years of association with our Valley."27
Sadly, Wallace did not have "many pleasant years" left. In early 1965, he was diagnosed as having amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the rare and fatal disease of the nervous system that had claimed the life of New York Yankee star Lou Gehrig. This condition grew progressively worse. On 18 November 1965, Wallace died in Danbury Hospital in Danbury, Connecticut. He was 77 years old.28 The official autopsy gave the cause of death in clinical terms but did not record "the undaunted courage of a man waiting patiently until released from life by his maker."29
Wallace's funeral was held on Saturday 20 November 1965 at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ridgefield, Connecticut, a community across the state line not far from South Salem. Wallace had attended Saint Stephen's for a number of years. The service was followed by cremation at the Mountain Grove Crematorium in Bridgeport, Connecticut.30
On 22 November, a memorial service was held at Saint Paul's Episcopal Church in Des Moines. On the following day, the cremains of Henry Wallace were interred in the Wallace family plot at Gelendale Cemetery in Des Moines.31 In January 1966, Scottish Rite Masons in New York were informed of the death of a new, yet-beloved 32° Brother: "It is with a feeling of regret that we note the passing of this distinguished Bother of our own Valley. He spent many years of his life in the service of his country and for humanity…. On September 10, 1964, he affiliated with the Valley of Rockville Centre. It is to be regretted that between his late affiliation with our Bodies and his early passing from our midst so few of us had the opportunity to know better this great public servant and Mason."32
When the Long Island Chapter of Rose Croix celebrated the Feast of the Paschal Lamb at the Freeport High School Auditorium in Freeport, New York on Maundy Thursday, 7 April 1966, Wallace was among a number of Scottish Rite Masons remembered during the "Eulogy to the Dead."33
Wallace's life's priorities are best expressed by the words of Micah 4:3-5 (one of his favorite Scriptures):
"And he shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: nation shall not lift up a sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it. For all people will walk every one in the name of his god, and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God for ever and ever."34
Endnotes
1 Roosevelt was a member of Holland Lodge No. 8 in New York City; see William R. Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons (Columbia, Mo.: Missouri Lodge of Research, 1961), 4:66.
2 Robert L. Shadle, "Wallace, Henry Agard," in James S. Olson, ed. Historical Dictionary of the New Deal: From Inauguration to Preparation for War (Westport, Ct.: Greenwood Press, 1985), 524. Henry Cantwell Wallace, father of Henry Agard Wallace, was a member of Pioneer Lodge No. 22 in Des Moines, Iowa; see Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 4:291.
3 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry Agard," 525.
6 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 4:291.
8 Henry A. Wallace, 32nd Degree," 2. Source: Long Island Scottish Rite News (January 1966):2.
9 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry A.," 526-27.
10 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry Agard," 527. Truman was a member of Belton Lodge No. 450 in Belton, Missouri and had served as Grand Master of Masons in Missouri from 1940 to 1941; see Allen E. Roberts, Brother Truman: The Masonic Life and Philosophy of Harry S. Truman (Highland Hills, Va.: Anchor Communications, 1985), 241.
11 Shadle, "Wallace, Henry Agard," 527.
12 Richard J. Walton, Henry Wallace, Harry Truman, and the Cold War (New York: Viking Press, 1976), 181.
13 Walton, Henry Wallace, Harry Truman, and the Cold War, 193-94.
14 Walton, Henry Wallace, Harry Truman, and the Cold War, 245. Dewey was a member of Kane Lodge No. 454 in New York City; see William R. Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons (Columbia, Mo.: Missouri Lodge of Research, 1957), 1:312. Thurmond is a member of Concordia Lodge No. 50 in Edgefield, South Carolina; see Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 4:240.
15 William R. Kreuger, Librarian, Iowa Masonic Library, personal letter, 2 February 1999.
16 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 4:291.
17 S. R. Linn, personal letter to Henry A. Wallace, 6 October 1932; Henry A. Wallace, personal letter to S. R. Linn, 7 October 1932. Henry A. Wallace Papers, University of Iowa Libraries.
18 M. L. Lien, "Two Sides But Only One Die: The Great Seal of the United States," The Retired Officer (June 1982): 33. In recent years, much has been said about the Masonic origins of the Great Seal, both by Masons who desire to exaggerate the influence of their fraternity on American institutions and by anti-Masons who seek evidence for a "world-wide Masonic conspiracy." Research indicates that the Masonic influences in the development of the Great Seal have been greatly exaggerated; see S. Brent Morris, "The Eye in the Pyramid," The Short Talk Bulletin 73 (September 1995): 3-8.
19 Henry A. Wallace, personal letter to Charles S. Coulter, 19 February 1942. Henry A. Wallace Papers, University of Iowa Libraries.
20 Denslow, 10,000 Famous Freemasons, 4:291.
21 Dan Hall, "Henry Wallace Dies at 77: Is Hailed as Humanitarian," Patent Trader, 21 November 1965, 17.
22 Henry A. Wallace, personal letter to Harry S. Truman, 29 December 1955. Henry A.Wallace Papers, University of Iowa Libraries.
23 "Wallace Assails Truman's Charge," The New York Times, 1 February 1956.
24 Membership Archives, Grand Lodge F.&A.M., State of New York, personal letter, 8 April 1999.
25 Henry A. Wallace, personal letter to Lloyd K. Perry, 29 May 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers. University of Iowa Libraries.
26 Lloyd K. Perry, personal letter to Henry A. Wallace, 1 June 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers. University of Iowa Libraries.
27 Henry R. Horne, personal letter to Henry A. Wallace, 11 September 1964. Henry A. Wallace Papers, University of Iowa Libraries.
28 Markowitz, The Rise and Fall of the People's Century, 322-23.
29 Schapsmeier and Schapsmeier, Prophet in Politics, 239.
30 "New Dealers Among the 300 at Simple Service for Wallace," The New York Times, 21 November 1965, 87.
31 "Final Tribute for Wallace," Des Moines Register, 23 November 1965, 5.
32 Henry A.Wallace, 32nd Degree, 2.
33 Program for Feast of the Pascal Lamb, Long Island Chapter of Rose Croix, Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite, 7 April 1966.
34 Part of this passage was quoted in Hall, "Henry Wallace Dies at 77," 17.
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Robert L. Uzzel is a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society and the Philalethes Society. He is a member of Goodwill Lodge No. 313, P.H.A., Waxahachie, Texas, and Dale Consistory No. 31, Dallas, Texas; and Zakat Temple No. 164, Ancient Egyptian Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine, Dallas, Texas. A Fellow and Director of Public Communication for the Phylaxis Society, he holds a Ph.D. (1995) from Baylor University in World Religions, serves as an Adjunct Instructor at Cedar Valley College, Lancaster, Texas, and Tarrant County College, Hurst, Texas, and pastors Forest Hill African Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Texas. |