F. A. Harper papers, bulk 1930-1973

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Summary

Creators:
Harper, F. A. (Floyd Arthur), 1905-1973
Abstract:
Correspondence, speeches and writings, memoranda, reports, clippings, and other printed matter relating to laissez-faire economic and political theory, and to economic conditions and governmental economic policy in the United States.
Extent:
98 manuscript boxes, 6 card file boxes, 1 oversize box (40.6 Linear Feet)
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], F. A. Harper papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Background

Scope and content:

The papers document the career of Floyd Arthur Harper, nicknamed "Baldy," an American educator and economist who founded the Institute for Humane Studies and was a charter member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. In addition to being a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Harper was a life fellow of the International Institute of Arts & Letters in Switzerland. In a memorial to Harper, Murray Rothbard wrote, "Ever since he came to the Foundation for Economic Education in 1946 as its chief economist and theoretician, Baldy Harper, in a very real sense, has been the libertarian movement. For all these years, this gentle and lovable man, this wise and Socratic teacher, has been the heart and soul and nerve center of the libertarian cause." The collection contains correspondence, speeches and writings, reports, clippings, sound recordings, and printed matter relating to laissez-faire economic and political theory, economic conditions, and governmental economic policy in the United States.

Harper grew up on a farm in Michigan, an experience that influenced his interest in agricultural economics. In 1932, he received his Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University and began his teaching career at that institution, eventually becoming a professor of marketing in the Department of Agriculture. Course materials, lectures, research and other materials from Harper's time at Cornell can be found in Boxes 91 through 94 and Box 104. From 1962 to 1963, Harper was a visiting professor of moral philosophy at Wabash College. Some of his Wabash College seminar material can be found in Box 10 and Box 52.

In addition to being an educator, Harper was a prolific author. Many of his works discuss liberty, especially in relation to free market economics. Harper's speeches and writings, which can be found in Boxes 1 to 11, Boxes 79 to 90, and elsewhere as listed, contain drafts, lectures, correspondence, notes, outlines, conference materials, clippings, and printed matter. Some of the files contain materials labeled as unpublished. Speeches from meetings of the Mont Pèlerin Society can be found in these files. For Harper's Free Enterprise Institute lectures, see Box 95. For a bibliography of Harper's works, see Box 4 and Box 49. In 1955, Harper traveled to Sweden to study socialism and its effects on the Swedish people. With Frank B. Keith, Harper compiled a Swedish-English glossary of social science terms. This glossary, materials concerning his study, and the subject file on Sweden can be found in Boxes 53, 79, and 99 through 102.

In 1961, Harper founded the Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), an organization dedicated to research in the humane scholarly disciplines, with a council of advisors that included Friedrich A. von Hayek, Ludwig von Mises, and Murray N. Rothbard and a board of directors that included Charles G. Koch. Much of the correspondence found in the collection is from the time period when Harper worked for the William Volker Fund and the Institute of Humane Studies. The majority of the correspondence, left in the order it was received, is arranged in two alphabetical lists by name of correspondent, organization, or project. Many of the letters received after 1973 are address updates for the IHS mailing list (Boxes 60-78).

Harper created the Harper System for Libraries and Files, which he used to organize his own subject files. In his subject files, individual clippings and other subject materials are numbered based on date of acquisition, with items acquired most recently taking the next available number. Although most of Harper's files follow this rule, it appears the files do contain interfiles, so that some later materials can be found with earlier materials of the same subject. In these cases and other situations where multiple documents have been grouped together by subject, several documents have the same number attached to them. A card file accompanies these items, listing subjects, authors, and other access points, then the name of the document and number assigned by Harper. The card file for Harper's subject files can be found in Boxes 54 through 56. For more information about this system, see "Harper System for Libraries and Files" (Box 13 and Box 81).

Harper's subject files contain clippings, printed matter, excerpts, correspondence, notes, quotations, and writings by Harper and others. Subject materials for the White House Conference on Aging can be found at number 3146. Papers delivered at the 9th meeting of the Mont Pèlerin Society are filed under 3425 to 3428, while a lecture by Karl Popper can be found under number 3753. Most of the earlier materials in the subject files, such as materials from the 1800s, are photocopies or transcriptions, not original documents. There are a few instances of photocopies of works published in the 1700s. For common subjects found in the subject file, see the list below.

The majority of the collection remains in the order it was received, except for moving sound recordings in Box 105 and sorting of various folders for use.

Biographical / historical:
Date Event
1905 February 7
Born, Middleville, Michigan
1926
Graduated from Michigan State University
1930
Married Marguerite Kaechele
1930-1931
Research field agent, Federal Farm Board
1932
Received Ph.D. in agricultural economics from Cornell University
1932-1946
Taught at Cornell University as an instructor and professor of marketing
1934
Business analyst, Farm Credit Association
1937
Appointed acting head of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Puerto Rico
1943
Author, Inflation Is on Our Doorstep (co-authored with W.M. Curtiss)
1945
Author, The World's Hunger (co-authored with F.A. Pearson)
1946-1958
Assisted Leonard Read with founding Foundation for Economic Education (FEE) and served on its staff
1947
Attended first meeting of the Mont Pèlerin Society
1948
Author, High Prices
1949
Author, Liberty, A Path to Its Recovery
1955
Traveled to Sweden to study socialism
1957
Author, Why Wages Rise
1958-1961
Senior research economist, William Volker Fund
1961
Founded the Institute for Humane Studies
1962-1963
Visiting professor of moral philosophy, Wabash College
1962-1966
Various positions, Institute for Humane Studies
1966-1973
President, Institute for Humane Studies
1969
Author, The Crisis of the Free Market
1973 April 21
Died
1978-1979
Institute for Humane Studies publishes The Writings of F.A. Harper

Sources:

Harper, Marguerite K. "Reminiscence." The Writings of F. A. Harper, Volume 1. Menlo Park: Institute for Humane Studies, Inc., 1978. Accessed through Ludwig von Mises Institute: http://mises.org/

Koch, Charles G. "Tribute." The Writings of F. A. Harper, Volume 1. Menlo Park: Institute for Humane Studies, Inc., 1978. Accessed through Ludwig von Mises Institute: http://mises.org/

On Freedom and Free Enterprise. Ed. Mary Sennholz. New Jersy: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc., 1956. Accessed through Ludwig von Mises Institute: http://mises.org/

Acquisition information:
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1985.
Physical location:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Restrictions:

The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.

Terms of access:

For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], F. A. Harper papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.

Location of this collection:
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-6003, US
Contact:
(650) 723-3563
hooverarchives@stanford.edu
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