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Preferred Citation
Biographical Note
Scope and Content of Collection
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Title: Benjamin A. Rogge papers
Date (inclusive): 1945-2005
Collection Number: 82054
Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives
Language of Material:
English
Physical Description:
82 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box
(33.9 Linear Feet)
Abstract: The collection contains speeches and writings, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and printed matter related to laissez-faire
economics and to economic conditions and higher education in the United States.
Creator:
Rogge, Benjamin A.
Physical Location: Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Access
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.
Use
For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Acquisition Information
Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives in 1982.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Benjamin A. Rogge papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Biographical Note
1920 June 18 |
Born, Hastings, Nebraska |
1940 |
A.B., Mathematics and Economics, Hastings College |
1940-1941 |
Graduate Assistant, Economics, University of |
1941-1946 |
Navigator and Captain, Air Transport Command, U.S. |
1942 |
Married Alice Mabel Landis |
1946 |
M.A., University of Nebraska at Lincoln |
1946-1947 |
Instructor of Economics, University of Minnesota |
1947-1949 |
Instructor of Economics, Northwestern University |
1949 |
Co-author with Herbert Gerhard Heneman,
Jobs for All: A Primer of Theory
|
1949-1953 |
Assistant Professor of Economics, Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana |
1953 |
Ph.D., Northwestern University |
1953-1961, circa |
Associate Professor of Economics, Wabash College |
1954 |
Co-author with John V. Van Sickle,
Introduction to Economics
|
1955 |
Visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of an exchange program under the Smith-Mundt Act |
1956 |
At the invitation of Rogge and John V. Van Sickle, Milton Friedman lectured at Wabash College |
1956-1974, circa |
Lectured during summer session at the University of Michigan for the Public Utility Executive Program |
1956-1964 |
Dean, Wabash College |
1959 |
Author,
A Tese de Prebisch
|
1961-1980, circa |
Lectured at the Graduate School of Banking at University of Wisconsin-Madison |
1964-1980 |
Distinguished Professor of Political Economy, Wabash College |
1966-1980 |
Director, Wabash Institute for Personal Development |
1973 |
Co-author with Pierre Goodrich, position paper titled
Education in a Free Society
|
1976 |
Co-editor John Haggarty,
The Wisdom of Adam Smith
|
1978 |
Honored as Wabash Man of the Year |
1978 |
Received honorary degree from the University of Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala, and from Denison University |
1979 |
Received Outstanding Alumni Award from Hastings College |
1979 |
Author,
Can Capitalism Survive?
|
1980 November |
Died |
Scope and Content of Collection
The papers document the career of Benjamin A. Rogge, an American economist who was a professor and dean of Wabash College.
Rogge was a board member of the Liberty Fund, where he worked closely with Pierre Goodrich. He also served on the board of
trustees for the Foundation for Economic Education and was a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. Rogge worked with Milton
Friedman on Friedman's TV series
Free to Choose and invited Friedman to lecture at Wabash College in 1956. The collection contains speeches and writings, correspondence,
memoranda, reports, and printed matter related to laissez-faire economics and to economic conditions and higher education
in the United States.
In addition to lecturing at Wabash College, Rogge spoke at a variety of conferences, often to groups of non-economists. Rogge
was known for his sense of humor, which he demonstrated in his numerous speeches, many of which covered topics such as the
free enterprise system and laissez-faire economics. The speaking engagements, conferences, and meetings file documents conferences,
seminars, and board meetings that Rogge spoke at, organized, attended, or considered attending. Materials include correspondence,
speeches, and conference materials. For a large part of his career, Rogge lectured at the Public Utility Executive Program
at the University of Michigan and at the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Materials from
these lectures can be found in this file, as well as documents of groups that Rogge was a member of, including the Mont Pèlerin
Society, the Liberty Fund, the Foundation for Economic Education, and the Philadelphia Society.
In addition to speeches found in the speaking engagements file, Rogge's speeches and writings can be found throughout the
collection where noted, including in boxes 4, 6, 15-18, 30-36, 45, 67, and 79-81. For a bibliography of Rogge's works and
description of his speaking engagements, see box 55.
Rogge was concerned about the ability of capitalism to continue as an economic system, an interest which was influenced by
the insights of Joseph Schumpeter (Lee). In 1979, the Liberty Fund published
Can Capitalism Survive?, a collection of Rogge's speeches examining economic and individual freedom. For materials concerning this work, see boxes
6, 32, 35, and 81.
In the late 1960s, Rogge gave a talk at Cornell entitled "The Welfare State Against the Negro," which he composed from chapters
of a book he was writing about economics and race. Thomas Sowell, a professor at Cornell at the time, was not on campus for
Rogge's talk, but he wrote to Rogge asking for a copy of the speech, which prompted discussion about Rogge's work (box 6,
folder 17). When Rogge realized he was not going to finish writing the book, he gave the manuscript to Sowell, who credits
Rogge with the inspiration for applying economic concepts to racial issues (Riley). Rogge's book chapters concerning economics
and race can be found in boxes 35, 67, 72, and 81.
Rogge worked on several films and the TV series
Free to Choose (box 5). Boxes 6, 11, 34, 35 and 43 have material on the film series
Industrial Revolution, which was sponsored by the Liberty Fund and narrated by Rogge. Material on another film narrated by Rogge,
Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations, can be found in boxes 52 and 53.
Rogge filed much of his correspondence in his alphabetical files. For this correspondence, see the single letter files in
the alphabetical file found in boxes 1 through 4 and boxes 44 through 47. The subject files in boxes 25 through 31, which
are interspersed with Rogge's writings, were most likely used as research for his speeches and articles. The majority of the
alphabetical files and subject files retain their original folder titles.
Sources:
Feulner, Edwin J. Foreword. "The Case for Economic Freedom." By Benjamin A. Rogge. The Heritage Foundation, 2008.
Lee, Dwight R. Introduction.
A Maverick's Defense of Freedom. By Benjamin A. Rogge. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010.
Riley, Jason L. "Classy Economist: The Weekend Interview with Thomas Sowell." Wall Street Journal. 25 March 2006.
Related Materials
Milton Friedman papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Pierre F. Goodrich papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Mont Pèlerin Society records, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Foundation for Economic Education miscellaneous correspondence, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Friedrich A. von Hayek papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
F. A. Harper papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Free enterprise
Education -- United States
Economists
Universities and colleges -- United States
United States -- Economic conditions -- 1945-