The Progressive Party was founded by Henry A. Wallace in 1947 when he broke with Harry Truman’s Democratic administration. As the Party’s presidential candidate in 1948, Wallace garnered over 1,000,000 votes but lost the election, and the Progressive Party was never again highly influential. The Progressives opposed the bipartisan Cold War policy, advocated civil rights, and wanted an extension of New Deal policies. Somewhat left-wing, the Party supported cooperation with the Soviets, arms reduction and the United Nation administration of foreign aid.
It was dissolved in 1954.
The Special Collections Department holds not only the papers of Henry A. Wallace but also several other collections that record the history of the Progressive Party. Where available, links to online finding aids and digitized documents are made. Finding aids to materials without online descriptions are available in print form in the Special Collections
Manuscript Collections
Papers of C. B. Baldwin. MsC343.
Papers of Lew Frank. MsC369.
Stetson Kennedy Collection of Progressive Party Materials. MsC376.
Aleck G. Kringlock Pamphlet Collection. MsC182.
Hugh C. MacDougall Collection of Progressive Party Papers. MsC482
Papers of Dante Melville Pierce. MsC61.
Records of the Progressive Party. MsC160.
Papers of John L. Shover. MsC137.
Papers of John Loomis Stevens. MsC5
Papers of Fred Stover. MsC165.
Papers of Henry A. Wallace. MsC177.
Articles
Epstein, Marc J. “The Progressive Party of 1948.” Books at Iowa 16:26 (illus), 34-40.
Rogers, Earl M. “The Papers of Henry A. Wallace.” Books at Iowa 21:32 (illus.), 43-51.
Books
Pizer, Laurence Robert. Progressivism in Keokuk, Iowa, 1904-1912. 1970. Thesis (M.A.)–University of Iowa.
SPECIAL COLLECTIONS University Archives T1970 .P695 film.
Haynes, Frederick Emory. Third party movements since the Civil War, with special reference to Iowa; a study in social politics. New York, Russell & Russell, 1966. Reprint of the work first published in 1916 by the State Historical Society of Iowa. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS Iowa Authors Collection none
Schmidt, Karl M.. Henry A. Wallace, quixotic crusade 1948. [Syracuse] Syracuse University Press, 1960. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS x-Collection E815 .S35
Sias, Richard Timm. Groups and movements aligned with the Progressive Party in Iowa, 1912. 1959. Thesis (M.A.)–University of Iowa, 1959. SPECIAL COLLECTIONS University Archives T1959 .S562 film
Photographs
Lazarus, Julius. Photographs of the 1948 campaign.
Originally compiled by Amy Cooper, Special Collections Librarian, 2002