George Peek
Encyclopedia
George Nelson Peek was an American
agricultural economist
, business executive, and civil servant. He was the first Administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration
(AAA) and the first President of the two banks that would become the Export-Import Bank of the United States
.
, on November 19, 1873. His father was a farmer. He attended Northwestern University
from 1891 to 1892, but did not graduate.
He joined the Deere & Webber Company
of Minneapolis in 1893, and was named Vice President of the John Deere Plow manufacturing division in Omaha, Nebraska
in 1901. In 1911, he was named President of the Deere & Co. subsidiary in Moline, Illinois
. In 1919, he left Deere & Co. and became President of the Moline Plow Company where he earned the relatively large salary of $100,000 a year. He immediately hired retired Brigadier General
Hugh Samuel Johnson
as the company's general counsel. Peek and Johnson were deeply interested in farm economics, especially since the post-World War I recession. Peek and Johnson became strong advocates of the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill, proposed federal legislation which would have established the first national system of price support
s for agriculture.
Peek was a member of the War Industries Board
during World War I
, and after the war was a member of the Industrial Board advising the United States Department of Commerce
on post-war reconversion.
refused to support the legislation, Peek became a Democrat
. His support for the McNary-Haugen bill led President Franklin D. Roosevelt
to appoint him Administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in 1933. Peek had sought the United States Secretary of Agriculture
position, but that had gone to Henry A. Wallace
. Instead, Bernard Baruch
(who knew Peek from their service on the War Industries Board together) convinced Roosevelt to put Peek in charge of the AAA. Peek fought with Wallace over the administration of the agency. Peek asked Roosevelt to make the AAA an independent agency rather than part of the United States Department of Agriculture
; Wallace convinced Roosevelt to deny the request. Peek demanded full authority to run the AAA; Wallace withheld it. Wallace installed Jerome Frank, a liberal young lawyer whom Peek loathed, as the AAA's general counsel. Peek also disagreed with one of the three fundamental programs created by the Agricultural Adjustment Act
. The Act created three programs designed to boost farm prices: 1) It established marketing programs designed to increase the purchase of American agricultural products overseas; 2) It established a system of price supports; and 3) It established a system of incentives to discourage overproduction. In order for farmers to participate in the price support program, they must agree to cut production. Peek was adamantly opposed to the production quotas, which he saw as a form of socialism
. Instead, Peek preferred to promote informal cartel
s of large producers and large food processing companies, which together would collude to boost prices. Wallace repeatedly denied Peek the authority to institute such cartels, however. When the Commodity Credit Corporation
was established in the early fall of 1933, Roosevelt refused to make it part of the AAA out of concern for Peek's attitudes. On November 15, 1933, and again on November 25, Peek demanded that Wallace fire Frank for insubordination; Wallace refused and threatened to have one of Peek's most trusted aides fired instead. In early December 1933, while Wallace was out of town, Peek announced a marketing program designed to sell American butter in Europe at rates below the national domestic price. Rexford Tugwell
, Acting Secretary of Agriculture in Wallace's absence, rescinded the program. Wallace quickly convinced many of Roosevelt's top advisors to ask for Peek's resignation. Tugwell himself threatened to resign if Peek were not fired.
Faced with a united front, Peek resigned from the AAA on December 11, 1933. One reporter called the forced resignation "the coolest political murder that has been committed since Roosevelt came into office." The same day, President Roosevelt named Peek his Special Advisor on Foreign Trade.
President Roosevelt created the Export-Import Bank of Washington
by executive order on February 2, 1934, and named Peek president of the bank. Roosevelt created a Second Export-Import Bank of Washington via executive order on March 9, 1934, and named Peek president of the second bank as well. Peek's tenure at the Export-Import Bank was also short-lived. He clashed repeatedly with United States Secretary of State
Cordell Hull
over a series of reciprocal trade agreements in 1935, and resigned from the bank on December 2, 1935.
, in 1937 with his wife, Georgia. He rejoined the Republican Party, and supported Alf Landon
in the 1936 presidential election
.
Peek died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe on December 17, 1943. He was survived by his wife.
During his lifetime, Peek received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal
, the Légion d'honneur
, the Belgian
Order of the Crown
, and the Order of the Crown of Italy
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
agricultural economist
Agricultural economics
Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock — a discipline known as agronomics. Agronomics was a branch of economics that specifically dealt with land usage. It focused on maximizing the crop yield while maintaining a good soil...
, business executive, and civil servant. He was the first Administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was a United States federal law of the New Deal era which restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock...
(AAA) and the first President of the two banks that would become the Export-Import Bank of the United States
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...
.
Early life and business career
Peek was born in Polo, IllinoisPolo, Illinois
Polo is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census, down from 2,477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Polo is located at ....
, on November 19, 1873. His father was a farmer. He attended Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
from 1891 to 1892, but did not graduate.
He joined the Deere & Webber Company
John Deere
John Deere was an American blacksmith and manufacturer who founded Deere & Company, one of the largest and leading agricultural and construction equipment manufacturers in the world...
of Minneapolis in 1893, and was named Vice President of the John Deere Plow manufacturing division in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
in 1901. In 1911, he was named President of the Deere & Co. subsidiary in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
. In 1919, he left Deere & Co. and became President of the Moline Plow Company where he earned the relatively large salary of $100,000 a year. He immediately hired retired Brigadier General
Brigadier
Brigadier is a senior military rank, the meaning of which is somewhat different in different military services. The brigadier rank is generally superior to the rank of colonel, and subordinate to major general....
Hugh Samuel Johnson
Hugh Samuel Johnson
Hugh Samuel "Iron Pants" Johnson American Army officer, businessman, speech writer, government official and newspaper columnist. He is best known as a member of the Brain Trust of Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932-34. He wrote numerous speeches for FDR and helped plan the New Deal...
as the company's general counsel. Peek and Johnson were deeply interested in farm economics, especially since the post-World War I recession. Peek and Johnson became strong advocates of the McNary–Haugen Farm Relief Bill, proposed federal legislation which would have established the first national system of price support
Price support
In economics, a price support may be either a subsidy or a price control, both with the intended effect of keeping the market price of a good higher than the competitive equilibrium level....
s for agriculture.
Peek was a member of the War Industries Board
War Industries Board
The War Industries Board was a United States government agency established on July 28, 1917, during World War I, to coordinate the purchase of war supplies. The organization encouraged companies to use mass-production techniques to increase efficiency and urged them to eliminate waste by...
during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and after the war was a member of the Industrial Board advising the United States Department of Commerce
United States Department of Commerce
The United States Department of Commerce is the Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with promoting economic growth. It was originally created as the United States Department of Commerce and Labor on February 14, 1903...
on post-war reconversion.
New Deal career
When the Republican PartyRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
refused to support the legislation, Peek became a Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
. His support for the McNary-Haugen bill led President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
to appoint him Administrator of the Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA) in 1933. Peek had sought the United States Secretary of Agriculture
United States Secretary of Agriculture
The United States Secretary of Agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The current secretary is Tom Vilsack, who was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on 20 January 2009. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other...
position, but that had gone to Henry A. Wallace
Henry A. Wallace
Henry Agard Wallace was the 33rd Vice President of the United States , the Secretary of Agriculture , and the Secretary of Commerce . In the 1948 presidential election, Wallace was the nominee of the Progressive Party.-Early life:Henry A...
. Instead, Bernard Baruch
Bernard Baruch
Bernard Mannes Baruch was an American financier, stock-market speculator, statesman, and political consultant. After his success in business, he devoted his time toward advising U.S. Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Franklin D. Roosevelt on economic matters and became a philanthropist.-Early life...
(who knew Peek from their service on the War Industries Board together) convinced Roosevelt to put Peek in charge of the AAA. Peek fought with Wallace over the administration of the agency. Peek asked Roosevelt to make the AAA an independent agency rather than part of the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
; Wallace convinced Roosevelt to deny the request. Peek demanded full authority to run the AAA; Wallace withheld it. Wallace installed Jerome Frank, a liberal young lawyer whom Peek loathed, as the AAA's general counsel. Peek also disagreed with one of the three fundamental programs created by the Agricultural Adjustment Act
Agricultural Adjustment Act
The Agricultural Adjustment Act was a United States federal law of the New Deal era which restricted agricultural production by paying farmers subsidies not to plant part of their land and to kill off excess livestock...
. The Act created three programs designed to boost farm prices: 1) It established marketing programs designed to increase the purchase of American agricultural products overseas; 2) It established a system of price supports; and 3) It established a system of incentives to discourage overproduction. In order for farmers to participate in the price support program, they must agree to cut production. Peek was adamantly opposed to the production quotas, which he saw as a form of socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
. Instead, Peek preferred to promote informal cartel
Cartel
A cartel is a formal agreement among competing firms. It is a formal organization of producers and manufacturers that agree to fix prices, marketing, and production. Cartels usually occur in an oligopolistic industry, where there is a small number of sellers and usually involve homogeneous products...
s of large producers and large food processing companies, which together would collude to boost prices. Wallace repeatedly denied Peek the authority to institute such cartels, however. When the Commodity Credit Corporation
Commodity Credit Corporation
The Commodity Credit Corporation is a wholly owned government corporation created in 1933 to "stabilize, support, and protect farm income and prices"...
was established in the early fall of 1933, Roosevelt refused to make it part of the AAA out of concern for Peek's attitudes. On November 15, 1933, and again on November 25, Peek demanded that Wallace fire Frank for insubordination; Wallace refused and threatened to have one of Peek's most trusted aides fired instead. In early December 1933, while Wallace was out of town, Peek announced a marketing program designed to sell American butter in Europe at rates below the national domestic price. Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Tugwell
Rexford Guy Tugwell was an agricultural economist who became part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's first "Brain Trust," a group of Columbia academics who helped develop policy recommendations leading up to Roosevelt's 1932 election as President...
, Acting Secretary of Agriculture in Wallace's absence, rescinded the program. Wallace quickly convinced many of Roosevelt's top advisors to ask for Peek's resignation. Tugwell himself threatened to resign if Peek were not fired.
Faced with a united front, Peek resigned from the AAA on December 11, 1933. One reporter called the forced resignation "the coolest political murder that has been committed since Roosevelt came into office." The same day, President Roosevelt named Peek his Special Advisor on Foreign Trade.
President Roosevelt created the Export-Import Bank of Washington
Export-Import Bank of the United States
The Export-Import Bank of the United States is the official export credit agency of the United States federal government. It was established in 1934 by an executive order, and made an independent agency in the Executive branch by Congress in 1945, for the purposes of financing and insuring...
by executive order on February 2, 1934, and named Peek president of the bank. Roosevelt created a Second Export-Import Bank of Washington via executive order on March 9, 1934, and named Peek president of the second bank as well. Peek's tenure at the Export-Import Bank was also short-lived. He clashed repeatedly with United States Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull
Cordell Hull was an American politician from the U.S. state of Tennessee. He is best known as the longest-serving Secretary of State, holding the position for 11 years in the administration of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt during much of World War II...
over a series of reciprocal trade agreements in 1935, and resigned from the bank on December 2, 1935.
Retirement and death
Peek retired to Rancho Santa Fe, CaliforniaRancho Santa Fe, California
Rancho Santa Fe known locally as ″The Ranch″, is one of the most exclusive and affluent communities in Southern California. It is also a census-designated place in San Diego County, California and an unincorporated bedroom community of San Diego County...
, in 1937 with his wife, Georgia. He rejoined the Republican Party, and supported Alf Landon
Alf Landon
Alfred Mossman "Alf" Landon was an American Republican politician, who served as the 26th Governor of Kansas from 1933–1937. He was best known for being the Republican Party's nominee for President of the United States, defeated in a landslide by Franklin D...
in the 1936 presidential election
United States presidential election, 1936
The United States presidential election of 1936 was the most lopsided presidential election in the history of the United States in terms of electoral votes. In terms of the popular vote, it was the third biggest victory since the election of 1820, which was not seriously contested.The election took...
.
Peek died at his home in Rancho Santa Fe on December 17, 1943. He was survived by his wife.
During his lifetime, Peek received numerous awards and honors, including the Distinguished Service Medal
Distinguished Service Medal (United States)
The Distinguished Service Medal is the highest non-valorous military and civilian decoration of the United States military which is issued for exceptionally meritorious service to the government of the United States in either a senior government service position or as a senior officer of the United...
, the Légion d'honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
, the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Order of the Crown
Order of the Crown (Belgium)
The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was created on 15 October 1897 by King Leopold II in his capacity as ruler of the Congo Free State. The order was first intended to recognize heroic deeds and distinguished service achieved from service in the Congo Free State - many of which acts...
, and the Order of the Crown of Italy
Order of the Crown of Italy
The Order of the Crown of Italy was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate the unification of Italy in 1861...
.
See also
- Breimyer, Harold F. "Agricultural Philosophies and Policies in the New Deal." Minnestoa Law Review. 68:333 (1983–1984).
- Fite, Gilbert C. George N. Peek and the Fight for Farm Parity. Paperback ed. Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991. ISBN 0806121203