United States Food Administration Records
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http://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt1n39r4r8 No online items Inventory of the United States Food Administration records Finding aid prepared by Lyalya Kharitonova Hoover Institution Library and Archives © 2009, 2010 434 Galvez Mall Stanford University Stanford, CA 94305-6003 [email protected] URL: http://www.hoover.org/library-and-archives Inventory of the United States XX066 1 Food Administration records Title: United States Food Administration records Date (bulk): 1917-1919 Collection Number: XX066 Contributing Institution: Hoover Institution Library and Archives Language of Material: English . Physical Description: 420 manuscript boxes, 34 oversize boxes, 25 card files boxes, 5 envelopes(223.6 Linear Feet) Abstract: Correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes, press releases, surveys, statistics, printed matter, and photographs relating to the regulation of food distribution and consumption in the United States during World War I. Hoover Institution Library & Archives Access Closed. Microfilm use only; materials must be requested at least two business days in advance of intended use. Publication Rights For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Acquisition Information Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Preferred Citation [Identification of item], United States Food Administration records, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives. Historical Note "Food Will Win the War" was the slogan. Food had become a weapon in World War I, as European countries could no longer produce sufficient food for their populations. Since the U.S. had to provide food to its armies and the Allied armies, Allied civilians, and Americans at home, President Woodrow Wilson established the United States Food Administration (USFA) as an independent agency by Executive Order 2679-A of August 10, 1917 under the authority of the Food and Fuel Control Act (40 Stat. 276). The USFA regulated the supply, distribution, and conservation of food. President Woodrow Wilson appointed Herbert Hoover to the post of U.S. Food Administrator, making the following statement: "In order to meet [the] shortage, every encouragement and direction possible was given to increased production." In addition, the conservation of food already produced was approached through the elimination of wasteful practices and unnecessary consumption. Herbert Hoover created his "Food Conservation" program, which Americans called "Hooverizing." According to the program, American households would eat less in order to leave food to ship abroad. Thus Herbert Hoover succeeded in cutting domestic consumption of food that was needed overseas and avoided rationing at home. The USFA ended wartime food controls immediately after the Armistice on November 11, 1918. USFA conservation regulations lapsed in November-December 1918. Licensing requirements terminated in June 1919. The remaining functions of the Food Administrator were transferred to the Chief of the Cereal Division, USFA (wheat and wheat products) and to the U.S. Attorney General (all other food products). The USFA was finally disbanded on August 21, 1920. Although the activities of the USFA were terminated at the war's end, its accomplishments laid the foundation for Allied post-war relief efforts in Europe. Sources: History of the United States Food Administration, 1917-1919, by William C. Mullendore, with an Introduction by Herbert Hoover, 1941, Stanford University Press, Stanford University, California. National Archives and Records Administration; Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, http://hoover.archives.gov For additional historical information, see: George H. Nash, The Life of Herbert Hoover, Vol. 3, Master of Emergencies, 1917-1918. W. W. Norton, 1983 Scope and Content of Collection The records relate to the regulation of food distribution and consumption in the United States and Allied areas during World War I, and include correspondence, reports, memoranda, minutes, press releases, surveys, statistics, printed matter, and photographs. Documenting the establishment and organization of the USFA and its subsidiary agencies, the records include rules and regulations, policies, plans, and operational agreements with producers, refiners, manufacturers, and purchasers of various commodities. The records are organized into 70 series by division, subject, personal office or physical form. Series 1-48H use division office codes designated by the USFA. Additional series have been created for later additions to the records. Inventory of the United States XX066 2 Food Administration records Division records often include correspondence, predominantly outgoing, and chronologically arranged internal documents such as agenda, minutes and memoranda, governing documents, and periodical reports of activities, as well as financial records and issuances of the organization and its officials. Personal offices contain similar records, along with incoming correspondence, and often reflect the daily operations of an office within the organization. The Alphabetical file, in three overlapping segments, lists subjects, terms, and names alphabetically. Files generally consist of reports, memos, minutes, correspondence, and regulations, from all divisions of the organization in alphabetical order by subject or country. Heavily indexed by the organization, the alphabetical file also includes cross-references to related files in the series and to the other numbered series. Information on the public outreach program and the development of nationwide food conservation programs may be found in the Library and Exhibits Section records. The section created various visual aids and suggestions on how to organize exhibits and fairs related to food conservation at public places. USFA records are also held in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and at the U.S. National Archives. Though they partially duplicate the records held at the Hoover Institution, the records include complementary materials, often about particular regions throughout the country. Subjects and Indexing Terms World War, 1914-1918 -- Food supply World War, 1914-1918 -- United States World War, 1914-1918 -- Economic aspects Related Materials Herbert Hoover subject collection, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Poster collection, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Everett Somerville Brown papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Vernon Lyman Kellogg papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Alonzo Englebert Taylor papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Frank Macy Surface papers, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Mark Lawrence Requa memoirs, Hoover Institution Library & Archives Records of the U.S. Food Administration [USFA], Record Group 4, National Archives and Records Administration Herbert Hoover Papers, Pre-Commerce Period, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library, West Branch, Iowa 1-H Herbert Hoover, U.S. Food Administrator Files 1914-1927 General note See also: Boxes 368-375 reel 1 Appointments 24 May 1917-1915 November 1918. General note Includes index of safe of Herbert Hoover, 1 March, 1919 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 1 Notes on National Food Control for Council of National Defense March 1917 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 2 Memoranda and Agreements regarding Allies and Neutrals and Data on Shipping and Exports (from Herbert Hoover's safe in the Food Administration) 1917 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 3 Inventory of the United States XX066 3 Food Administration records 1-H Herbert Hoover, U.S. Food Administrator Files 1914-1927 Official Acts regarding Food Administration, miscellaneous contracts and agreements, legal opinions and reports 1917-1918 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 4-5 Food Administration, 1919-1927 (from the Secretary of Commerce Archive) Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 6-7 Introduction to the U.S. Food Administration, report by Herbert Hoover, April 1920, printed copy and drafts Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 8 reel 2 Introduction to the U.S. Food Administration, report by Herbert Hoover, April 1920, printed copy and drafts Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 9-13 The U.S. Food Administration, 1917-1920 Organization and Functions, by the Division of Classification, Washington 1940 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 14-16 Conferences 1917-1919. General note See also 5-H; 6-H; 12-H; 15-H; 18-H; 35-H; and 39-H Scope and Contents Box/Folder 1 : 17-18 reel 3 Memoranda to Herbert Hoover 1917-1920 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 2 : 1-16 reel 4 Memoranda to Herbert Hoover 1917-1920 (contd.) Scope and Contents Box/Folder 3 : 1-5 reel 5 Memoranda to Herbert Hoover 1917-1920 (contd.) Scope and Contents Box/Folder 3 : 6-7 reel 6 Memoranda to Herbert Hoover 1917-1920 (contd.) Scope and Contents Box/Folder 3 : 8 Memoranda to Herbert Hoover 1917-1920 (contd.) Scope and Contents Box/Folder 4 : 1-2 Inventory of the United States XX066 4 Food Administration records 1-H Herbert Hoover, U.S. Food Administrator Files 1914-1927 Copies of receipts of sugar, rice, sisal, ammonia, and ice, contracts and agreements filed in Herbert Hoover's safe in the Food Administration, Washington 1917-1919 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 4 : 3-8 Legal opinions and reports, correspondence, (from Herbert Hoover's safe) 1918 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 4 : 9-17 reel 7 Legal opinions and reports, correspondence, (from Herbert Hoover's safe) 1918 Scope and Contents Box/Folder 4 : 18-21 Correspondence 1917-1920. General note Includes reports, memoranda, proclamations,