Merle Hansen
Encyclopedia
Merle Hansen was the founding president of the North American Farm Alliance and a spokesman for the plight of family farm
ers.
. After graduating from Newman Grove High School in 1938, Merle attended a business college in Chillicothe, MO.
Hansen viewed farm policy as an issue of social justice and often urged farmers to align themselves with minorities, environmentalists, the urban poor, labor unions, and other constituencies often regarded as marginalized in American culture. During the Great Depression
, Hansen's father was active in the Farmer's Holiday Association
, a farm protest organization that advocated the withholding of farm commodities from markets as a means of raising farm prices, and the use of "penny auctions" as a means of stopping farm foreclosures. The Holiday's plan for increasing prices never proved feasible, but the "penny auctions" were occasionally successful in preventing banks from foreclosing on individual farmers.
In many well-publicized cases, Association members would attend a farm sale regarded by Association members as morally or legally questionable. After bidding no more than a few pennies on each item put up by the auctioneer, they would return everything to the original owners immediately following the auction. Local law enforcement officials often discovered they were powerless to stop these tactics, and individuals at the auction who made earnest bids on the items in the sale were often intimidated into silence by Association members.
Hansen's town of Newman Grove was home to one of the movement's most successful locals. Often meeting in an auto-repair garage owned by Hansen's family, the "Madison County" chapter of the Association gained national attention for several successful actions, including the orchestration of a "penny auction" in Elgin, NE and the reacquisition of farmer-owned property that had been seized by banks. Deeply affected by these early experiences of direct action and radical populism, Hansen referenced the Association throughout his career.
. He served mostly in the Pacific theatre and was awarded six battle stars
. Following the war, he worked out of Omaha
as a multi-state field organizer for the American Veterans Committee
, a progressive veterans organization formed to oppose the more conservative American Legion
.
Farmers Union
, and later for the Iowa
Farmers Union
, where he worked under IFU President Fred Stover, the former liaison between the USDA and the Roosevelt White House
. Stover was a close ally of former Vice President Henry C. Wallace and one of the policy authors of the New Deal
's innovative but controversial agricultural reforms. Stover would become Hansen's mentor, teaching him many of the Byzantine intricacies of federal farm policy and remaining a close ally and partner of Hansen's from the 1950s to the 1980s.
During his time in Iowa with Farmers Union, Hansen became a close friend and supporter of the prominent African-American activist Edna Griffin
, the organizer of one of the nation's first desegregation campaigns. While working with Griffin in her efforts to integrate Katz Drug Store in Des Moines, Hansen developed a friendship with the Griffin family and became an early and enthusiastic supporter of the civil rights movement. Griffin's husband, an African-American doctor, was the attending physician at the birth of two of Hansen's children.
At the outbreak of the Korean War, a conflict erupted between Stover and the National Farmers Union
, with Stover opposing American intervention and NFU President James Patton supporting President Truman, with whom he had a close working relationship. This conflict caused the Iowa Farmers Union to splinter into bitterly opposed factions and eventually would cause Stover's removal as state president. In the midst of the controversy, Hansen returned to his family's farm in Madison County, Nebraska
. Throughout the 1950s, he continued his involvement in farm politics, serving as a vice president of Fred Stover's newly-formed US Farmers Association and working with the local chapter of the burgeoning National Farmers Organization
.
In the 1970s, Hansen served as the president of Nebraskans for Peace
, an anti-war and social justice organization. He also served as a state officer in the American Agriculture Movement
, the militant farm organization responsible for orchestrating the "tractorcades," a public relations spectacle in which hundreds of farmers drove their tractors through the city streets of Washington DC.
deepened, Hansen was elected to serve as the founding chairman of the North American Farm Alliance, a farm protest organization that advocated a return to Roosevelt's New Deal farm policies. The group also sought to construct an active coalition between family farmers and other groups perceived as disenfranchised or marginalized in American life. The group's coalition building included outreach to environmentalists, civil rights organizations, the urban poor, and farmers in developing countries.
In August 1983, Hansen and other family farm leaders met with Jesse Jackson
in Washington, D.C.
during the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
. When Jackson announced his presidential candidacy a short while later, Hansen became his chief adviser on agricultural policy. Against the advice of many of his advisors, who told him it would be futile to court rural farmers, Jackson adopted many of Hansen's suggestions.
Jackson attended numerous farm protest rallies and his electoral performance in rural counties often surpassed expectations. At the 1984 Democratic National Convention
, Hansen was asked by Jackson to make one of the three speeches formally entering his name into nomination as a candidate. The other nominating speeches were made by future Congresswoman Maxine Waters
and Washington, D.C.
mayor Marion Barry
. In 1985, Hansen traveled to Africa
with Jackson, meeting with Ministers of Agriculture while Jackson met with heads of state. In 1988, he again worked with Jackson on his presidential campaign. He attended the 1988 Democratic National Convention
as an Alternate Delegate and contributed substantially to that year's platform debate on agricultural policy.
In addition to his role as President of the North American Farm Alliance, Hansen also served as vice president of the National Save the Family Farm Coalition. In 1985, Hansen was an active supporter of the first Farm Aid
concert, and was heavily involved with the crafting of Farm Aid's political message and the distribution of the financial proceeds from the first concert's ticket sales.
Throughout the 1980s, Hansen was a prominent spokesman for the concerns of family farmers, often speaking at rallies, protest actions, and with media representatives. He was featured prominently in publications ranging from USA Today
, to The New York Times
, to Ms. Magazine
. As President of the North American Farm Alliance, his primary responsibility was communications outreach and coalition building. An articulate speaker, Hansen's message reached audiences throughout the United States and around the world.
in the 2000 Presidential election
http://webarchives.loc.gov/collections/lcwa0007/20001207080206/http://www.votenader.com/press/1030farmersendorse.html. Hansen joined 51 other family farmer and rural activists in forming 'Family Farmers’ National Alliance for Nader\LaDuke'.
From the 1930s to the 1980s, he was involved with most of the nation's major farm protest organizations, often taking leadership roles. He was a strong and consistent advocate of parity price indexing of agricultural commodities, and often encouraged family farmers to align themselves with other marginalized constituencies in American life. An oral history of Hansen's involvement in farm protest movements is available in Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It by Studs Terkel
. Hansen's files and records were donated to Iowa State University
. The manuscript collection available at ISU in Ames includes his speeches and writings, the organizational archives of the many organizations he was involved with, and exchanges of letters with dozens of correspondents. Some of his records were also sent to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including most of his records relating to Nebraskans for Peace and the American Veterans Committee.
Family farm
A family farm is a farm owned and operated by a family, and often passed down from generation to generation. It is the basic unit of the mostly agricultural economy of much of human history and continues to be so in developing nations...
ers.
Background
Merle Elwin Hansen was born on his family’s farmstead north of Newman Grove, NebraskaNewman Grove, Nebraska
Newman Grove is a city in Madison and Platte Counties in the U.S. state of Nebraska. The population was 797 at the 2000 census.The Madison County portion of Newman Grove is part of the Norfolk, Nebraska Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...
. After graduating from Newman Grove High School in 1938, Merle attended a business college in Chillicothe, MO.
Hansen viewed farm policy as an issue of social justice and often urged farmers to align themselves with minorities, environmentalists, the urban poor, labor unions, and other constituencies often regarded as marginalized in American culture. During the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, Hansen's father was active in the Farmer's Holiday Association
Farmer's Holiday Association
The Farmers' Holiday Association was a movement of Midwestern United States farmers who, during the Great Depression, endorsed the withholding of farm products from the market, in essence creating a farmers' strike. The Farmers' Holiday Association was organized in May 1932 by Milo Reno...
, a farm protest organization that advocated the withholding of farm commodities from markets as a means of raising farm prices, and the use of "penny auctions" as a means of stopping farm foreclosures. The Holiday's plan for increasing prices never proved feasible, but the "penny auctions" were occasionally successful in preventing banks from foreclosing on individual farmers.
In many well-publicized cases, Association members would attend a farm sale regarded by Association members as morally or legally questionable. After bidding no more than a few pennies on each item put up by the auctioneer, they would return everything to the original owners immediately following the auction. Local law enforcement officials often discovered they were powerless to stop these tactics, and individuals at the auction who made earnest bids on the items in the sale were often intimidated into silence by Association members.
Hansen's town of Newman Grove was home to one of the movement's most successful locals. Often meeting in an auto-repair garage owned by Hansen's family, the "Madison County" chapter of the Association gained national attention for several successful actions, including the orchestration of a "penny auction" in Elgin, NE and the reacquisition of farmer-owned property that had been seized by banks. Deeply affected by these early experiences of direct action and radical populism, Hansen referenced the Association throughout his career.
World War II
On December 8, 1941, Hansen enlisted in the US Navy as a petty officerPetty Officer
A petty officer is a non-commissioned officer in many navies and is given the NATO rank denotion OR-6. They are equal in rank to sergeant, British Army and Royal Air Force. A Petty Officer is superior in rank to Leading Rate and subordinate to Chief Petty Officer, in the case of the British Armed...
. He served mostly in the Pacific theatre and was awarded six battle stars
Service star
A service star, also referred to as a battle star, campaign star, or engagement star, is an attachment to a United States military decoration which denotes participation in military campaigns or multiple bestowals of the same award. Service stars are typically issued for campaign medals, service...
. Following the war, he worked out of Omaha
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...
as a multi-state field organizer for the American Veterans Committee
American Veterans Committee
The American Veterans Committee was founded in 1943 as a liberal veterans organization and an alternative to groups such as the American Legion and the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which supported a conservative political and social agenda. The organization's roots were planted in 1942 when Sgt...
, a progressive veterans organization formed to oppose the more conservative American Legion
American Legion
The American Legion is a mutual-aid organization of veterans of the United States armed forces chartered by the United States Congress. It was founded to benefit those veterans who served during a wartime period as defined by Congress...
.
Farmers Union
In the late 1940s, Hansen also worked as a field organizer for the South DakotaSouth Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...
Farmers Union
Farmers Union
Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd .-Jamestown:At a meeting in Jamestown, South Australia on 28 February 1888, a committee formed to establish a grain "producers' union to combat the effects of depressed agricultural prices and the...
, and later for the Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
Farmers Union
Farmers Union
Farmers Union is a brand name established by the South Australian Farmers' Co-operative Union Ltd .-Jamestown:At a meeting in Jamestown, South Australia on 28 February 1888, a committee formed to establish a grain "producers' union to combat the effects of depressed agricultural prices and the...
, where he worked under IFU President Fred Stover, the former liaison between the USDA and the Roosevelt White House
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...
. Stover was a close ally of former Vice President Henry C. Wallace and one of the policy authors of the New Deal
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call...
's innovative but controversial agricultural reforms. Stover would become Hansen's mentor, teaching him many of the Byzantine intricacies of federal farm policy and remaining a close ally and partner of Hansen's from the 1950s to the 1980s.
During his time in Iowa with Farmers Union, Hansen became a close friend and supporter of the prominent African-American activist Edna Griffin
Edna Griffin
Edna M. Griffin was an American civil rights pioneer and human rights activist. Known as the "Rosa Parks of Iowa" Her court battle against the Katz Drug Store in Des Moines in 1948, State of Iowa v. Katz, foreshadowed the civil rights movement and a landmark case before the Iowa Supreme Court...
, the organizer of one of the nation's first desegregation campaigns. While working with Griffin in her efforts to integrate Katz Drug Store in Des Moines, Hansen developed a friendship with the Griffin family and became an early and enthusiastic supporter of the civil rights movement. Griffin's husband, an African-American doctor, was the attending physician at the birth of two of Hansen's children.
At the outbreak of the Korean War, a conflict erupted between Stover and the National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union
National Farmers Union may refer to:*National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union *National Farmers Union of Scotland*National Farmers Union -See also:...
, with Stover opposing American intervention and NFU President James Patton supporting President Truman, with whom he had a close working relationship. This conflict caused the Iowa Farmers Union to splinter into bitterly opposed factions and eventually would cause Stover's removal as state president. In the midst of the controversy, Hansen returned to his family's farm in Madison County, Nebraska
Madison County, Nebraska
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 35,226 people, 13,436 households, and 8,894 families residing in the county. The population density was 62 people per square mile . There were 14,432 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile...
. Throughout the 1950s, he continued his involvement in farm politics, serving as a vice president of Fred Stover's newly-formed US Farmers Association and working with the local chapter of the burgeoning National Farmers Organization
National Farmers Organization
The National Farmers Organization is a producerist movement founded in the United States in 1955. Its greatest notoriety came in 1967 when it organized milk farmers to engage in a “holding action” to drive up the price of milk....
.
In the 1970s, Hansen served as the president of Nebraskans for Peace
Nebraskans For Peace
Nebraskans For Peace, or NFP, is a peace advocacy organization based in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. "Nebraskans for Peace is a statewide grassroots advocacy organization working nonviolently for peace with justice through community building, education and political action."-History:Founded in...
, an anti-war and social justice organization. He also served as a state officer in the American Agriculture Movement
American Agriculture Movement
The American Agriculture Movement is an organization consisting primarily of small American farmers, and was formed in 1977 in Campo, Colorado by a group of farmers...
, the militant farm organization responsible for orchestrating the "tractorcades," a public relations spectacle in which hundreds of farmers drove their tractors through the city streets of Washington DC.
North American Farm Alliance
In 1983, as the nation's farm crisisFarm crisis
A Farm Crisis is a term describing times of agricultural recession, low crop prices and low farm incomes that can lead to farm bankruptcy, family break-ups, and increased rate of farmer suicides. In the US, most recently this was during the 1980s...
deepened, Hansen was elected to serve as the founding chairman of the North American Farm Alliance, a farm protest organization that advocated a return to Roosevelt's New Deal farm policies. The group also sought to construct an active coalition between family farmers and other groups perceived as disenfranchised or marginalized in American life. The group's coalition building included outreach to environmentalists, civil rights organizations, the urban poor, and farmers in developing countries.
In August 1983, Hansen and other family farm leaders met with Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
during the 20th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was the largest political rally for human rights in United States history and called for civil and economic rights for African Americans. It took place in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King, Jr...
. When Jackson announced his presidential candidacy a short while later, Hansen became his chief adviser on agricultural policy. Against the advice of many of his advisors, who told him it would be futile to court rural farmers, Jackson adopted many of Hansen's suggestions.
Jackson attended numerous farm protest rallies and his electoral performance in rural counties often surpassed expectations. At the 1984 Democratic National Convention
1984 Democratic National Convention
The 1984 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, California from July 16 to July 19, 1984, to select a candidate for the 1984 United States presidential election. At the convention Walter Mondale was nominated for President and Geraldine...
, Hansen was asked by Jackson to make one of the three speeches formally entering his name into nomination as a candidate. The other nominating speeches were made by future Congresswoman Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters
Maxine Waters is the U.S. Representative for , and previously the 29th district, serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
and Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
mayor Marion Barry
Marion Barry
Marion Shepilov Barry, Jr. is an American Democratic politician who is currently serving as a member of the Council of the District of Columbia, representing DC's Ward 8. Barry served as the second elected mayor of the District of Columbia from 1979 to 1991, and again as the fourth mayor from 1995...
. In 1985, Hansen traveled to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
with Jackson, meeting with Ministers of Agriculture while Jackson met with heads of state. In 1988, he again worked with Jackson on his presidential campaign. He attended the 1988 Democratic National Convention
1988 Democratic National Convention
The 1988 National Convention of the U.S. Democratic Party was held at The Omni in Atlanta, Georgia from July 18–July 21, 1988 to select a candidate for the 1988 United States presidential election. At the convention Gov. Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts was nominated for President and...
as an Alternate Delegate and contributed substantially to that year's platform debate on agricultural policy.
In addition to his role as President of the North American Farm Alliance, Hansen also served as vice president of the National Save the Family Farm Coalition. In 1985, Hansen was an active supporter of the first Farm Aid
Farm Aid
Farm Aid started as a benefit concert on September 22, 1985, in Champaign, Illinois, held to raise money for family farmers in the United States...
concert, and was heavily involved with the crafting of Farm Aid's political message and the distribution of the financial proceeds from the first concert's ticket sales.
Throughout the 1980s, Hansen was a prominent spokesman for the concerns of family farmers, often speaking at rallies, protest actions, and with media representatives. He was featured prominently in publications ranging from USA Today
USA Today
USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth. The newspaper vies with The Wall Street Journal for the position of having the widest circulation of any newspaper in the United States, something it previously held since 2003...
, to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, to Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...
. As President of the North American Farm Alliance, his primary responsibility was communications outreach and coalition building. An articulate speaker, Hansen's message reached audiences throughout the United States and around the world.
Later years
In 1990, he largely retired from active involvement in politics, with the notable exception of his endorsement and support of Ralph NaderRalph Nader presidential campaign, 2000
Ralph Nader ran in the 2000 United States presidential election as the nominee of the Green Party. He was also nominated by the Vermont Progressive Party and the United Citizens Party of South Carolina...
in the 2000 Presidential election
United States presidential election, 2000
The United States presidential election of 2000 was a contest between Republican candidate George W. Bush, then-governor of Texas and son of former president George H. W. Bush , and Democratic candidate Al Gore, then-Vice President....
http://webarchives.loc.gov/collections/lcwa0007/20001207080206/http://www.votenader.com/press/1030farmersendorse.html. Hansen joined 51 other family farmer and rural activists in forming 'Family Farmers’ National Alliance for Nader\LaDuke'.
From the 1930s to the 1980s, he was involved with most of the nation's major farm protest organizations, often taking leadership roles. He was a strong and consistent advocate of parity price indexing of agricultural commodities, and often encouraged family farmers to align themselves with other marginalized constituencies in American life. An oral history of Hansen's involvement in farm protest movements is available in Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It by Studs Terkel
Studs Terkel
Louis "Studs" Terkel was an American author, historian, actor, and broadcaster. He received the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction in 1985 for The Good War, and is best remembered for his oral histories of common Americans, and for hosting a long-running radio show in Chicago.-Early...
. Hansen's files and records were donated to Iowa State University
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
. The manuscript collection available at ISU in Ames includes his speeches and writings, the organizational archives of the many organizations he was involved with, and exchanges of letters with dozens of correspondents. Some of his records were also sent to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, including most of his records relating to Nebraskans for Peace and the American Veterans Committee.