Scattered textual records selected from the Farm Security Administration, Historical Section records at the Library of Congress and the Farmers Home Administration records at the National Archives primarily revolving around activities of Roy Stryker. Included are personnel and travel records, typescripts of photograph captions, correspondence, memoranda, files on public relations and exhibits, and printed material.
218 copy prints of photographs of America taken for the FSA, including landscapes, people, homes and other architecture, rural scenes, urban scenes, workers, products of farm and industry, transportation, entertainment, and the Quarter Circle U Ranch, Birney, Montana. Photographers include: Arthur Rothstein, Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange, John Collier, Marion Post Wolcott, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, John Vachon, Ben Shahn, Carl Mydans, and Edwin Rosskam.
Biographical / Historical:
Established 1935 in the Resettlement Administration Historical Section's photographic project to document poverty stricken rural America under the direction of Roy E. Stryker. In 1937, Roosevelt established the FSA, and the Resettlement Administration and its programs fell under its auspices. The Historical Section of the Resettlement Administration remained intact under the FSA, and continued its photographic survey and historical documentation under Stryker's direction.
After 1942, the photographs project was transplanted to the Office War Information, and the emphasis of the project shifted from rural and urban conditions throughout Depression-era U.S. to the domestic impact of the war. In 1946, Congress created the Farmers Home Administration (FHA) which absorbed the FSA and its programs.
Related Materials:
Additional FSA-OWI records located at: Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division (microfilm available at LC)
Additional Stryker papers located at: Photographic Archives University of Louisville, Louisville, Ky. 40208
Provenance:
Microfilm and copy prints donated by the Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division, 1965.
Reel FSA/WDC2: Record Group 96, textual records of the Farmers Home Administration include the records of the FSA, predecessor to the FHA.
Restrictions:
Use of original papers requires an appointment and is limited to the Archives' Washington, D.C., Research Center. Contact Reference Services for more information.
Topic:
Photography -- United States -- Landscape -- Photographs Search this
Photography -- United States -- Portraits -- Photographs Search this
Architectural photography -- United States -- Photographs Search this
Federal aid to the public welfare -- Photographs Search this
Autographed formal studio portrait photograph of Captain William Lendrum "Billy" Mitchell (US Army) in full-dress uniform with sword; 1915.
Scope and Contents:
Toned gelatin silver print photograph, 9.1 x 6.5 inches, by unknown photographer. Full-length formal studio portrait of Captain William Lendrum "Billy" Mitchell, US Army, General Staff, in formal full-dress uniform (including cap and cape) with sword; 1915. Autographed at lower edge of print and mount, "To Emelen and Joe, Wm. Mitchell, Capt. G.S. U. S. Army, 1915." Inscribed to Joseph E. Davies and Davies' first wife Mary Emlen (Knight) Davies.
Arrangement:
Single-item collection.
Biographical / Historical:
Brigadier General William "Billy" Mitchell (1879-1936), pilot and aviation and aerial bombing advocate, joined the army as a private and, by the Spanish-American War was the youngest lieutenant involved in the operation. Mitchell saw service in the Philippines, Cuba, and on the Mexican border, and graduated from the Army School of the Line (1908) and Army Staff College (1909) before serving on the Army General Staff (1913-1916). He held a number of command and staff posts in the Air Service in France during World War I (1917-1919) and first soloed in 1917. After a short period as Director of Military Aeronautics (1919) and Chief of Training and Operations (1920), he became Assistant to the Chief of Air Service (1921-1926). During this period, he advocated the creation of an independent Air Service and demonstrated the utility of air power through the famous bomber vs. battleship trials (1921), the group flight to Alaska from the continental US (1923), and Army's Around the World Flight (1924). Unfortunately, Mitchell's public criticism of government policies, in defiance of Army regulations, resulted in his court martial for conduct prejudicial of "good order and military discipline" and insubordination in October-December 1925. Found guilty and suspended for five years, Mitchell resigned his commission in January 1926. He continued to promote aviation and decry government inefficiencies until his death.
The Honorable Joseph E. Davies (1876-1958), who served as best man at Billy Mitchell's first wedding in 1903, also served the US government in a variety of foreign and domestic posts during his career, including as a US Ambassador, as the first Chairman of the Federal Trade Commission in 1915, and as Chairman of the War Relief Control Board during World War II.
Provenance:
Joseph E. Davies, gift, 1959, NASM.XXXX.1164
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
