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229:, 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
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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
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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
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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
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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
280:. 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.
379:. 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
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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
199:'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.
340:. 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.
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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.
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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
233:. Throughout the 1950s, he continued his involvement in farm politics, serving as a vice president of the U.S. Farmers Association which as newly formed by Fred Stover and working with the local chapter of the burgeoning
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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.
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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.
248:, 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.
287:, 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
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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
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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.
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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
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Jackson attended numerous farm protest rallies and his electoral performance in rural counties often surpassed expectations. At the
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marginalized constituencies in
American life. An oral history of Hansen's involvement in farm protest movements is available in
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In 1990, he largely retired from active involvement in politics, with the notable exception of his endorsement and support of
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210:, the organizer of one of the nation's first desegregation campaigns. While working with Griffin in her efforts to integrate
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Farmers Union, where he worked under IFU President Frederick William Stover (1898–1990), the former liaison between the
222:. Griffin's husband, an African-American doctor, was the attending physician at the birth of two of Hansen's children.
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In addition to his role as President of the North American Farm Alliance, Hansen also served as vice president of the
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as an Alternate Delegate and contributed substantially to that year's platform debate on agricultural policy.
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During his time in Iowa with Farmers Union, Hansen became a close friend and supporter of the prominent
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101:. After graduating from Newman Grove High School in 1938, Merle attended a business college in
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475:"Merle Hansen dies; was advocate for family farms, conservation, civil rights, world peace"
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244:, an anti-war and social justice organization. He also served as a state officer in the
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and rural activists in forming 'Family Farmers’ National Alliance for Nader\LaDuke'.
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573:(George Naylor, Jim Dubert, Bert Henningson, Jr. and Curt Stofferahn. Ames, Iowa)
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At the outbreak of the Korean War, a conflict erupted between Stover and the
163:, a progressive veterans organization formed to oppose the more conservative
81:(November 11, 1919 – March 27, 2009) was the founding president of the
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455:. The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. 2009
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In the late 1940s, Hansen also worked as a field organizer for the
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Coming of Age: The Story of Our Century by Those Who’ve Lived It
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Merle Elwin Hansen was born on his family's farmstead north of
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In August 1983, Hansen and other family farm leaders met with
151:. He served mostly in the Pacific theatre and was awarded six
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588:(Special Collections Department, Iowa State University)
429:. League of Rural Voters. April 1, 2009. Archived from
401:"Merle Elwin Hansen November 26, 1919 - March 27, 2009"
314:. In 1985, Hansen was an active supporter of the first
571:
Farm Bill Basics: Formula for Prosperity and Fairness
403:. The Business Farmer. April 2, 2009. Archived from
191:. Stover was a close ally of former Vice President
545:"A Life Worth Living — Merle Hansen (1919-2009)"
240:In the 1970s, Hansen served as the president of
521:. Nadar2000. October 30, 2000. Archived from
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638:United States Navy personnel of World War II
143:On December 8, 1941, Hansen enlisted in the
375:Hansen's files and records were donated to
159:as a multi-state field organizer for the
66:Learn how and when to remove this message
499:. Iowa State University. 22 January 2010
278:March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
29:This article includes a list of general
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312:National Save the Family Farm Coalition
155:. Following the war, he worked out of
195:and one of the policy authors of the
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623:American people of Norwegian descent
113:, Hansen's father was active in the
305:1988 Democratic National Convention
285:1984 Democratic National Convention
276:during the 20th anniversary of the
613:People from Newman Grove, Nebraska
85:and a spokesman for the plight of
35:it lacks sufficient corresponding
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179:Farmers Union, and later for the
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477:. The Rural Blog. April 1, 2009
519:"Family Farmers Endorse Nader"
497:"North American Farm Alliance"
427:"Obituary: Merle Elwin Hansen"
381:University of Nebraska-Lincoln
299:. In 1985, Hansen traveled to
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547:. Daily Yonder. March 1, 2009
246:American Agriculture Movement
235:National Farmers Organization
252:North American Farm Alliance
115:Farmers' Holiday Association
83:North American Farm Alliance
453:"Stover, Frederick William"
161:American Veterans Committee
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354:2000 Presidential election
586:Merle Elwin Hansen Papers
356:. Hansen joined 51 other
265:in developing countries.
256:In 1983, as the nation's
231:Madison County, Nebraska
50:more precise citations.
633:20th-century Lutherans
227:National Farmers Union
99:Newman Grove, Nebraska
618:Farmers from Nebraska
377:Iowa State University
220:civil rights movement
189:Roosevelt White House
103:Chillicothe, Missouri
433:on February 26, 2012
407:on September 6, 2015
262:Roosevelt's New Deal
242:Nebraskans For Peace
525:on December 7, 2000
628:American Lutherans
331:The New York Times
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130:auction" in
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79:Merle Hansen
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608:2009 deaths
603:1919 births
350:Ralph Nader
344:Later years
258:farm crisis
48:introducing
597:Categories
551:August 12,
529:August 12,
503:August 12,
481:August 12,
459:August 12,
437:August 12,
411:August 12,
387:References
216:Des Moines
93:Background
56:April 2012
31:references
325:USA Today
206:activist
132:Elgin, NE
316:Farm Aid
197:New Deal
187:and the
352:in the
145:US Navy
44:improve
301:Africa
295:mayor
33:, but
334:, to
328:, to
157:Omaha
147:as a
553:2015
531:2015
505:2015
483:2015
461:2015
439:2015
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291:and
185:USDA
181:Iowa
368:by
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