Collection context
Summary
- Creators:
- Rogge, Benjamin A.
- Abstract:
- The collection contains speeches and writings, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and printed matter related to laissez-faire economics and to economic conditions and higher education in the United States.
- Extent:
- 82 manuscript boxes, 1 oversize box (33.9 Linear Feet)
- Language:
- English
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Benjamin A. Rogge papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
Background
- Scope and content:
-
The papers document the career of Benjamin A. Rogge, an American economist who was a professor and dean of Wabash College. Rogge was a board member of the Liberty Fund, where he worked closely with Pierre Goodrich. He also served on the board of trustees for the Foundation for Economic Education and was a member of the Mont Pèlerin Society. Rogge worked with Milton Friedman on Friedman's TV series Free to Choose and invited Friedman to lecture at Wabash College in 1956. The collection contains speeches and writings, correspondence, memoranda, reports, and printed matter related to laissez-faire economics and to economic conditions and higher education in the United States.
In addition to lecturing at Wabash College, Rogge spoke at a variety of conferences, often to groups of non-economists. Rogge was known for his sense of humor, which he demonstrated in his numerous speeches, many of which covered topics such as the free enterprise system and laissez-faire economics. The speaking engagements, conferences, and meetings file documents conferences, seminars, and board meetings that Rogge spoke at, organized, attended, or considered attending. Materials include correspondence, speeches, and conference materials. For a large part of his career, Rogge lectured at the Public Utility Executive Program at the University of Michigan and at the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Materials from these lectures can be found in this file, as well as documents of groups that Rogge was a member of, including the Mont Pèlerin Society, the Liberty Fund, the Foundation for Economic Education, and the Philadelphia Society.
In addition to speeches found in the speaking engagements file, Rogge's speeches and writings can be found throughout the collection where noted, including in boxes 4, 6, 15-18, 30-36, 45, 67, and 79-81. For a bibliography of Rogge's works and description of his speaking engagements, see box 55.
Rogge was concerned about the ability of capitalism to continue as an economic system, an interest which was influenced by the insights of Joseph Schumpeter (Lee). In 1979, the Liberty Fund published Can Capitalism Survive?, a collection of Rogge's speeches examining economic and individual freedom. For materials concerning this work, see boxes 6, 32, 35, and 81.
In the late 1960s, Rogge gave a talk at Cornell entitled "The Welfare State Against the Negro," which he composed from chapters of a book he was writing about economics and race. Thomas Sowell, a professor at Cornell at the time, was not on campus for Rogge's talk, but he wrote to Rogge asking for a copy of the speech, which prompted discussion about Rogge's work (box 6, folder 17). When Rogge realized he was not going to finish writing the book, he gave the manuscript to Sowell, who credits Rogge with the inspiration for applying economic concepts to racial issues (Riley). Rogge's book chapters concerning economics and race can be found in boxes 35, 67, 72, and 81.
Rogge worked on several films and the TV series Free to Choose (box 5). Boxes 6, 11, 34, 35 and 43 have material on the film series Industrial Revolution, which was sponsored by the Liberty Fund and narrated by Rogge. Material on another film narrated by Rogge, Adam Smith and the Wealth of Nations, can be found in boxes 52 and 53.
Rogge filed much of his correspondence in his alphabetical files. For this correspondence, see the single letter files in the alphabetical file found in boxes 1 through 4 and boxes 44 through 47. The subject files in boxes 25 through 31, which are interspersed with Rogge's writings, were most likely used as research for his speeches and articles. The majority of the alphabetical files and subject files retain their original folder titles.
Sources:
Feulner, Edwin J. Foreword. "The Case for Economic Freedom." By Benjamin A. Rogge. The Heritage Foundation, 2008.
Lee, Dwight R. Introduction. A Maverick's Defense of Freedom. By Benjamin A. Rogge. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 2010.
Riley, Jason L. "Classy Economist: The Weekend Interview with Thomas Sowell." Wall Street Journal. 25 March 2006.
- Biographical / historical:
-
Date Event 1920 June 18 Born, Hastings, Nebraska1940 A.B., Mathematics and Economics, Hastings College1940-1941 Graduate Assistant, Economics, University of1941-1946 Navigator and Captain, Air Transport Command, U.S.1942 Married Alice Mabel Landis1946 M.A., University of Nebraska at Lincoln1946-1947 Instructor of Economics, University of Minnesota1947-1949 Instructor of Economics, Northwestern University1949 Co-author with Herbert Gerhard Heneman, Jobs for All: A Primer of Theory1949-1953 Assistant Professor of Economics, Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana1953 Ph.D., Northwestern University1953-1961, circa Associate Professor of Economics, Wabash College1954 Co-author with John V. Van Sickle, Introduction to Economics1955 Visiting professor at the University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, as part of an exchange program under the Smith-Mundt Act1956 At the invitation of Rogge and John V. Van Sickle, Milton Friedman lectured at Wabash College1956-1974, circa Lectured during summer session at the University of Michigan for the Public Utility Executive Program1956-1964 Dean, Wabash College1959 Author, A Tese de Prebisch1961-1980, circa Lectured at the Graduate School of Banking at University of Wisconsin-Madison1964-1980 Distinguished Professor of Political Economy, Wabash College1966-1980 Director, Wabash Institute for Personal Development1973 Co-author with Pierre Goodrich, position paper titled Education in a Free Society1976 Co-editor John Haggarty, The Wisdom of Adam Smith1978 Honored as Wabash Man of the Year1978 Received honorary degree from the University of Francisco Marroquin, Guatemala, and from Denison University1979 Received Outstanding Alumni Award from Hastings College1979 Author, Can Capitalism Survive?1980 November Died - Acquisition information:
- Acquired by the Hoover Institution Library Archives in 1982.
- Physical location:
- Hoover Institution Library & Archives
- Rules or conventions:
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Access and use
- Restrictions:
-
The collection is open for research; materials must be requested in advance via our reservation system. If there are audiovisual or digital media material in the collection, they must be reformatted before providing access.
- Terms of access:
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For copyright status, please contact the Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Preferred citation:
-
[Identification of item], Benjamin A. Rogge papers, [Box no., Folder no. or title], Hoover Institution Library & Archives.
- Location of this collection:
-
Hoover Institution Library & Archives, Stanford UniversityStanford, CA 94305-6003, US
- Contact:
- (650) 723-3563