Inventory of
the Benjamin U. Ratchford Papers,
1924 -
1980
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Descriptive Summary
Title
Benjamin U. Ratchford Papers,
1924 - 1980.
Creator
Ratchford, Benjamin
Ulysses, 1902-
Extent
4.5 Linear Feet,
3,000
Items
Repository
University Archives, Duke
University
Abstract
Benjamin U. Ratchford (1902-1977) served
as professor of economics at Duke University from
1928-1960. An expert in public finance, Ratchford was
involved a number of economic policy projects, including
the reconstruction of Germany after World War II. The
papers consist of correspondence, subject files, teaching
materials, documents, clippings, writings, notes, reports, a journal,
and a scrapbook. Major subjects include Duke Univ.
administration and Economics Dept., the Federal Reserve
Bank, the Office of Price Administration, the economy of
Germany after World War II, the U.S. War Department, and
monetary regulation.
Language
English.
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Administrative Information
Access Restrictions
Patrons must sign the Acknowledgement of Legal Responsibility and Privacy Rights form before using this collection.
In off-site storage; 24 hours advance notice is
required for use.
Use Restrictions
Copyright for Official University records is
held by Duke University; all other copyright is retained by
the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants,
as stipulated by United States copyright law.
Preferred Citation
[Identification of item], Benjamin U. Ratchford
Papers, University Archives, Duke University.
Provenance
The Benjamin U. Ratchford Papers were received
by the University Archives as a gift in 1974-1983.
Processing Information
Processed by University Archives staff,
Completed May 2004. Grade books and student grade reports
were de-accessioned, May 2004.
Encoded by Jill Katte, May 2004
This finding aid is NCEAD compliant.
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Biographical Note
Benjamin Ulysses Ratchford was born in Gastonia,
N.C. on Sept. 7, 1902, to Joseph F. and Marietta Ratchford.
He earned a B.S. from Davidson College (1926), and earned
the first doctorate in economics awarded by Duke University
in 1932. After serving briefly as an economics instructor
at Cornell University (1927-1928), Ratchford returned to
Duke and joined the faculty of the Economics Department in
1928. While at Duke, Ratchford authored several books, such
as
American State Debts
(1941),
Berlin Reparations
Assignment (with W. D. Ross, 1947),
The Impact of Federal Policies
on the Economy of the South (with Calvin B. Hoover,
1949),
Economic Resources and
Policies of the South (with Calvin B. Hoover,
1951),
The Economy of Turkey
(with others, 1951), and
Public Expenditures in
Australia (1959), as well as numerous articles in
professional journals.
He also served in a number of official positions,
including Raleigh District Price Officer for the Office of
Price Administration (1942-1943), Instructor in the Army
Finance School (1943-1944), Economic Advisor for Level of
Industry in the Office of Military Government for Germany
in Berlin (1945-1946), Deputy Chief of the Office of
Program Review for the Economic Cooperation Administration
in Paris (1948), and Chief Economist for the International
Bank Reconstruction and Development Mission to Turkey
(1950). Ratchford received the Medal of Freedom in 1946 for
his work on German reparations, awarded by the War
Department to civilians performing meritorious service
overseas during World War II. Davidson College awarded him
a Citation of Merit in 1948, an honor made on the basis of
a national poll of Davidson alumni.
Ratchford was also a member of the board of
editors of the
Southern Economic
Journal (1941-1945) and of the
American Economic
Review (1946-1949), and he directed research for
the National Planning Association's Committee of the South.
He was a member of the American Finance Association, the
National Tax Association, the American Economic
Association, and the Southern Economic Association
(President, 1952-1953).
In 1960, Ratchford left Duke to become vice
president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Richmond, Va. He
retired from that position in 1967, and returned to Durham,
N.C.
He married Laura B. Deaton in 1932; they had two
children. Benjamin U. Ratchford died Jan. 20, 1977.
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Collection Overview
The Benjamin U. Ratchford Papers contain
correspondence, subject files, teaching materials,
documents, writings, notes, reports, a journal, and a
scrapbook. Major subjects present within the collection
include the Duke University administration and Economics
Dept., the Federal Reserve Bank, the Office of Price
Administration, the economy of Germany after World War II,
the United States War Department, and monetary
regulation.
The papers are organized into two series,
Correspondence and
Subject Files. The
Correspondence series
contains correspondence with a number of individuals and
organizations relating to Ratchford's work as a professor,
researcher, economic advisor, and editor. The
correspondence also outlines his role as vice president of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The
Subject Files series covers
various topics, including the Federal Reserve Bank, the
Duke University Economics Department, teaching materials,
the resignation of President A. Hollis Edens, the Office of
Price Administration, economics organizations, and
economics subjects. Also present in this series are several
travel logs, including a scrapbook documenting a 1936 road
trip across the country and a journal kept during
Ratchford's 1945-1946 trip to Berlin working as an Economic
Advisor for Level of Industry to the Office of Military
Government for Germany.
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Subject Headings
These and related materials may be accessed under
the following subject headings in the Duke University
Libraries online catalog.
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Related Material
Calvin Bryce Hoover
Papers.
University Archives, Duke
University.
Economics Dept. Records.
University Archives, Duke
University.
News Service Biographical Files:
Ratchford, Benjamin U.
University Archives, Duke
University.
The Economists' Papers
Project.
Rare Book, Manuscript, and Special
Collections Library, Duke University.
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Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence,
1944-1977 and
undated
This series contains correspondence with a
variety of individuals and organizations. Early
correspondence includes letters from Ratchford's friends
and colleagues during World War II. Other correspondence
from this time relates to Ratchford's work on the economy
of post-war Germany. The later correspondence relates to
Ratchford's roles as professor, researcher, economic
advisor, and editor. In 1959, the correspondence documents
a Ford Foundation grant to conduct a study of the economy
of the South. In a letter at the end of 1959, Ratchford
gives advice to Duke President A. Hollis Edens just before
his resignation. Correspondence in 1960 outlines
Ratchford's transition to his position as vice president of
the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. Letters in 1977 were
notes of sympathy to Ratchford's family. An additional
folder contains correspondence and autographs collected by
Laura Ratchford. These materials feature autographs and
autograph facsimiles of politicians.
Box 1
June 1944-July 1977 and
undated
[18
folders]
Laura Ratchford correspondence and
autographs,
ca.
1954-1975
Subject Files,
1924-1980
This series contains subject files of
Ratchford's papers, such as documents, clippings, reports,
a journal, a scrapbook, printed matter, and other
materials. These files cover a number of topics, including
the Federal Reserve Bank, the Duke University Economics
Department, teaching materials, the resignation of
President A. Hollis Edens, the Office of Price
Administration, economics organizations of which Ratchford
was member, and various economic subjects, such as public
finance, monetary policy, and taxation. Also present in
this series are several travel logs kept by Ratchford and
his wife, Laura, including a scrapbook documenting a 1936
road trip they took across the country, as well as a
journal Ratchford kept during a 1945-1946 trip to Berlin
working as an Economic Advisor for Level of Industry to the
Office of Military Government for Germany.
Box 1
U.S. Government: employment forms
and documents
Federal Reserve Bank: employment
forms and documents
Personal papers: Berlin
occupation
Office of Price
Administration
Aphorisms, Anecdotes,
Quotations
Australia trip
Coin collecting
Courses
Economics 201
Economics 153, 230, 233, 234, 235,
S238
Economics 329, 330
Central Banks [University of
Florida],
1971
Duke Univ. Economics
Dept.
Biographical, honors,
awards
Journal,
Aug. 15, 1945-Feb.
2, 1946
Ratchford kept this journal during his trip
to Berlin while working as an Economic Advisor for Level of
Industry to the Office of Military Government for
Germany.
Box 2
Laura Ratchford travel diaries,
1957-1980
Federal Reserve data
[2
folders]
General economics
Public pay policies
Negative income tax; Guaranteed
annual income
Monetary regulation
[2
folders]
Occupation currencies
U.S. Federal finance
U.S. Government finance
National Tax Association
Duke Power Co. rate increase
testimony and hearings
[2
folders]
AAUP
"A Suggested Plan of
Administrative Organization for Duke University,"
1960
Committee on Retirement
Housing
President Edens
resignation
Student demonstration,
1969
Friends of the Duke University
Library
American State
Debts, reviews
Committee of the South
(N.P.A.)
Southern Institute of Economic
Research
Southern Finance
Association
Southern Economic
Association
Economic Development Administration:
Conference of Capital Availability
Tennessee Valley
Authority
Virginia state debt
Administrative Study
Committee
Writings
Box 3
Scrapbook,
1936
Scrapbook kept by the Ratchfords during an
automobile trip from Durham, N.C. to California and back in
the fall of 1936. It includes maps, postcards, snapshots,
and other materials.
German Occupation -- Level of
Industry,
1945-1946
[2
folders]
"Wood from
Hitler's desk (Berlin)"
March 1946
[Wood fragment]
The provenance of this artifact has not
been verified.
Notes
[6
folders]
