Lauchlin B. Currie papers, 1921-2000, bulk 1945-1993

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Summary

Creator:
Currie, Lauchlin Bernard and Economists' Papers Archive
Abstract:
Lauchlin Bernard Currie (1902-1993) was President Roosevelt's chief economic advisor during World War II before relocating to Colombia in the 1950s and assisting their federal government with development and urbanization efforts. This collection documents his professional life through his subject files, writings, correspondence, and teaching. It forms part of the Economists' Papers Archive.
Extent:
53.4 Linear Feet (50 record cartons and 1 flat box.)
Language:
Material in English and Spanish, with a significant amount in Spanish.
Collection ID:
RL.00277

Background

Scope and content:

This collection documents Lauchlin B. Currie's professional life through his correspondence, writings and speeches, published material and clippings, and subject files. It highlights Currie's work on topics such as economic growth, development, urban housing, and fiscal and monetary policy. While this collection reflects Currie's contributions as an academic researcher, the bulk of the material underscores his work as a government economist and economic advisor, particularly in Colombia, and to a lesser extent, the United States. This collection also documents Currie's work with various institutions, such as the Colombian National Planning Department, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the White House, and the Federal Reserve. It also includes much printed material by Currie and other scholars, Currie's notes and annotations on writings by other economists, and correspondence with various economists and politicians. A distinctive feature of this collection is the extensive set of numbered folders, primarily focused on Currie's work as an economic advisor in Colombia, which were compiled by a former employee of the National University of Colombia.

Notable materials include documents related to Currie's trips to and involvement with China during World War II on behalf of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration, his economic plan for Colombia's government known as Operación Colombia , and correspondence with his biographer Roger Sandilands and prominent Colombian politicians such as former Minister of the Interior Arenas Bonilla. The collection also includes Currie's research and teaching files related to his visits of American, British, Canadian, and Colombian universities, along with copies of some of his lesser-known writings. In addition to his own scholarship and writings, this collection includes a few items related to the investigation of Currie by the US House Committee on Un-American Activities and some personal materials.

Biographical / historical:

Lauchlin Bernard Currie (1902-1993) was born on 8 October 1902 in West Dublin, Nova Scotia, Canada to Alice Eisenhauer and Lauchlin Bernard Currie. He earned a BSc from the London School of Economics in 1925 then a PhD from Harvard University in 1931, where he was initially supervised by Allyn Abbott Young and later John H. Williams.

Currie stayed at Harvard as a teaching assistant until he became a naturalized US citizen in 1934. He then joined Jacob Viner's "freshman brain trust," a select group at the Treasury Department tasked with advising the government on monetary and fiscal policy. Currie soon left for the Federal Reserve where he drafted what became the Banking Act of 1935. He was then appointed as a special advisor on economic affairs to the White House in July 1939 and stayed until the end of the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration. During this period, he was instrumental in overseeing the administration of the Lend-Lease program for securing China's inclusion from 1941-1943, served as Deputy Chief of the Foreign Economic Administration from 1943-1944, helped plan the 1944 Bretton Woods conference, and led an Allied delegation to Switzerland in 1945 to advocate for the freezing of Nazi assets.

Currie was privately named by Soviet defector Whittaker Chambers in a 1939 meeting with Assistant Secretary of State for Latin American Affairs Adolf A. Berle, after which the Federal Bureau of Investigation opened a file on Currie. He was publicly accused of being a member of the Silvermaster spy network by Soviet defector Elizabeth Bentley in testimony before the House Committee on Un-American Activities in August 1948, after which he voluntarily testified in his own defense and maintained his innocence for the rest of his life. He was never charged with a crime, but his passport renewal was denied in 1954, possibly due to the allegation that he was a source of Soviet Intelligence during the war. Historians continue to debate whether he was an unwitting Soviet asset or willing Soviet agent.

Currie became an independent contractor after leaving the White House and was awarded an International Bank for Reconstruction and Development contract in July 1949 to lead the first comprehensive survey mission to Colombia. This was the start of a long relationship with Colombia, which saw him permanently relocate, marry a citizen, and become a citizen himself in 1958. He advised two Colombian Presidential administrations from 1958-1966, traveled abroad as a visiting professor from 1967-1971, led the National Planning Department from 1971-1981, and ended his career at the Institute of Savings and Housing. He was awarded Colombia's highest peacetime honor (Order of Boyaca) one day before his death on 23 December 1993 in Bogota.

Acquisition information:
The Lauchlin B. Currie papers were received by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library as gifts between 1998-2015.
Processing information:

Processed by Paula Jeannet, Ann Langford, and Kirk White, March 2000; reprocessed by Nestor Lovera Nieto, August 2024; rearranged by Soroush Marouzi, October 2024.

Encoded by Paula Jeannet and Lisa Stark.

Accessions described in this collection guide: 1998-0039, 1998-0349, 1999-0172, 2000-0251, 2003-0208, 2012-0051, 2013-0009, 2013-0179, 2014-0035, and 2015-0014.

Accession 2001-0164 (one document box) appears to have gone missing.

Arrangement:

The Lauchlin B. Currie papers are arranged into seven series: Federal Reserve and White House, Colombia, Correspondence, Writings, Teaching, Personal, and Numbered Files.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

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Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the Rubenstein Library's Citations, Permissions, and Copyright guide.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Lauchlin B. Currie papers, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Duke University.

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