Coppock, Joseph D. Papers

Special Assistant to Vice Chairman, War Production Board, 1942; Price Executive, Chemical and Drugs Division, Office of Price Administration, 1943; Economic Adviser, Office of International Trade Policy, Department of State, 1945-1953; Visiting Professor, National War College, 1951-1953

The papers of Joseph D. Coppock relate primarily to his work with the U. S. Department of State, the Office of Price Administration, the War Production Board, and the National War College. International trade was the main focus of his work at the Department of State and the War Production Board. Most of the documents are memoranda and correspondence involving foreign trade, along with financial records, handwritten notes, reports, speech drafts, and a transcript of a debate. The papers also contain the syllabi used by Coppock during his tenure as a visiting professor at the National War College.

See also Joseph D. Coppock oral history.

[Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List]

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ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION

Size: Less than one linear foot (approximately 1600 pages).
Access: Open.
Copyright: The donor gave to the U.S. government his copyrights in this material and in any other material received by the U.S. government and maintained in a depository administered by the government. Documents created by U.S. government officials in the course of their official duties are in the public domain. Copyright interest in other documents presumably belongs to the creators of those documents, or their heirs.
Processed by: Erwin J. Mueller (1987).
Updated by: Aubrey L. Smith (2006) as part of the Truman Library Internship Program.
Supervising Archivists: Randy Sowell and David Clark.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH

1909 (February 10)		Born in Peru, Indiana
1933		A.B., Swarthmore College
1940		Ph.D., Columbia University
1941		Economist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
1942		Special Assistant to Vice Chairman, War Production Board
1943		Price Executive, Chemical and Drugs Division, Office of Price Administration
1945-1953		Economic Adviser, Office of International Trade Policy, U.S. Department of State
1946-1952		Member of U.S. delegation to Economic and Social Council of the United Nations: New York, Geneva, and Santiago
1951-1953		Visiting Professor, National War College
1965		Became professor of economics at Penn State University
2000 (July 31)		Died in Redmond, Washington

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COLLECTION DESCRIPTION

The Papers of Joseph D. Coppock predominantly document his career in the United States Government from 1942 to 1953, specifically in the Department of State, the Office of Price Administration, and the War Production Board. The papers also detail his time as a visiting professor at the National War College from 1951 to 1953. The collection contains memoranda, correspondence, statistical lists, reports, financial records, factory maps, handwritten notes, speech drafts, newspaper clippings, a transcript of a broadcast debate, and course syllabi. The collection is comprised of one series, a Subject File, arranged alphabetically by subject. The documents are arranged chronologically within each subject. The collection includes a letter and notes written by Coppock in 1987.

Joseph D. Coppock received his doctorate from Columbia University in 1940. The following year, he began work as an economist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In 1942, he served as a Special Assistant to the Vice Chairman of the War Production Board. During this time, Coppock became involved in a mishandled project involving a proposed rubber tire factory in Russia, which is extensively documented in the collection. In 1943, he became a price executive of the Chemical and Drugs branch of the Office of Price Administration, and dealt with the pricing of vitamins. From 1945 to 1953, Coppock worked as an economic adviser at the U.S. Department of State, specializing in international trade. His brother, John O. Coppock, worked on the Greek-Turkish Aid Program during this time, and the papers contain correspondence and memoranda between the brothers concerning trade and economic recovery in Greece. Other major topics of the papers include financial ties with Great Britain, China, and Germany, as well as the Marshall Plan and economic warfare. Also included are memoranda concerning tax barriers to international trade and a debate transcript concerning the proposed World Food Board. Coppock also shared some credit for the Point Four Program announced in President Truman’s Inaugural Address in 1949. This program supplied economic and technical aid to poor nations regardless of geographical area.

Coppock took a position as a visiting professor at the National War College in 1951. While there, he served as the chairman of the Civilian Faculty. After his term at the National War College, Coppock worked as a visiting professor at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, and as a professor of economics at Earlham College in Indiana and at Pennsylvania State University. He died on July 31, 2000 in Redmond, Washington at the age of 91.

For related correspondence, see the papers of John O. Coppock.

[ Top of the page | Administrative Information | Biographical Sketch | Collection Description | Series Descriptions | Folder Title List ]

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