John Monroe Brewster Papers

Collection

Identifier: MS0029

Staff Only

Content Description

The John Monroe Brewster Papers include correspondence, research notes, photographs, and a manuscript of a book of Brewster's writings that was published posthumously. The book is titled, A Philosopher among Economists: Selected Works of John M. Brewster (Philadelphia: J. T. Murphy Co., 1970).

Dates

Creation: 1950-1970

Conditions Governing Access

Contact Special Collections for access.

Biographical Sketch

John Monroe Brewster (1904-1965), an agricultural economist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), began his service in 1936 in the Agricultural Adjustment Administration, Land Use Planning Division. Throughout his career, he continued to serve as an agricultural economist within many different USDA divisions including the Farm Security Administration, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, the Production and Marketing Administration, the Agricultural Marketing Service, and the Production Economics Research Branch. Brewster's last position at the USDA was as the leader of the Farm Size and Resource Requirements Investigations, Agricultural Adjustments Branch of the Farm Economics Division of the Economic Research Service.

Some of his notable studies focused on oilseed processing, the relation of resources to income in family farming, the classification and structure of family and non-family farms, the effects of technological advance on American farming, and cultural attitudes as a factor in the economic growth of under-developed countries. In 1954, Dr. Brewster received the USDA Superior Service Award and the Agricultural Marketing Service Meritorious Award for his work with cottonseed oil mills.