JULIAN BAIRD:
An Inventory of His Family Papers at the Minnesota Historical Society
Manuscripts Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Baird, Julian, creator. | |
| Title: | Julian Baird and family papers. | |
| Dates: | 1943-2006 (bulk 1943-1979). | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | Correspondence, speeches, congressional committee minutes, photographs, clippings, recorded reminiscences, and other material largely documenting Baird's tenure as U.S. treasury undersecretary, 1957-1961. Also included are the papers of Julian's sons, Duncan H. Baird and John B. Baird. | |
| Quantity: | 2.25 cubic feet (4 boxes and 1 folder in 1 partial box, including 8 volumes) and 7 audio files: MP3. | |
| Location: | See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
Julian Braden Baird was born November 15, 1892 and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Baird first attended Webster School before moving on to Central High School in 1906. In 1910 he entered the University of Minnesota and attended classes there for one year. Baird then transferred to Yale University-Sheffield Scientific School of New Haven, Connecticut where, in 1915, he received a PhB.
Baird started his professional career in 1915 when he was hired at National City Bank of New York. While in New York, Baird met his future wife, Helen Hall, whom he married on November 29, 1916. They had three children: Duncan, John, and Jane. Baird's professional career was put on hold in 1918 when he enlisted in the Army. During his short military career (lasting one year) he rose to second lieutenant of the field artillery at Camp Funston.
After being honorably discharged from the army in 1919, Baird returned to Saint Paul. He worked for a year at the National City Bank Company in Saint Paul and then, in 1920, was hired by a branch of the First National Bank of Saint Paul. He rose rapidly in the ranks of First National and was appointed president in 1945. Nine years after that Baird became chairman of the board. He resigned from his position on September 10, 1957 to accept the position of Undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs in the Eisenhower administration. His main duty as undersecretary was debt management. He was also concerned with such issues as balance of payments and the value of the dollar in the world market. Baird held his position as undersecretary until John F. Kennedy took office in 1961. Baird then retired to his home at Sunfish Lake in Dakota County. On November 26, 1977, he died at the age of 85, having moved to Saint Paul a short time before his death.
John Braden Baird was born July 20, 1924 in Saint Paul. He attended the University of Minnesota before he enlisted in the army in September 1942 and entered active service as an aerial gunner in the Army Air Force in 1943. He flew ten missions over Northern France and Germany and was awarded the Purple Heart for woulds he received in action over Cologne, Germany on October 15, 1944. Following this incident Baird was sent to Bushnell General Hospital in Brigham City, Utah, to recuperate. Baird received an honorable discharge from the army in March of 1945, ending with the rank of staff sergeant.
Duncan Hall Baird was born in 1917 and served in the United States Naval Reserve during World War II.
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
Julian Baird's papers document the monetary policies Julian Baird followed during the late 1950s when the United States was entering a recession. They also give insight into Baird's stand on Minnesota politics. A long correspondence (1957-1967) with Dwight D. Eisenhower is included.
John Baird's papers provide insight into combat missions he flew over Northern France and Germany in World War II, and provide further details on his father's (Julian Baird) life. Included in John's papers are a scrapbook with wartime correspondence, a journal with accounts of the ten missions John participated in, and a reminiscence from the 1970s from Julian Baird, edited by his son John. Clippings and photographs are also included.
A reminiscence by Duncan Baird is also included, as are some military orders and other papers (1943-1945).
ARRANGEMENT
These documents are organized into the following sections:
| Julian Baird Papers. | ||
| John B. Baird Papers. | ||
| Duncan H. Baird Papers. | ||
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Julian Baird Papers. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Location of Master Files:
Digital masters of audio files are maintained on the Society’s secure digital collections storage servers and are managed and preserved in accordance with archival best practices.
The original audiocassettes were disposed after the sound recordings were digitally reformatted into MP3 files.
Accession Information:
Accession numbers: 11,636; 12,358; 16,006; 16,223; 16,624; 16,682; 17,295; 17,384
Processing Information:
Processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with a Basic Project grant awarded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
Additions by David B. Peterson, September 2012
Digital audio transferred from the original audiocassettes by the Minnesota Historical Society for preservation purposes, March 2017.
Catalog ID number: 990017317540104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
JULIAN BAIRD PAPERS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1223 | 1 | Personnel evaluation of Julian Baird, 1953. | |||||||||||
| Psychological evaluation of Julian Baird conducted by Edward Glasser & Associates when he was 61 and under consideration for the position of Chairman of the Board for First National Bank. | |||||||||||||
| Centennial of First National Bank of Saint Paul and related recognitions, 1953. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence and miscellaneous papers, 1957-1961, 1974, 1978. 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Contains a short biographical outline of Baird's life, an obituary, briefing material for the Kennedy administration, his correspondence with various people (and, especially, Dwight D. Eisenhower), congratulatory letters from friends, and an assortment of other items. | |||||||||||||
| Most of the letters were written during Baird's term as undersecretary of the Treasury and the majority deal with the financial concerns facing a nation whose competitors in the world had finally recovered their industrial strength after World War II. These concerns include rising inflation, loss of gold due to an increase in imports, the value of the dollar in the world, and the national debt. The letters include conversations with Robert Anderson (secretary of the treasury), W. Randolph Burgess (whom Baird replaced as undersecretary), and Philip H. Nason (president of the First National Bank of Saint Paul). | |||||||||||||
| Other correspondence includes letters to and from Paul H. Giddens (president of Hamline University) concerning Baird receiving the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, which he obtained on June 8, 1959, and letters involving Baird's attempt to persuade Laurence M. Gould (president of Carleton College) to run against Hubert Humphrey for the United States Senate. | |||||||||||||
| Includes a resolution regarding the retirement of Julian Baird from the Board of Amherst H. Wilder Foundation (June 13, 1974) and a letter to Mrs. Julian Baird from Gilbert and Kathleen Wrenn (May 11, 1978). | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence with President Eisenhower, 1957-1967. | |||||||||||||
| Mixed business and social correspondence with Dwight Eisenhower which spans the period from Baird's accepting the position of undersecretary to well after his retirement. | |||||||||||||
| Speeches, circa 1957-1963. 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Includes transcripts, an index, some rough drafts, and notes on speeches (1957-1963) by Julian Baird. Included are talks he gave at the annual dinner meeting of the Saint Paul Chamber of Commerce, the Eisenhower Exchange Fellowship Dinner, the Treasury-Industry Top Management Meeting, and the First Bank Stock Managers' Meeting. The topics of Baird's speeches vary from banking and financial concerns to his responsibilities as undersecretary, such as the balance of payments and national debt management. | |||||||||||||
| Congratulatory letters, 1957. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 142.F.19.1B | 4 | Committee statements, 1958-1960. 4 folders. | |||||||||||
| Statements are made before Congressional Committees. Includes an index to the congressional committees that Bird appeared before, transcripts for most of these hearings, and copies of the statements that Baird made before some of the committees. These hearings dealt with the monetary policies of the Treasury Department while Baird was undersecretary. One such policy advocated higher interest rates on series "E" bonds in order to encourage people to invest in them, resulting in lower inflation. Most of the statements were made by Secretary of the Treasury Robert Anderson, although testimony by Baird before such committees as the Joint Economic Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee is included. | |||||||||||||
| Briefing books, 1959-1961. 2 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Include material on monetary policy and debt management prepared for the administration. The monetary policy segment covers such topics as monetary theory and practice, inflation and economic growth, and interest rates. The debt management section covers such topics as debt limit and interest rate ceilings. | |||||||||||||
| History of government financing, 1961. | |||||||||||||
| A report on the activities and policies followed by treasury secretary Robert Anderson and undersecretary Julian Baird from 1957 to 1961. Also included are monthly government financing summaries. | |||||||||||||
| Clippings, 1953-1967. 3 folders. | |||||||||||||
| Contains an assortment of magazine and newspaper clippings (1957-1961) on topics ranging from Baird's nomination as undersecretary to the policies he advocated while in office. | |||||||||||||
| Photographs, undated, 1960-1961. 1 folder and 1 volume. | |||||||||||||
| Consists of loose prints and a photograph album. The photographs include pictures of Mr. and Mrs. Baird, Robert Anderson, and W. Randolph Burgess. They also document Baird's involvement in the United Fund of Saint Paul. | |||||||||||||
| Scrapbooks, 1956-1961. 7 volumes and 1 folder. | |||||||||||||
| Correspondence, newspaper and magazine articles, invitations to dinner events, photographs of various members of the Baird family, and guest lists, all pertaining to Julian Baird's life as undersecretary of the treasury. | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1223 | 3 | Observations by Julian and Helen Baird while on trip to South America, March-April 1955. | |||||||||||
| U.S. Coast Guard Academy Secretary's Day photograph album, November 8, 1958. 1 volume. | |||||||||||||
| Black and white photographs documenting Julian Baird's visit to the U. S. Coast Guard Academy on Secretary's Day. Includes letter from Rear Admiral F. A. Leamy. | |||||||||||||
| Macalester program to expand educational opportunities for minorities and the economically disadvantaged, 1968-1969. | |||||||||||||
| Resolution regarding Julian Baird retirement from board of Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, June 13, 1974. | |||||||||||||
| Letter to Mrs. Julian Baird from Gilbert and Kathleen Wren, May 11, 1978. | |||||||||||||
| Folder | |||||||||||||
| 142.C.19.5 | 1 | Certificate regarding appointment as undersecretary of the Treasury for Monetary Affairs, September 26, 1957. | |||||||||||
| Signed by President Dwight Eisenhower. | |||||||||||||
| Congratulatory resolution from the Saint Paul City Council, December 12, 1957. | |||||||||||||
| Letters patent appointing Baird to the Joint Commission on Coinage, May 1, 1967. | |||||||||||||
| Internet | Recollections of Julian Baird, circa 1975: | ||||||||||||
| Audio recordings. 7 audio files: MP3. | |||||||||||||
| Dictated by Julian Baird. Made from four audiocassettes, original recordings from which the transcript was made. | |||||||||||||
 Tape 1, Side 1 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 1, Side 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 2, Side 1 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 2, Side 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 3.1, Side 1 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 3.1, Side 2 | |||||||||||||
| Tape 4.1, Sides 1 and 2 | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1223 | 3 | Typed transcript. | |||||||||||
| Edited by John B. Baird II. Pages 1-40 of a larger transcript. The transcript does not go beyond Tape 3.1, Side 1. | |||||||||||||
JOHN B. BAIRD PAPERS
| Box | |||||||||||||
| P1223 | 2 | Scrapbook, circa 1943-1950. 6 folders. | |||||||||||
| Includes photographs, clippings, army orders, miscellaneous service records, and correspondence home to family (February 23, 1943-February 18, 1945). | |||||||||||||
| Journal, June-October 1944. | |||||||||||||
| Hand-written accounts of all ten missions that John Baird participated in over Northern France and Germany, with some related clippings and photographs. | |||||||||||||
| The Literite weekly, volume 2, nos. 3-4 and 6-13, September 26, 1943-February 18, 1945. | |||||||||||||
| War experiences talk, June 8, 2006. | |||||||||||||
DUNCAN H. BAIRD PAPERS
RELATED MATERIALS
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Bank buildings -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
- Finance -- Minnesota.
- Fund raising -- Minnesota.
- Government spending policy -- United States.
- Inflation (Finance) -- United States.
- Monetary policy.
- Recessions -- United States.
- Persons:
- Anderson, Robert, author.
- Baird, John, 1924- , author.
- Baird, J. B. (John B.), editor.
- Baird, Duncan H., 1917-2013, author.
- Burgess, W. Randolph (Warren Randolph), 1889, author.
- Eisenhower, Dwight D. (Dwight David), 1890-1969, author.
- Gould, Laurence McKinley, 1896-1995, author.
- Organizations:
- First National Bank of Saint Paul.
- United States. Department of the Treasury.
- Places:
- Minnesota -- Politics and government -- 1951-.
- United States -- Officials and employees.
- United States -- Politics and government -- 1953-1961.
- Document Types:
- Diaries.
- Photographs.
- Reminiscences.
- Speeches.
- Occupations:
- Bankers -- Minnesota -- Saint Paul.
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