[vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][dt_banner type=”uploaded_image” image_id=”6772″ target_blank=”false” bg_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.4)” text_color=”#ffffff” text_size=”big” border_width=”3″ outer_padding=”10″ inner_padding=”10″ min_height=”270″][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_top=”15″ margin_bottom=”0″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ bg_position=”top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_cover=”false” bg_attachment=”false” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″ parallax_speed=”0.1″][vc_column width=”1/2″][dt_quote type=”blockquote” font_size=”big” background=”plain”]At the University of Minnesota, I was able to consult unseen Walter W. Heller’s personal papers for his whole career and it is clear that this resource will be integral to the originality of my project, says James Hillyer, recipient of the 2015 Peter Parish Prize.[/dt_quote][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]With the assistance of the 2015 BAAS Peter Parish Prize, I recently spent just under five weeks in the United States conducting archival research for my PhD. My doctorate examines the career of the Keynesian economist Walter W. Heller, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under Presidents John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. I’ve been researching Heller’s career for nearly two years now (one year as a Masters student and another as a PhD[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]student), so felt it was the right time for a research trip to the United States. When I applied for the Peter Parish Prize, I’d originally planned a three week trip, but upon realising just how much material there was to get through I decided to extend it to five weeks.
I started in Massachusetts, where I spent the first three weeks (between 24 May and 13 June) conducting research at both the JFK Library and Harvard University. The bulk of my time was spent at the former, which holds Heller’s personal papers for the duration he served as CEA chairman, as well as the papers of other post-war Keynesian economists. These collections proved very useful: they provided me with a deeper understanding of Heller’s role in the economic policy debates of the early 1960s, enabled me to gain a more rounded picture of the post-war ascendancy of American Keynesianism (something I want to map in my thesis), and provided me with a wealth of evidence to substantiate an original argument that I plan to make. Moreover, finally being able to look through Heller’s papers after so long researching his career was very exciting, and finding out answers to some of the questions I’ve long had about him was also fantastic.
After leaving Massachusetts, I then visited Minnesota for just under two weeks (between 13 and 25 June), where I split my time between the University of Minnesota (where Heller was a professor) and the Minnesota Historical Society. At the University of Minnesota, I was able to consult Heller’s personal papers for his whole career and, upon arriving at the archive, was surprised to learn that no other researcher had looked through this collection before. I came across a lot of material to use in my thesis and it is clear that this resource will be integral to the originality of my project. During my time at the Historical Society, I examined the personal papers of Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, and Orville Freeman — three key liberal political figures whom Heller advised as a Keynesian economist — and came away with a better understanding of how he helped shape liberal economic policies throughout his whole career.
In addition to archival research, I also conducted interviews with two individuals who personally knew Walter Heller. One was with his son, Professor Eric Heller, who is a physicist at Harvard, while the other was with an economist, Professor Louis Johnston, who was taught by Heller as an undergraduate. Both interviewees provided me with a better understanding of what Heller was like as a person, told me some interesting, and useful, anecdotes, and were able to answer some of the questions I had about Heller that I did not find answers to in the archives. Overall, my trip was extremely productive and I have returned with enough material to complete two solid draft chapters for my upgrade (which will take place next year), as well as a full working draft of my thesis by the end of my third year. I am, therefore, extremely grateful for the financial assistance provided by BAAS.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row margin_top=”15″ margin_bottom=”15″ padding_left=”0″ padding_right=”0″ bg_position=”top” bg_repeat=”no-repeat” bg_cover=”false” bg_attachment=”false” padding_top=”0″ padding_bottom=”0″ parallax_speed=”0.1″][vc_column width=”1/1″][vc_column_text]James Hillyer is a PhD candidate at the Institute of the Americas, University College London. He is researching the career of former Kennedy-Johnson CEA chairman Walter W. Heller, which he plans to use as a lens onto the rise, ascendancy and eclipse of Keynesian political economy in the United States. He holds a BA in Modern History from Queen Mary, University of London and an MA in United States Studies from UCL.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”1/1″][ultimate_carousel slider_type=”horizontal” slide_to_scroll=”all” slides_on_desk=”3″ slides_on_tabs=”3″ slides_on_mob=”1″ infinite_loop=”on” speed=”300″ autoplay=”on” autoplay_speed=”5000″ arrows=”show” arrow_style=”default” border_size=”2″ arrow_color=”#333333″ arrow_size=”24″ next_icon=”ultsl-arrow-right4″ prev_icon=”ultsl-arrow-left4″ dots=”show” dots_color=”#333333″ dots_icon=”ultsl-record” draggable=”on” touch_move=”on” item_space=”15″][dt_teaser type=”uploaded_image” image_id=”6751″ target=”blank” style=”1″ image_hovers=”true” content_size=”big” background=”no” lightbox=”true”]Heller and JFK in the Oval Office. Walter Heller Papers, University of Minnesota, Box 9.[/dt_teaser][dt_teaser type=”uploaded_image” image_id=”6753″ target=”blank” style=”1″ image_hovers=”true” content_size=”big” background=”no” lightbox=”true”]The JFK Library. Photo courtesy of author.[/dt_teaser][dt_teaser type=”uploaded_image” image_id=”6754″ target=”blank” style=”1″ image_hovers=”true” content_size=”big” background=”no” lightbox=”true”]James Hillyer and Professor Eric Heller. Photo courtesy of author.[/dt_teaser][/ultimate_carousel][/vc_column][/vc_row]
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