Wallace served as secretary of agriculture under President Roosevelt from 1933 to 1940 . He strongly supported Roosevelt 's New Deal and presided over a major shift in federal agricultural policy , implementing measures designed to curtail agricultural surpluses and ameliorate rural poverty . Overcoming strong opposition from conservative party leaders , Wallace was nominated for vice president at the 1940 Democratic National Convention . The Democratic ticket of Roosevelt and Wallace triumphed in the 1940 presidential election , and Wallace continued to play an important role in the Roosevelt administration before and during World War II . At the 1944 Democratic National Convention , conservative party leaders defeated Wallace 's bid for re-nomination , replacing him on the Democratic ticket with Harry S. Truman . The ticket of Roosevelt and Truman won the 1944 presidential election , and in early 1945 Roosevelt appointed Wallace as secretary of commerce
1944 Democratic National Convention
1944 Democratic National Convention
Henry A. Wallace