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The postbuckling and maximum strength analyses of uniformly shortened, simply supported rectangular plates with straight unloaded edges are obtained by employing Reissner's variational principle in conjunction with a deformation theory of plasticity. The results are compared to (1) experimental data for a rectangular plate in which the test conditions basically reflect the boundary conditions specified in the present analyses, and (2) a potential energy solution that correlates well with experiment, but in which the effect of waveform change on the average stress carried by the plate is accounted for only in a gross manner and the effect of small local unloading is neglected. Good agreement with experiment establishes confidence in the new approach and indicates that the simplified technique utilized in the potential energy solution to compensate for waveform changes may be employed for engineering purposes. (Author).