Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Embedded Resources
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 1, Embedded Resource 1
Immigrant arrival
The family in this photograph is at Ellis Island in New York
Harbor, where immigrants arriving in America were inspected
and interviewed.
Questions: What risks did this family take to pursue its dream
of a new life in America? What dreams do people in America
pursue now? What risks are Americans willing to take today to achieve their dreams?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 1A
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 1, Embedded Resource 2
Land ownership
Read the following text excerpt about the ways land ownership changed during early American
history.
“During the colonial period of America’s history, the British Crown carved land up into huge
chunks, which it granted to private companies or individuals. These grantees divided the land further
and sold it to others. When independence from England came in 1783, America’s Founding Fathers
needed to develop a new system of land distribution. They agreed that all unsettled lands would
come under the authority of the federal government, which could then sell it.
“Many people who braved the dangers and hardship of settling these new lands were poor, and they
often settled as ‘squatters,’ without clear title to their farms. Through the country’s first century,
many Americans believed land should be given away free to settlers if they would remain on the
property and work it. This was finally accomplished through the Homestead Act of 1862, which
opened vast tracts of western land to easy settlement.”
Questions: Why did the founders of the United States change the way land was divided up and
distributed? How would a nation of many landowners contribute to America becoming and
remaining a democracy? What effect do you think this had on the growth of the United States?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 1A
Source: Christopher Conte and Albert R. Karr, “American Agriculture: Its Changing Significance,” An Outline of the U.S.
Economy, U.S. Department of State, Bureau of International Information Programs [online].
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 1, Embedded Resource 3
Soils in America
Soil is the medium for growing America’s plants. Many regions of the country have land with good
soil for growing healthy crops, while other areas have less productive soil. Each state has chosen one
kind of representative soil to be its “state soil.” Go to the USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Service’s website Representative and State Soils. Using the links you find, examine the state soil of
your state and other states.
Questions: How does your state’s soil compare to the soils in other states? Overall, what do you think
of the quality of the soils in the United States? What effect do you think soil quality has on the growth
and economy of a nation?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3A
soils.usda.gov/gallery/state_soils/#list
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
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The role of agriculture in America
Most of us don’t think about where our next meal will come from
because our agricultural system works so well. Yet fewer than a hundred
years ago, most Americans lived on farms or ranches and raised much of
the food they ate.
Questions: Why have so many Americans stopped growing and raising their own food? How
important has agriculture been to the growth of America? Why do Americans today have so little
understanding of the role of agriculture in our nation?
Era 10: Contemporary United States, Standard 2
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
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George Washington
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3A
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Freedom and democracy
Throughout America’s history, people have come from all around the world seeking freedom. Visit
the U.S. Department of State’s website to learn about freedom and democracy and then answer the
following questions.
Questions: What is democracy? What kind of democratic government does the United States have?
What elements of a democratic form of government would appeal most to people who live under
nondemocratic governments? What impact does democracy have on the lives of its citizens?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 1A
america.gov/st/democracy-english/2008/May/20080619223145eaifas0.5311657.html
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Agriculture in early America
Contrary to what many people believe today, the land the first Europeans saw in America did not consist
entirely of untouched land and pristine forests. Read this excerpted account of the history of agriculture in
southeastern America before the arrival of Europeans.
“For a minimum of 12,000 years, American Indians had been skillfully manipulating the environment,
primarily with fire. The landscapes that the first Europeans encountered were not undisturbed, dense forests as
many people today envision. Knowledgeable humans skillfully modified the landscapes to support a population
numbering in the millions.
“The cultivation of the tropical maize, flint corn, and beans along the Mississippi River and in the Gulf
States marks the beginning of the Mississippian culture. . . . The adopted intensive agricultural practices from
Mesoamerica influenced the landscape in the Southeast dramatically. Large native populations developed in
much of the lower South because the more sophisticated agricultural system produced more food. Without
draft animals or plows, agriculture with stone or wood implements was limited to the tillable soils of
floodplains, where spring flooding helped renew soil fertility. Agricultural fields were cleared first by girdling
trees and then burning the area. The ashes acted as fertilizer. Stumps were also removed over time and in the
spring old agricultural debris was burned off before planting. When soil fertility declined from cultivation,
fields lay fallow but were burned annually to maintain their open condition for future agricultural use. Most of
the cultivatable floodplains of the Southeast were cleared of forest and managed in this way.
“During the period of European contact, disease-related mortality rose to levels previously unknown and
the impact of these diseases was swift and harsh. In areas of the Caribbean, entire native populations were
erased. These epidemic diseases were transported from the Caribbean to Mexico and Central America and
may have preceded the arrival of the Spanish in these areas. Epidemic diseases were introduced to the natives
of the Southeast at about the same time. During the 100 years of Spanish exploration, disease decimated the
dominant Mississippian cultures of the Southeast and resulted in their collapse by 1600.
“European diseases not only depopulated American Indian cultures (depopulation is estimated as high as
90 to 95 percent), they disrupted the social structure of native societies. As in all epidemics, mortality was
disproportionably greater among the young and old. Loss of the younger generation had profound effects on
the integrity of American Indian societies. The loss of manpower created difficulties maintaining agricultural
systems and fire regimes. Loss of the elderly eliminated a storehouse of knowledge, tradition, and custom.
“The arrival of the English continued the epidemic diseases and decimation of American Indians for at least
another century. English trade with the natives lured them into dependence on the European fur market for
European goods, which in turn diminished the traditional reasons for hunting, while devastating wildlife
populations. As the fire regimes and agricultural systems gradually eroded, the appearance of the land began
to change. Uncontrolled vegetation began to form an unbroken shroud. The extensive canelands witnessed by
English settlers as they pushed inland were signs that the thousands-of-years-old fire ecosystems created by the
natives were in decline.”
Questions: What were the agricultural practices in the United States before European settlers arrived? How and
why did Native American agriculture change after Europeans arrived?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 1B
Source: Wayne D. Carroll, Peter R. Kapeluck, Richard A. Harper, and David H. Van Lear, “Background Paper: Historical
Overview of the Southern Forest Landscape and Associated Resources,” Final Report Technical, Southern Forest Resource
Assessment [online].
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Three sisters gardening
Corn, beans, and squash were some of the staple foods of Native American cultures. These crops were
known as “the three sisters,” because they were commonly planted together as companion crops: each
benefits the others as they grow. Examine the article about the three sisters method of agriculture at
the GardenWeb.
Questions: How did these plants benefit each other? What principles could farmers and scientists
learn from this agricultural technique that could be used in growing other crops?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3A
gardenweb.com/faq/lists/teach/2003045238014436.html
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Agriculture in Virginia
Read the excerpt below regarding trade and the English colony of Virginia in 1732.
“Tobacco was the important money crop, and almost every ship that sailed from a plantation wharf
carried hogsheads of the ‘delightful weed’ in its hold. Many other commodities too, were shipped to
the mother country as well as to New England, the middle colonies, Barbados, Madeira, Bermuda,
and Jamaica. Exports from one Virginia shipping district -- Porth South Potomac -- in 1732 included
(besides tobacco) staves, timber, corn, wheat, peas, beans, masts, pig iron, feathers, pork, cotton,
earthernware ‘parcels,’ woodenware ‘parcels,’ bacon, hides, deerskins, beaver skins, oak and walnut
logs, cider and cider casks, beef, wine pipes, snakeroot, tallow, pewter and brass ‘parcels,’ and
copper ore casks. Items imported included rum, salt, Irish linen, fish, chocolate, molasses, sugar,
earthernware, ‘woodware,’ millstones, Madeira wine, cheese, rice, ironware, and ‘parcels from Great
Britain.’ The latter ‘parcels’ included furniture fabrics, rugs, pottery and porcelain, silver, pewter,
copper and brassware, and other household furnishings and accessories needed by the colonists.”
Questions: What agricultural products did the people of Virginia export? Which agricultural products
might they have had to import, and why? From the text above, what can you determine about the
importance of trade between the American colonies and England?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3A
Source: J. Paul Hudson, George Washington Birthplace, National Park Service Historical Handbook Series, no. 26
(Washington, D.C., 1956) [online].
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Colonial agriculture
Colonial Williamsburg maintains a website describing life and society during colonial times. Explore
their 18th Century Trades Sampler page to learn about trade practices of the time.
Questions: What was one of the most important crops in colonial Virginia? How much labor did
it require to produce this key southern crop for export? What resources did southern planters have
for producing this crop? If many of the crops grown in the southern part of America required large
numbers of workers, how would southern farmers react to changes that affected their labor supply?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3B
history.org/history/teaching/tradsamp.cfm
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Parliamentary Acts
During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, England adopted a series of laws known as
“Parliamentary Acts.” These laws regulated trade from the American colonies by requiring that
goods exported to England be sent on British ships. One section of these laws, the Navigation Acts,
required that the colonies transport their most expensive products back to England and pay costly
import taxes for this right. The Navigation Acts also restricted other exports from the colonies.
Although these laws had been in effect for many years, they were not strictly enforced. Beginning in
1764, however, the British passed additional acts that heavily taxed the colonies and eventually led to
open rebellion.
Questions: How might these various acts affect agricultural trade? What did the colonists mean when
they claimed they had “taxation without representation”?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3B
Source: “The Colonies Move toward Open Rebellion, 1773–1774,”The American Revolution, 1763–1783, Library of
Congress [online].
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Early farm implements
Questions: Looking at this equipment, what agricultural products
would you guess this farmer raised? Do you think these tools
belonged to a poor farmer or a wealthy farmer? Why? In what ways,
if any, would these tools be labor-saving devices? How do you think
this farmer obtained these tools?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3B
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Thomas Jefferson
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3B
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
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George Washington
George Washington served America in many roles, including first U.S. President, Commander in
Chief of the Revolutionary Army, and farmer. Visit the Mount Vernon website to read about George
Washington’s contributions to agriculture.
Questions: Why do you think George Washington was so passionate about the land? Does it surprise
you that the President of the United States was a farmer? Why or why not?
Era 2: Colonization and Settlement, Standard 3B
mountvernon.org/learn/explore_mv/index.cfm/ss/31/cfid/588825/cftoken/38126189
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Horse-drawn reaper
Cyrus McCormick, sometimes referred to as the “Father of Modern Agriculture,” made one of the
most significant contributions to the success of U.S. agriculture by inventing the horse-drawn reaper
in 1831. Read McCormick’s biography on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology website to learn
more about this remarkable man and his invention.
Questions: Why is Cyrus McCormick called the “Father of Modern Agriculture”? Why was his
invention so important to the success of U.S. agriculture?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
web.mit.edu/invent/iow/mccormick.html
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Jefferson’s plow
In addition to being a philosopher, statesman, and scientist, Thomas Jefferson was also an inventor.
Visit the website Monticello, Home of Thomas Jefferson to learn about one of his inventions.
Questions: Why was Thomas Jefferson successful in so many areas of his life? Why was he so
passionate about agriculture and improving farming?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
monticello.org/site/plantation-and-slavery/moldboard-plow
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Plantations vs. farms
Examine this excerpt about southern plantations and farms.
“A [plantation was a] landholding large enough to be distinguished from the family farm, generally
over 250 acres[,] a distinct division of labor and management, with the latter primarily handled by the
owner but often administered through an overseer[,] specialized production, usually with one or two
cash crops . . .[,] location in the South in an area with a plantation tradition[,] centralized control[,]
and finally, a considerable input of cultivating labor or power per unit of area.
“In contrast, Southern farms were smaller parcels of land that were generally run at the subsistence
level by families. Farmers grew a greater variety of crops than did most planters, and they consumed
much of their harvests themselves. They also depended on smaller labor forces--generally family
members and in some cases a few slaves [with slave family groups often broken up through sales]. In
contrast to a plantation, a farm was typically administered by the owner without an overseer, thereby
blurring the delineation between management and physical labor.
“Great planters with very large holdings were a small minority among landowners. In 1860, only
2,300 planters (about five percent) owned 100 or more slaves. Thus the landscapes that they created
were the exception rather than the rule in the antebellum South. Statistically, however, a significant
percentage of slaves lived and worked on large plantations. That blacks living on plantations were
gathered into such large groups explains, in part, how they were able to develop such strong family
alliances and ultimately forge a distinct culture.”
Questions: What were the differences between plantations and farms? What is different about the
number of types of crops grown on each? Why? Why were black family groups more stable on large
plantations than on small farms? What percentage of southern farmers owned plantations?
Era 3: Revolution & the New Nation, Standard 2B
Source: Theresa Anne Murphy, Scholarship on Southern Farms and Plantations, National Park Service [online].
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Horsepower
One horsepower was originally defined as the amount of power
required to lift 33,000 pounds one foot in one minute, or 550
foot-pounds per second. Scottish inventor James Watt (born in
1736) established the value for horsepower after he determined the
strength of the average horse.
Questions: In what other contexts have you heard the term horsepower? Besides agriculture, what
have horses been used for?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
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Louisiana Purchase
President Thomas Jefferson acquired the Louisiana Territory
by purchasing it from France in 1803. With this purchase,
the geographical size of the United States doubled.
Questions: Why would this large addition to the territory of
the United States excite farmers, ranchers, and immigrants?
How do you think the Indian tribes living in this region may have felt about their land being owned
by the United States? Why? What challenges did families who wanted to establish farms or ranches in
this new territory face? What challenges would the acquisition of such a large area of land pose to a
young democratic government?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 1A
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U.S. transportation in 1850
This map of the United States,
published about 1850, outlines all
the major canals, railroads, and
principal stage routes in the country.
Questions: What impact did these
transportation systems have on the
growth of the United States? How
could farmers and ranchers benefit
from these transportation systems?
How did new transportation routes
to the West affect the settlement of
new American territories? Why were
there fewer transportation systems in the southern United States? What did this difference mean for
southern agriculture? How have improvements in modern transportation affected agriculture today?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
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Plantation agriculture
Examine this National Park website on plantation agriculture. Be sure to click on the links about rice
and cotton.
Questions: How important were rice and cotton to the southern United States? What kind of labor
was required to farm these crops? How would the abolition of slavery after the Civil War affect the
production of these crops in the South? What are some of the major crops grown in your state today?
How much labor is required to produce these crops, and who provides the labor?
Era 3: Revolution & the New Nation, Standard 2B
cr.nps.gov/goldcres/cultural/planthome.html
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Cotton gin
This is the drawing that Eli Whitney submitted to receive his patent for the cotton gin.
“After the invention of the cotton gin, the yield
of raw cotton doubled each decade after 1800.
Demand was fueled by other cotton-related
inventions of the Industrial Revolution, such
as the machines to spin and weave it and the
steamboat to transport it. By mid-century America
was growing three-quarters of the world’s supply
of cotton, most of it shipped to England or New
England where it was manufactured into cloth.
During this time tobacco fell in value, rice exports
stayed steady at best, and sugar began to thrive,
but only in Louisiana. At mid-century the South
provided three-fifths of America’s exports--most of it in cotton.
“However, like many inventors, Whitney (who died in 1825) could not have foreseen the ways his
invention would change society for the worse. The most significant of these was the growth of slavery.
While it was true that the cotton gin reduced the labor needed to remove seeds, it did not reduce the
demand for slaves to grow and pick the cotton. In fact, the opposite occurred. Cotton growing became
so profitable for the planters that it greatly increased their requirements for both land and slave labor.”
Questions: What other agricultural inventions have had unintended positive and negative
consequences in American history? Why?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2D
Source: “Eli Whitney’s Patent for the Cotton Gin,” National Archives [online].
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Labor force
In 1860, farmers made up 58 percent of the labor force. It is
estimated that during the Civil War over a million farmers left
their fields to serve as soldiers.
Questions: What did the North and South do to make up
for this critical loss of farm labor? How would the loss of men
working on farms and ranches have affected American society?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
Source: History of American Agriculture, 1607–2000, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
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Southern dependency
Although the South experienced prosperity for many years because of its cotton and tobacco
plantations, it depended on the northern states for many of life’s necessities. Henry Grady, editor of
an Atlanta, Georgia newspaper, gave his account of a funeral he attended.
“The grave was dug through solid marble, but the marble headstone came from Vermont. It was a
pine wilderness but the pine coffin came from Cincinnati. An iron mountain overshadowed it but the
coffin nails and screws and the shovel came from Pittsburgh. . . . A hickory grove grew nearby, but the
pick and shovel handles came form New York. . . . That country, so rich in underdeveloped resources,
furnished nothing for the funeral except the corpse and the hole in the ground.”
Questions: How did this economic dependency contribute to the Civil War? What part did this
dependency play in ending the Civil War?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2B
Source: J. Jacobs, Cities and the Wealth of Nations (New York: Random House, 1984).
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Abraham Lincoln and agriculture
On May 15, 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed an act of Congress into law establishing “at
the seat of Government of the United States a Department of Agriculture.” Read this brief history,
entitled “Abraham Lincoln and Agriculture,” at the National Agriculture Library website.
Questions: What aspects of Lincoln’s life made him enthusiastic about agriculture? What did he do as
President to make sure that agriculture was successful in America?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
nal.usda.gov/speccoll/exhibits/lincoln
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Commissioner of Agriculture
Isaac Newton, first Commissioner of Agriculture
Before the Department of Agriculture became a Cabinet-level agency in 1889, the head of the USDA
was called the Commissioner of Agriculture. In 1862, President Lincoln appointed Isaac Newton the
first Commissioner. The act creating the USDA directed the Commissioner to:
“acquire and preserve in his Department all information concerning agriculture which he can obtain
by means of books and correspondence, and by practical and scientific experiments (accurate records
of which experiments shall be kept in his office), by the collection of statistics, and by any other
appropriate means within his power to collect, as he may be able, new and valuable seeds and plants
to test, by cultivation, the value of such of them as may require such tests to propagate such as may be
worthy of propagation, and to distribute them among agriculturists.”
Questions: How is the Secretary of Agriculture selected today? To whom does he/she report? Why is
this position so important?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
Source: G. Baker, J. Porter, W. Rasmussen, and V. Wiser, eds., Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States
Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C.: Centennial Committee, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1963).
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Entomology at the USDA
Townend Glover, USDA entomologist
One of the first entomologists (insect scientists) employed by the
USDA was Townend Glover. USDA Commissioner Newton encouraged Glover to start a museum
containing Glover’s extensive collection of insects, as well as models of fruits. Commissioner Newton
established an agricultural museum on August 1, 1864, with Glover as curator.
Today, Glover’s insect collection is part of the National Entomological Collection jointly managed by
the USDA and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The collection, which is one
of the largest in the world, contains thousands of specimens from the United States and all parts of
the world. The large holdings of agriculturally important species make this collection an important
source for research and for identification of insect pest groups.
Questions: How can the study of insects advance our knowledge about agriculture? Why is agriculture
influenced so strongly by insects? What insects would you study if you were an entomologist?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
Source: G. Baker, J. Porter, W. Rasmussen, and V. Wiser, eds., Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States
Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C.: Centennial Committee, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1963).
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Land-grant institutions
The three cornerstones of the land-grant approach--teaching, research, and extension--have improved
the economic well-being and quality of life of all Americans. The first Morrill Act, passed in 1862,
established land-grant institutions so that the average citizen could obtain an education. These colleges
offered courses in agriculture and mechanical arts in addition to classical studies. Visit the National
Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges website to learn the what, why, where, who,
when, and how of land-grant colleges.
Questions: What is the purpose of land-grant institutions? What does this tell you about the priority
of research and education in the U.S. government? How has the tradition of land-grant universities
affected you and your family?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
aplu.org/page.aspx?pid=1565
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Disseminating research
The USDA issued its first research bulletin in 1862. This first issue presented new research findings
about the sugar content of several grape varieties and the suitability of each for wine making.
Questions: What is the purpose of keeping others up to date on current research? Is it possible that
the research was already out of date by the time the bulletin was published? What means do we have
for communicating research findings today?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
Source: ARS Timeline: 138 Years of Ag Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
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Insects and agriculture
Organic insecticides have been researched and used for many
years in America. Read this brief history of insecticides from The
Yearbook of Agriculture, 1962.
“Potato growers in the Eastern States were alarmed in the 1860s
by the advances of the Colorado potato beetle. Nothing was
effective against it until someone began to use paris green, an
arsenic compound, that had been used for many years to color
paints, wallpaper, and fabrics. Later it was fond to be effective against cankerworm on fruit trees, the
codling moth, and the cotton caterpillar. For many years the standard agricultural insecticides were
paris green or London purple (another arsenical) for chewing insects and kerosene-soap emulsion for
sucking insects. Pyrethrum [a substance extracted from chrysanthemums, a variety of soaps, and oil
from the Neem tree] was used for household insects. Efforts to combat the attacks of the gypsy moth
in New England forests led in 1892 to the use of lead arsenate, which was more effective than paris
green and less injurious to foliage. Great amounts of lead arsenate were used later in orchards against
the codling moth and many other insects. Powdered lead arsenate was tried against the boll weevil on
cotton. It gave some control and led to the development [in] about 1916 of calcium arsenate, which
came into use throughout the Cotton Belt. Lime-sulfate was used against San Jose scale beginning in
1880. The fumigation of citrus trees in California with hydrocyanic acid gas was started in 1886.”
Questions: Why was it important to research and develop effective insecticides? Is it as important
today?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
Source: The Yearbook of Agriculture, 1962 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962).
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Postwar agriculture in the South
The following account describes life in postwar Georgia.
“The southern states were devastated by the Civil War. Georgia, for example, lost sixty-six percent
of its developed resources during the war. Post-war farming practices in the south were in the midst
of monumental changes as former slaves were emancipated. Prior to the war there were more than a
thousand plantations in Georgia that were at least one thousand acres in size, but after the war farm size
was based on the area a man could manage through his own labor, with the assistance of his family or
contracted labor. In addition:
“The plantations (farms) of the country were in a rough and dilapidated condition generally: stock,
mules and horses for plow-teams were scarce, as was also grain to feed them . . . most of the seed was old
and imperfect from neglect during the war . . . and the laborers generally disinclined to do full work.”
Questions: How did the emancipation of slaves change farm life in the southern states? How did it
change life in the rest of the United States?
Era 4: Expansion and Reform, Standard 2A
Sources: P. B. Haney, W. J. Lewis, and W.R. Lambert. Cotton Production and the Boll Weevil in Georgia: History, Cost of Control,
and Benefits of Eradication, Georgia Agricultural Experiment Stations, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences,
University of Georgia (Research Bulletin, no. 428, November 1996).
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 6, Embedded Resource 2
Sharecropping
Sharecropping is often thought of as an activity that involved only poor African American farmers.
However, many sharecroppers were poor white farmers. Below is an excerpt from “Better a Tent than
a Mortgage,” the oral history of a poor white farmer named Walter Strother, collected by writer L. E.
Cogburn as part of the Federal Writers’ Project (1936–1940). This government project provided work for
many writers during the Great Depression.
“I was born on the Wateree River fifty years ago, and lived there until I was six years old. My father then
moved to Derrick’s Pond, about seventeen miles southeast of Columbia, [South Carolina]. The next year,
when I was just seven years old, my father left us. I am the oldest of his family of seven children.
“In order to help my mother support our family, I had to plow in the fields at the age of eight years. I
became a regular plowhand by the time I was ten. Mr. [Kerningham?], on whose place we lived, hired me
by the day, at a wage of forty cents a day. We earned so little that my mother could afford
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to buy only the bare necessities. There were days that we had to go hungry. I, in the meantime, had
received but a few months of schooling. I didn’t have time to go to school. I had to work.
“When I was twelve years old, and my brothers were large enough to help I asked Mr. Kerningham to let
us work a sharecrop. I felt that this would afford us more to eat, because of an advance on a sharecrop.
“I’ll never forget the morning I went to Mr. Kerningham and asked him for a sharecrop. He was fixing
to go to Columbia. Already had his horse hitched to the buggy. He said to me, ‘Son, you can’t manage
a farm.’ I looked at him square in the face and said, ‘Give me a chance.’ He told me he would think
it over, and for me to come back in a few days. I didn’t wait. I went back the next day, and he said,
‘Walter, I have decided to do it. When do you want to move?’ ‘Right away,’ I told him. ‘Go and catch
Kit and Beck and hitch them to the wagon and move,’ he told me.
“That year, I made seven bales of cotton and plenty of corn, peas, and potatoes. And we didn’t have to
go hungry at any time.
“Mr. Kerningham used the lien system to run his farm. He traded with M. E. C. Shull, who ran a big
grocery store in Columbia on Main Street, between Taylor and Blanding.
“That fall, after we started to pick cotton, I went to Mr. Kerningham and said, ‘I have a bale of cotton
out.’
“’You know you haven’t a bale already,’ he replied.
“’Yes, I have, too.’
“’When do you want to gin it? It’s bringing a little more than eight cents now.’
“’I’ll do as you say. You know best.’
“’Suppose you gin it tomorrow,’ he said.
“He had a gin on the place, and the next day I had it ginned. I went to Mr. Kerningham and said, ‘I
want you to sell it for me.’
“’No, you take the wagon and haul it to Columbia and sell. I’ll meet you at the store.’
“I tied my mules to the hitching post on Assembly Street. I remembered how my father did when he
sold cotton. I cut the side of each bale and pulled a sample and took it to the buyer and asked him what
he would bid on it. Taking the samples and examining them he said, ‘I’ll give you eight cents. Might
give you more after I see the bales. Where are they?’ We went to the wagon, and he pulled a sample
from each bale. After examining it, he said: ‘I’ll give you eight and a half, if you’ll sell it now and not try
to get a higher bidder.’
“I sold it to him and took the check to the store and met Mr. Kerningham. He said to me, ‘Have you
sold your cotton?’
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“’Yes, sir,’ I replied. And at the same time I handed him the check.
“’What did you get for it?’ he asked.
“’Eight and a half cents a pound.’
“’That’s good.’
“We walked to the back end of the store. He sat down on a bag of oats, and I sat on,--I don’t
remember what. I didn’t know much ‘rithmetic, but I had already counted up what was to come to
me. He was dividing it up, after taking off the cost of bagging and ties and ginning. He said to me,
‘You have so-and-so for your part. How much do you want?’
“’Not a dime.’
“’You don’t want any at all?’
“’No, sir. Put it to my credit on my account,’ I told him.
“I furnished the labor and paid for half the fertilizer, and he furnished and fed the stock and paid for
half the fertilizer. We divided everything that was made half-and-half, except the potatoes. I had all of
these that I made.
“I worked this way two years with Mr. Kerningham. Saw that he was getting the best of it, as I thought
then. But there wasn’t the slightest misunderstanding between us.
“The next year, I moved away from him and rented. I bought a plug mule and got one of those liens.
Had a bad crop year, and didn’t make enough to pay the rent and lien. I took the mule back to the
man I bought it from. He didn’t have to come for it. I explained to him that I had nothing to pay, and
he was mighty nice about it. Took the mule back and didn’t blame me.
“I sold everything to settle up and was left flat again, like the first time I went to the old man.
“I found out that I made a mistake when I left Mr. Kerningham. I went back and asked him for a crop
again, and he gave it to me. I was a pretty big boy then, whole lot of difference from the first time.
“This year I made a good crop, got a fair price for it, and cleared a little money.”
Questions: What is the farmer’s attitude about sharecropping? What lessons, if any, can be learned
from the way Walter Strother faced the challenges of his life as a sharecropper?
Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction, Standard 2B
Source: L. E. Cogburn, “Better a Tent Than a Mortgage,” American Life Histories: Manuscripts from the Federal Writers’ Project,
1936–1940, Library of Congress, American Memory [online].
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 6, Embedded Resource 3
Plowing with mules
Until the invention of tractors, horses and mules were the primary
source of power for farmers to do their work on the farm and ranch.
Examine the image above of a farmer plowing his field. A team of
two horses or mules pulling a walking plow could work only about
two acres per day. This limited the practical size of the farm for one
farmer to about one hundred acres. In contrast, when early steam
tractors became available after 1868, they could plow an acre in just
half an hour.
Questions: How many acres could a farmer plow in a twelve-hour day with a steam plow? What impact
do you think changing from horse to machine power had on the average size of farms in America?
What factors may have kept some farmers from modernizing to steam- and later gas-powered tractors?
What factors today keep people from adopting new technologies for work? What factors encourage
them to adopt new technologies?
Era 6: Expansion and Reform, Standard 1B
Sources: Farming in the 1920s: Machines, Wessels Living History Farm, York, Nebraska [online]; and Franklin Harris and George
Stewart, The Principles of Agronomy (New York: Macmillan, 1930).
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 6, Embedded Resource 4
Reconstruction
The period of rebuilding in the South after the Civil War was called “Reconstruction.” Here is an account of
Reconstruction from a publication by the National Park Service.
“Although the exact dates demarcating Reconstruction are not universally agreed upon, Eric Foner indicates the
years 1863 to 1877: the period from the Emancipation Proclamation to the year that the ideal of Reconstruction to
protect the fundamental rights of all citizens gave way to southern ‘Redemption’ and ‘home rule,’ the equivalent to
white rule. (Still others might point to 1883 as the end of Reconstruction, the year the Supreme Court declared the
Civil Rights Act of 1875 unconstitutional.) By law, at least, African Americans made significant gains for their rights
as citizens during Reconstruction. Racism prevailed however, and once ‘Southern Redemption’ took hold by the
1880s, racist policies continued and proliferated. Federal laws, Supreme Court decisions, and presidential initiatives
would vacillate between furthering and hindering the civil rights of African Americans.
“Following the Civil War, Congress amended the Constitution in ways that confirmed American democracy and
raised the hopes of African Americans for attaining equality. The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments of
1865 and 1867 ended the institution of slavery and guaranteed equal protection under the law regardless of race,
respectively. The adoption of restrictive ‘Black Codes’ by southern states however, sought to secure white supremacy
and keep blacks as a laboring class. President Andrew Johnson’s moderate policy supported the concerns of the
South and did little to advance blacks’ civil rights. Nonetheless, Congress passed bills to ensure civil rights and
enforce Reconstruction in the South with the passage of a civil rights bill in 1866 and the Reconstruction Act of
1867 (i.e., ‘Radical Reconstruction’). Finally, the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment in 1869 allowed black men to
vote.
“The federal government did much to improve and aid the newly freed slaves through the establishment of the
Freedmen’s Bureau in 1865. Among the many services provided, the Bureau supplied legal aid, set up schools,
and provided health care. Also during Reconstruction, African-American men gained seats in Congress: two in
the Senate and twenty in the House of Representatives. Despite the accomplishments, racism operated to subvert
equality and justice.
“The economic depression of the 1870s was particularly severe in the South: yeomen farmers were engulfed by
poverty and planters by indebtedness. Just as African Americans were increasing their political influence, the
depression limited their power to influence working conditions: independent black farming became difficult so
that most owners and renters were reduced to sharecroppers and wage laborers. Resentment and resistance among
white southerners would increasingly undermine the law of the land through organized acts of violence and state
legislation.
“Supreme Court decisions hastened the end of Reconstruction. Under the Enforcement Act of 1870, indictments
were made against several southerners who were charged with preventing blacks from voting. In 1875, the Court’s
decisions favored the defendants and interpreted the Fifteenth Amendment in an ambiguous fashion. By 1877,
radical Republicanism gave way to conservative policies favoring southern Democrats and ‘home rule’ was restored
to southern states. Finally, the Civil Rights Act of 1875 was declared unconstitutional in 1883 and the constitutional
laws that were supposed to guarantee African-American citizenship rights were successfully subverted.”
Questions: What were the goals of Reconstruction? What obstacles did Reconstruction face? How well were the
goals of Reconstruction achieved?
Era 5: Civil War and Reconstruction, Standard 2B
Source: Theresa Anne Murphy, Scholarship on Southern Farms and Plantations, National Park Service [online].
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 6, Embedded Resource 5
Booker T. Washington
Explore the overview of the life of Booker T. Washington at the National Park Services website: Legends
of Tuskegee.
Questions: Why did Booker T. Washington believe so strongly that education was the way for African
Americans to achieve true freedom? Why were agricultural studies such an important part of the
Tuskegee Institute? What personal qualities made Booker T. Washington such a great educator and
leader?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1
cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/btwoverview.htm
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 6, Embedded Resource 6
George Washington Carver
Explore the overview of the life of George Washington Carver at the National Park Services website:
Legends of Tuskegee.
Questions: What sacrifices did George Washington Carver have to make to get an education? What
sacrifices do people in our time have to make to get an education? Contrast and compare these
differences. Why should a person make these sacrifices?
What was the purpose behind all of George Washington Carver’s many scientific research efforts?
Who benefited from his research? Why did he create a “moveable” school? Why would colleges and
universities want or need to extend themselves to reach out to students outside of traditional classrooms?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1
cr.nps.gov/museum/exhibits/tuskegee/gwcoverview.htm
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 1
The Homestead Act
Visit the Homestead National Monument of America website to learn more about the Homestead Act
of 1862.
Questions: Why has the Homestead Act of 1862 been called one the most important pieces of
legislation in the history of the United States? If you had been around in the1860s, would you have tried
to claim a homestead? Why or why not?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
nps.gov/home/historyculture/abouthomesteadactlaw.htm
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 2
Grasshopper Commission
Charles Valentine Riley, USDA entomologist
“From 1873 to 1877, grasshoppers from the Northwest invaded
many Western States and territories. In some states the destruction
of crops was so serious that it caused starvation among pioneer
families. USDA entomologist, Charles Valentine Riley, studied the plague and worked to bring it to
the attention of Congress. In March of 1877, he succeeded in securing passage of a bill that created
the United States Entomological Commission (sometimes called the Grasshopper Commission).”
Questions: What does an entomologist do? Why was it important for the USDA to have a group
of entomologists? Entomologists are agricultural scientists who do not work on farms; what other
agricultural careers are not located on farms?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1D
Source: The National Agricultural Library [online].
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 3
The nation’s breadbasket
The Great Plains, which extends across central North
America, includes some of the best farmland in our nation,
with rich, productive soil and a favorable climate. After the
adoption of the Homestead Act, settlers began moving into
this area, and by the late 1800s the average size farm in this
region was nearly 150 acres.
Questions: Why is this area called “America’s breadbasket”? Are there other areas in the world that are
equally productive? What parts do soil and climate play in making this area the breadbasket?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
Source: North American Bread basket (map), Harper College, Palatine, Illinois [online]; and History of American Agriculture,
1607–2000, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 4
Sod houses
Farmer homesteaders in the Great Plains were sometimes called “sodbusters.” These hardy
pioneers, often new immigrants, dealt with inadequate housing, water, and fuel as well as extreme
environmental conditions. Characteristically persevering people, they made the land productive and
built houses, called “soddies,” from the earth. The sod house reflects the never-say-die attitude of
these farmers.
Questions: Why would people want to homestead knowing that they would face such harsh living
conditions in a sod house? Are there people living in similar circumstances today?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
http://www.nebraskastudies.org/0500/stories/0501_0107.html
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 5
Barbed wire
When pioneers began settling their new homesteads across
the Great Plains, they found few trees or other fence-building
materials to secure their livestock. Settlers initially built fences
from thin, smooth wire, but soon learned that the smooth wire
would not prevent their animals from wandering off.
Then, in 1868, Michael Kelly invented the first improved wire
fencing--barbed wire. In 1874, Joseph Glidden improved upon
Kelly’s design, and by the mid-1870s the widespread use of barbed wire had greatly changed life in the
western United States.
Author Robert Clifton wrote the following:
“The invention of barbed wire probably had as much influence on the settlement of the American
West as the revolver and the repeating rifle. It certainly had a greater civilizing effect, for the progress
of the taming of the frontier is reflected in the increasing number and diversification of barbed wire
patents in the final decades of the last century.”
Questions: Why did Clifton say that barbed wire had as much influence on the settlement of the
American West as the revolver and the repeating rifle? What other inventions made a dramatic impact
on the settlement of the West?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1B
Source: Robert Clifton, Barbs, Prongs, Points, Prickers and Stickers: A Complete and Illustrated Catalogue of Antique Barbed Wire
(Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1998).
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 7, Embedded Resource 6
The plight of the Indians
The Plains Indians’ way of life was destroyed by
the slaughter of the buffalo, which were almost
exterminated by indiscriminate hunting in the
decade after 1870. Read this excerpt from the U.S.
State Department’s Outline of American History.
“Government policy ever since the Monroe
administration had been to move the Indians beyond
the reach of the white frontier. But inevitably the
reservations had become smaller and more crowded,
and many began to protest the government’s treatment of Native Americans. Helen Hunt Jackson,
for example, an Easterner living in the West, wrote a book, A Century of Dishonor (1881), which
dramatized the Indians’ plight and struck a chord in the nation’s conscience. Most reformers believed
the Indian should be assimilated into the dominant culture. The federal government even set up a
school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in an attempt to impose white values and beliefs on Indian youths.
(It was at this school that Native American Jim Thorpe, often considered the best athlete the U.S. has
produced, gained fame in the early 20th century.)
“In 1887 the Dawes Act reversed U.S. Indian policy, permitting the president to divide up tribal land
and parcel out 65 hectares of land to each head of a family. Such allotments were to be held in trust
by the government for 25 years, after which time the owner won full title and citizenship. Lands not
thus distributed, however, were offered for sale to settlers. This policy, however well-intentioned,
proved disastrous, since it allowed more plundering of Indian lands. Moreover, its assault on the
communal organization of tribes caused further disruption of traditional culture. In 1934 U.S.
policy was reversed again by the Indian Reorganization Act, which attempted to protect tribal and
communal life on the reservations.”
Questions: How and why did the U.S. government policy toward the Indians change at the end of
the1800s? What other options could the government have pursued in dealing with American Indian
tribes? What impact did the policy of removing Indians from their tribal lands have on agricultural
expansion in the United States?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
Source: Howard Cincotta, ed., “Plight of the Indians,” An Outline of American History, U.S. Department of State, Bureau
of International Information Programs [online].
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 1
The Panama Canal
While the transcontinental railroad connected America by land, the Panama Canal helped connect
it by sea. Before the canal, goods and people traveling by boat had to go all the way around the tip of
South America to get from one coast to the other—a trip of eight thousand miles. Beginning in 1914,
the Panama Canal shortened this trip considerably by allowing boats to travel across Panama through
a series of locks. The canal, which took ten years to complete, was an amazing engineering feat for its
time. Watch this film to see how the canal operates and visit this Panama Canal website to learn more
about locks.
Questions: Why was the Panama Canal important to America? How would this canal help
agriculture? What other transportation advances have helped commerce in America?
Sources: Text adapted from Library of Congress, America’s Story from America’s Library, Jump Back in Time: The
Modern Era (online); stock newsreel excerpts obtained from CBS, c. 1913-1914, courtesy of U.S. National Archives and
Records Administration.
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
pancanal.com/eng/general/howitworks/index.html
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 2
Pushing westward
The westward push of the U.S. population created the need for a
dependable transportation system. The transcontinental railroad
was the answer. Markets expanded and opportunities for trade were
enhanced.
Questions: Do you think all farmers and ranchers were glad to see the railroad come through their
land? Do you think that some of them were angry about the railroads? Why or why not?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 3
Refrigerated boxcar
Refrigerated boxcars created a national market for fresh produce for the
first time. Before refrigerated transport, farmers who wanted to sell their
produce across the country were left with few options. Those who chose to
transport their produce by railroad risked having it rot in the extreme heat
or freeze in the bitter cold.
The invention of the refrigerated railroad car in 1867 allowed farmers to deliver their products to cities across
the country and gave consumers access to better and more nutritious foods.
Questions: New inventions can often solve old problems, but may present new problems as well. While
the railroads solved many transportation problems, they also presented the risk of produce damage until
refrigerator cars were invented. What other inventions have both solved and created problems?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: Barbara Krasner-Khait, “The Impact of Refrigeration,” History Magazine [online].
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 4
Chisholm Trail
In the 1800s, moving cattle from range to market involved cowboys driving cattle along established
trails. As railroads moved westward, ranchers were able to significantly reduce the distance they had
to drive their cattle. Read about cattle trailing and the railroads at the Handbook of Texas Online to
answer the following questions.
Questions: Why did ranchers want to move their cattle from Texas to other states? Why was
Abilene, Kansas, selected as a major end point on the cattle trail? What can you learn about supply
and demand from Texas cattle trailing?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/ayc01
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 5
The Grange Organization
Since the 1700s, American farmers have formed organizations to promote and support agricultural
and farmer interests. Early farm organizations during the eighteenth century took the form of
agricultural societies with the primary purpose of exchanging useful information. During periods of
economic stress, farmers sometimes formed other short-lived groups whose motives were to change
government policies and improve the economic conditions of farmers.
Visit the website of the National Grange of the Order of Patrons of Husbandry, and then answer the
following questions.
Questions: Why was the Grange organized? What purpose did it serve in the past and what purpose
does it serve today? What role can organizations such as this play in influencing government decisions?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
nationalgrange.org/about-us
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 8, Embedded Resource 6
Agricultural experiment stations
By the 1800s, scientists were beginning to realize the potential benefits science could bring to
agriculture; however, scientific information did not always reach the farmers who needed it. During
the mid-1870s, two men, Samuel W. Johnson of Connecticut and Eugene W. Hilgard of California,
worked to solve this problem by establishing agricultural experiment stations in their states. In 1875,
Johnson, an agricultural chemist, helped found the first State Agricultural Experiment Station in
Connecticut, modeled after those he had seen in Germany. Hilgard, also a chemist, founded an
experiment station at the University of California a few months after the Connecticut station began
operations.
In 1887, the Hatch Act authorized grants to fund agricultural experiment stations at each of the
land-grant universities established by the Morrill Act of 1862. Congress established these stations
to conduct agricultural research and to distribute the information and knowledge created through
scientific discovery to farmers. The federal government’s support of agricultural research continues
today at land-grant and other colleges and universities, as well as at experiment stations.
Questions: Why would the federal government promote agricultural research? What role does research
serve in the advancement of a nation? What is the purpose of disseminating information and research
results to the community? What role does research play in improving the community?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: G. Baker, J. Porter, W. Rasmussen, and V. Wiser, eds., Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States
Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C.: Centennial Committee, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1963).
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Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 9, Embedded Resource 1
Microscopes
Although Hans and Zacharias Janssen of Holland built the first
compound microscope around 1595, it took several centuries
for the microscope to become a common scientific instrument.
Many inventors made improvements over time, so that by the
1800s the basic design of the microscope was firmly in place.
Widespread use of the microscope during the late nineteenth
century revolutionized science, including the study of
agricultural science at the Department of Agriculture, where a special Division of Microscopy was
established in 1871. USDA scientists soon began studying plant diseases using the latest microscope
technology, as described in the following excerpt.
“Systematic study of diseases of plants began in 1871, when Thomas Taylor was appointed to head
the newly created Division of Microscopy. Taylor had been trained in science in his native Scotland
and in medicine at Georgetown University. He was enthusiastic about the potential value of the
microscope in agricultural research, and his division was given the responsibility for all work with
microscopes in the Department. Taylor made some outstanding contributions on plant disease. The
Division of Microscopy was abolished July 1, 1895, after which other divisions were permitted to use
microscopes.”
Questions: How did the use of microscopes improve agricultural research? How has this tool
benefited other fields? What other inventions have influenced the advancement of scientific research?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Sources: G. Baker, J. Porter, W. Rasmussen, and V. Wiser, eds., Century of Service: The First 100 Years of the United States
Department of Agriculture (Washington, D.C.: Centennial Committee, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1963); and Helen
R. Purtle, History of the Microscope, National Museum of Health and Medicine (1974) [online].
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 9, Embedded Resource 2
Cattle fever
In 1890, a disease among cattle caused widespread losses for ranchers, especially in the South. Southern cattle
were often driven to northern markets, spreading a trail of disease along the way. Northern cattle, taken to the
South for breeding, often contracted the disease and died. Go to the Agricultural Research Service website to
learn how early scientists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture solved the mystery of this previously unknown
fever and ended a significant agricultural problem.
Questions: What was the cause of this fever in cattle? How did the USDA researchers determine the cause?
What scientific breakthrough did this research lead to, and how did it help solve other major illnesses?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
ars.usda.gov/is/timeline/tick.htm
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 9, Embedded Resource 3
Food and nutrition
The nineteenth century saw many changes as scientists
discovered new knowledge that would impact the daily
lives of all Americans. Wilbur O. Atwater was one of those
scientists. In 1869, he published tables showing the chemical
composition of foods. For his groundbreaking work, Atwater
is known as the “Father of Human Nutrition.” Read the
following excerpt about Atwater’s efforts.
“In early 1893, the odds that Wilbur Olin Atwater would get public support for his grand plan for
food investigations were slim to none. In fact, the future of the Office of Experiment Stations, which
he had worked hard to establish, was in doubt. But as often happens to people of vision, an ‘angel’
interceded in the form of a close personal friend of the Secretary of Agriculture who knew and
admired Atwater.
“On May 23, the Secretary wrote: ‘Mr. Edward Atkinson of Boston suggests the expediency of
establishing food laboratories . . .’
“With those simple words, the door was pried open for the first federal funding of human nutrition
research in the United States. Although it took another year of intensive skirmishing and skillful
diplomacy, Atwater’s efforts paid off. In May 1894, the agricultural appropriations bill included ten
thousand dollars for food investigations.
“At that time, knowledge of nutrients and their functions was very limited. It was known that
carbohydrates and fat provided energy to maintain body temperature and do muscular work, and
protein had the added duty of building and repairing tissues, but vitamins were unknown. Only a few
major minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus, were recognized as somehow essential but their role
in the body was unclear.
“Atwater’s quest for scientific understanding of nutrition was coupled with the social consciousness of
the day. In an 1894 letter, he wrote: ‘The individual man is coming to realize that he is his brother’s
keeper, and that his brother is not only of his household but may live on the other side of the world.
With all these thoughtful people the conviction is growing that there is one fundamental condition
of the intellectual and moral elevation of the poor, the ignorant, the weak, the destitute, namely the
improvement of their physical condition.’
“As a special agent for USDA, Atwater scouted top European laboratories and solicited articles and
abstracts from the foremost researchers in agricultural and human nutrition studies. These were
translated and printed in the Experiment Station Record, one of three periodicals Atwater began as
director of USDA’s Office of Experiment Stations.
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“In the ten years that Atwater headed the federal nutrition program, he conducted or coordinated
research in four areas:
--Types and amounts of foods consumed by different groups.
--Chemical composition of foods.
--Effects of cooking and food processing on nutritional quality.
--Learning about the amounts and types of nutrients people need to function at their best entailed
studies of human metabolism and respiration.
“Atwater oversaw more than three hundred food consumption studies of families and institutions in
seventeen states, which involved more than ten thousand men, women, and children. These included
students, college athletes, the families of professional men, mechanics, farmers and laborers, in
widely separated states and of diverse ethnic groups.
“Concerned about the nutrition of the poor and disadvantaged, Atwater supervised intake studies
of black sharecroppers, Mexican families, poor whites, and inmates in state mental institutions. His
observations ring true even today: ‘The differences in diet . . . are influenced, to some extent, by
race habits, and to a still larger extent, by the material conditions of the consumer . . . especially the
income.’
“Atwater left no stone unturned in gathering data on the eating habits of people worldwide. He
scoured European literature, wrote to missionaries in India, and cited studies of Chinese people
living on the U.S. Pacific coast, among others.
“In 1896, Atwater and Wesleyan graduate student A. P. Bryant published The Chemical Composition of
American Food Materials, or simply, Bulletin No. 28. This bulletin became the forerunner of USDA’s
Agriculture Handbook, which is the dietitian’s ‘bible.’ [The Agriculture Handbook is no longer published.
The current USDA product is the National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference.] It listed the
minimum, maximum, and average values of the known nutrients in all American foods analyzed by
July 1895.
“A 1906 reprinting of the bulletin, with only minor changes, stood until June of 1940--when USDA
Circular No. 549 was published. Gortner noted, ‘I’m sure that [Atwater] could not have anticipated
that it would not be superseded until some 40 years later.’”
Questions: What were Wilbur Atwater’s motivations as a researcher? What were some of his
approaches to conducting research? What did he do with his research findings? How might you be
benefiting today from the nutritional research of Wilbur Atwater and those who have followed him
into the field of nutritional science?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: ARS Timeline: 138 Years of Ag Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
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New wheat varieties
Throughout its history, one of the tasks of the Department
of Agriculture has been to search the world for new plant and
animal types in order to increase the variety of our nation’s food
supply and to ensure the productivity of American agriculture.
The following account is a description of how one American
scientist vastly improved our country’s wheat, and possibly saved
the nation from famine.
“In 1898, experts were predicting food shortages and famine
because the increasing population would overtake our ability to
grow sufficient wheat by 1931. They may have been right--except
1898 was also the year U.S. Department of Agriculture special agent Mark A. Carleton was sent on
his first plant exploration trip to Russia. He brought back new durum and hard red wheat varieties to
grow in the United States.
“Five years after the introduction of that wheat from Russia, wheat production in the United States
exploded from sixty thousand to twenty million bushels a year. The drought tolerance of these new
varieties opened up the Great Plains and the Northwest for wheat growing, the durum wheat tasted
better in pasta, and the hard red wheat made better bread.
“The USDA official who sent Carleton on his 1898 collecting trip later wrote, ‘We have forgotten
how poor our bread was at the time of Carleton’s trip to Russia. In truth, we were eating an almost
tasteless product, ignorant of the fact that most of Europe had a better flavored bread with far higher
nutritive qualities than ours.’
“More than one hundred years later, USDA plant exploring and collecting, now under the direction
of the Agricultural Research Service’s National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, is still a critical
ingredient in maintaining and expanding agriculture’s ability to feed an ever-growing population.”
Questions: How does the collecting and stockpiling of plants at the USDA’s National Germplasm
Resources Laboratory increase productivity and ensure the safety and security of our nation’s food
supply? In what other ways is agriculture critical to the safety and security of our nation?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: “Conserving the World’s Plants,” Agricultural Research Magazine, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
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Carver discoveries
“One of the most significant early agricultural researchers was George Washington Carver of the
Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. During his first twenty years at Tuskegee, Dr. Carver scoured his
imagination to produce as many products as possible to help create a demand for crops other than
cotton in the south. He is most famous for his products made from peanuts, but he also studied
many other crops.” Examine some of the research discoveries of George Washington Carver.
“From peanuts: over three hundred products including: milk, cheese, cream, coffee, plastics, paper,
wood stains, flour, soap, linoleum, cooking oils, cosmetics, and medicinal massaging oils.
“From sweet potatoes: over one hundred-eighteen products including: starch, tapioca, mock
coconut, molasses, breakfast foods, feed for livestock, dyes, flour, vinegar, ink, and synthetic rubber.
“From soybeans: flours, coffee, cheese, sauce, bisque for ice cream, oil, chick food, soup mixtures,
bran, and stock food.
“From waste and native materials: rugs, table runners, table mats, scarves, fuel briquettes, floor mats,
synthetic marble, wallboard, wood veneers from yucca and Florida palm, vegetable dyes, etc.
“From cotton: paving blocks, cordage, paper, fiber for rope, and many other products.
“From the clays of Alabama: face powder, pigments for paints, wood stains, wallpapers, and
calcimines.”
Questions: Which of Carver’s discoveries surprise you, and why? Although these discoveries all
come from agricultural products, many of them are for purposes other than agriculture. Which of
the products he discovered are used for manufacturing rather than for agricultural purposes? If you
were an agricultural scientist like George Washington Carver, what could you invent from the apple
or some other agricultural product?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: National Agricultural Library [online].
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 9, Embedded Resource 6 (CD and online Version 2.0 only)
Boll Weevil
One pest that farmers and scientists have had to fight is the boll weevil. Boll weevils, which entered
the United States from Latin America in the 1890s, destroyed cotton crops. They were especially
devastating in the South in the 1910s and ’20s. Some farmers survived by planting different crops,
but many lost their farms when their cotton crops were ruined. Watch this film to find out how
farmers were taught to combat the boll weevil.
Questions: Historically, what other insects or diseases have destroyed farmer livelihoods,
communities, or even countries? Was it important for farmers to kill the boll weevils? What weapons
did farmers have to use against boll weevils?
Sources: Text adapted from Library of Congress, Today in History: December 11th (online); film Goodbye, Boll Weevil,
1921, courtesy of U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 10, Embedded Resource 1
Reclamation projects
“Established in 1902, the Bureau of Reclamation is best known for the dams, powerplants, and
canals it constructed in the 17 western states. These water projects led to homesteading and
promoted the economic development of the West. Reclamation has constructed more than 600
dams and reservoirs including Hoover Dam on the Colorado River and Grand Coulee on the
Columbia River.” Visit the website Reclamation: Managing Water in the West to answer the
following questions.
Questions: Why has the government spent millions of dollars to move water to the arid western
states? Which reclamation projects are you familiar with, and what are their purposes?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
usbr.gov/main/about
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Plants from around the world
Since its inception, the USDA and other government agency scientists have been exploring and
collecting plants from across the country and around the world. Visit the U.S. National Arboretum
website to read about five plant explorers and their contributions.
Questions: Why have these and other scientists spent their careers exploring and collecting plants?
What plants once considered exotic are now commonplace?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
usna.usda.gov/Research/Herbarium/Explorers.html
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 10, Embedded Resource 3
Upton Sinclair
This is a page from a letter Upton Sinclair sent to President
Roosevelt on March 10, 1906. In it, Sinclair suggested the
placement of federal inspectors in meatpacking houses,
and advised that these inspectors should be disguised as
workers in order to discover the true conditions at the
plants, as Sinclair did when he researched his book. Read
this explanation of Sinclair’s landmark book and answer the
questions below.
“In 1905, author Upton Sinclair published the novel
titled The Jungle, which took aim at the brutalization and
exploitation of workers in a Chicago meatpacking house.
It was the filthy conditions, described in nauseating detail-and the threat they posed to meat consumers--that caused a public furor. Sinclair urged President
Theodore Roosevelt to support the presence of federal inspectors in the meat-packing houses. Both the
Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act were passed in 1906.”
Questions: Why did the U.S. government take responsibility for inspecting meat products for export as
well as for domestic consumption? In what other areas does the government have systems for protecting
the public?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1
Source: “Agency History,” U.S. Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service [online].
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U.S. Forest Service
“To early settlers, America’s virgin forests were vast and stubborn obstacles to be hacked, burned and
uprooted until the land was bared for the plow. Through the years this huge supply of wood became
fuel, lumber, and other products as needed by an expanding Nation. Forests were used as if the
supplies were limitless. As a result of clearing land, lumbering, and uncontrollable fires, an estimated
billion acres of forest was reduced by one-third between 1620 and 1900.”
President Theodore Roosevelt became a champion for conservation efforts within the United States
during his presidency (1901–1907). Roosevelt made conservation a major part of his domestic policy.
He created sixteen national monuments, fifty-one wildlife refuges, seventeen new or combined forest
reserves, and five new national parks.
Questions: Why did early settlers have a carefree attitude about the use of natural resources? Why
did the federal government create the U.S. Forest Service? Why is the Forest Service an agency within
the U.S. Department of Agriculture?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1B
Source: The Yearbook of Agriculture, 1962 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962).
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 10, Embedded Resource 5
Hog cholera
Animal diseases can have a devastating impact on a nation’s agriculture. During the early 1900s, one
disease that many USDA scientists worked to eradicate was hog cholera. In 1903, Marion Dorset
of the USDA’s Bureau of Animal Industry discovered that hog cholera is an ultramicroscopic virus.
Learn how this discovery eventually resulted in the eradication of this ruinous animal disease.
Questions: Why does the USDA research animal diseases such as hog cholera? How many years did it
take to eradicate this disease? What are some of the steps scientists took to do so? What diseases are
scientists working to eliminate today?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
ars.usda.gov/is/timeline/cholera.htm
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 10, Embedded Resource 6
U.S. National Arboretum
In 1927, Congress established the National Arboretum as a part of the Department of Agriculture
to develop, cultivate, and preserve fast-growing pest- and disease-resistant strains of pulp trees,
shrubs, and woody plants. Today the arboretum, located in Washington, D.C., conducts research
and educational programs and manages 446 acres of gardens that conserve and showcase plants that
enhance the environment. The arboretum researchers also produce the USDA’s Plant Hardiness Zone
Map to help farmers and gardeners learn which crops and plants will do best in their region of the
country.
Question: Look at the Plant Hardiness Zone Map to find which zone you live in. Why is it important
for gardeners and farmers to know this?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/index.html
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Hybrid plants
“Developing a hybrid variety involves mixing, or crossing, the genetic materials of two or more varieties
of a plant to form a new plant variety. In the first half of the 1900’s, USDA scientists began trying to
create hybrid varieties of corn.
“In 1906 G. H. Shull, a geneticist at Cold Spring, Harbor, N.Y., started experimenting on inheritance
in corn. From his experiments came important observations on the reduction in vigor with inbreeding
and the restoration of vigor with crossing which provided the basis for hybrid corn. Studies of
inbreeding were made at other experiment stations also. The general opinion was that hybrid corn was
not feasible because of the poor vigor of the inbred parents.
“Open-pollinated varieties are maintained by mass selection. Windborne pollen effects fertilization, and
there is no control of the male parentage. Inbred lines are developed by a combination of inbreeding
and selection. Inbreeding involves the transfer of pollen from an individual plant to the silks of the
same plant. This process is repeated for several generations until the strain becomes stable, or true
breeding. Selection is practiced in each generation to maintain only the superior types. Cross-breeding
involves the crossing of selected parents. Single crosses are produced by crossing two inbred lines.
Double crosses are produced by crossing two different single crosses.
“When the best of the hybrids became commercially available some farmers were reluctant to adopt
them, but demonstration plantings and field observations proved the worth of the hybrids. In 1935 the
demand for hybrid seed in the Corn Belt exceeded production, and the hybrid seed industry developed
rapidly.
“In addition to an increase in production, other benefits have been achieved by the use of hybrid
seed. For instance, hybrids make more efficient use of applied fertilizer. Progress has been made in
developing hybrids resistant to some insects and diseases, and the result is a product of higher quality
and more stable yearly production. Because of their greater uniformity in maturity and resistance to
lodging, the hybrids have helped make large-scale mechanization possible.”
Questions: How long did it take scientists to successfully create a hybrid variety of corn? Why did they
want to do this? What were the results of their efforts? Why do you think some farmers were reluctant
to use hybrid seeds? How do farmers and consumers view the use of genetically modified seeds today?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: ARS Timeline: 138 Years of Ag Research, U.S. Department of Agriculture, [online].
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 11, Embedded Resource 2
4-H clubs
When the U.S. Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service at the USDA in 1914, it included
boys’ and girls’ clubs’ work. The organization became known as 4-H--which stands for “Head, Heart,
Hands, and Health.” Visit the 4-H website and explore the history of the 4-H program.
Questions: Why did the U.S. Congress include boys’ and girls’ clubs when it created the Cooperative
Extension Service at the USDA? What was the purpose of 4-H? What impact might a youth program
such as 4-H have had on the future of American agriculture? What does 4-H do today? What federal,
state, and local youth programs does government support today? Who are they designed to serve? Why
do various government agencies support these programs?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
national4-hheadquarters.gov/about/4h_history.htm
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 11, Embedded Resource 3
Farmer heroes
The text below is a letter from General John J. Pershing, commander of all American forces in Europe,
to America’s Assistant Secretary of Agriculture, thanking the nation’s farmers for their support in
World War I.
“American Expeditionary Forces
Office of the Commander-in-Chief, France
October 16, 1918
“Honorable Carl Vrooman, Assistant Secretary of Agriculture:
“Dear Mr. Vrooman:- will you please convey to farmers of America our profound appreciation of their patriotic
services to the country and to the Allied armies in the field. They have furnished their full quota of fighting
men they have bought largely of Liberty Bonds and they have increased their production of food crops both last
year and this by over a thousand million bushels above normal production. Food is of vital military necessity
for us and for our Allies, and from the day of our entry into the war America’s armies of food producers have
rendered invaluable service to the Allied cause by supporting the soldiers at the front through their devoted and
splendidly successful work in the fields and furrows at home.
“Very sincerely,
John J. Pershing.”
Questions: Why did General Pershing feel so strongly about the efforts of America’s farmers? Do you think
General Pershing was overdoing his praise? Why or why not? How do you think farmers felt about receiving such
recognition from General Pershing?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 1A
Source: Francis A. March, History of the World War (Philadelphia: United Publishers of the United States and Canada, 1919).
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AEF education
After World War I, while the American Expeditionary Force (AEF)
was on occupation duty in Europe, this headline appeared in the
military newspaper The Stars and Stripes (Paris, France) on March 21,
1919, announcing the creation of an army correspondence college with
agricultural courses.
Questions: Why would the army provide educational opportunities like
these for American soldiers overseas? How would such opportunities
benefit agriculture in the United States? What types of educational
programs does the U.S. government provide today? Who could benefit
from these programs?
Era 6: The Development of the Industrial United States, Standard 1C
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
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Mechanized farm equipment
During the early 1900s, dramatic advances in the mechanization of farm equipment were occurring.
The increased availability of farm credit during World War I enabled farmers to buy more mechanized
farm machinery than ever before. Explore the history of some of the early types of mechanized farm
equipment at the Library of Congress website. Be sure to click on the equipment links to learn about
the purpose and use of each type of equipment.
Questions: What unique role did each piece of equipment play on the farm? What were some of the
important advantages of using mechanized farm equipment over horse-powered equipment? What
may have been some of the disadvantages? Why might it be difficult for farmers then and now to
upgrade to new equipment and technology for their farms?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
memory.loc.gov/ammem/award97/ndfahtml/ngp_farm.html
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Dry farming
Farming in the western territories called not only for new equipment but also for new techniques.
The dry climates of the West meant that either soils had to be irrigated or dry-farming methods
applied. Read this excerpt from chapter 20 of Dry-Farming: A System of Agriculture for Countries under
Low Rainfall.
“Dry Farming in a Nutshell
“Locate the dry-farm in a section with an annual precipitation of more than ten inches and, if
possible, with small wind movement. One man with four horses and plenty of machinery cannot
handle more than from 160 to 200 acres. Farm fewer acres and farm them better.
“Select a clay loam soil. Other soils may be equally productive, but are cultivated properly with
somewhat more difficulty.
“Make sure, with the help of the soil auger, that the soil is of uniform structure to a depth of at least
eight feet. If streaks of loose gravel or layers of hardpan are near the surface, water may be lost to the
plant roots.
“After the land has been cleared and broken let it lie fallow with clean cultivation, for one year. The
increase in the first and later crops will pay for the waiting.
“Always plow the land early in the fall, unless abundant experience shows that fall plowing is an
unwise practice in the locality. Always plow deeply unless the subsoil is infertile, in which case
plow a little deeper each year until eight or ten inches are reached. Plow at least once for each crop.
Spring plowing if practiced, should be done as early as possible in the season.
“Follow the plow, whether in the fall or spring, with the disk and that with the smoothing harrow,
if crops are to be sown soon afterward. If the land plowed in the fall is to lie fallow for the winter,
leave it in the rough condition, except in localities where there is little or no snow and the winter
temperature is high.
“Always disk the land in early spring, to prevent evaporation. Follow the disk with the harrow.
Harrow, or in some other way stir the surface of the soil after every rain. If crops are on the land,
harrow as long as the plants will stand it. If hoed crops, like corn or potatoes, are grown, use the
cultivator throughout the season. A deep mulch or dry soil should cover the land as far as possible
throughout the summer. Immediately after harvest disk the soil thoroughly.
“Destroy weeds as soon as they show themselves. A weedy dry-farm is doomed to failure.
“Give the land an occasional rest, that is, a clean summer fallow. Under a rainfall of less than fifteen
inches, the land should be summer fallowed every other year under an annual rainfall of fifteen
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to twenty inches, the summer fallow should occur every third or fourth year. Where the rainfall
comes chiefly in the summer, the summer fallow is less important in ordinary years than where the
summers are dry and the winters wet. Only an absolutely clean fallow should be permitted.
“The fertility of dry-farm soils must be maintained. Return the manure plow under green
leguminous crops occasionally and practice rotation. On fertile soils plants mature with the least
water.
“Sow only by the drill method. Wherever possible use fall varieties of crops. Plant deeply--three or
four inches for grain. Plant early in the fall, especially if the land has been summer fallowed. Use
only about one half as much seed as is recommended for humid-farming.
“All the ordinary crops may be grown by dry-farming. Secure seed that has been raised on dry-farms.
Look out for new varieties, especially adapted for dry-farming, that may be brought in. Wheat is king
in dry-farming corn a close second. Turkey wheat promises the best.
“Stock the dry-farm with the best modern machinery. Dry-farming is possible only because of the
modern plow, the disk, the drill seeder, the harvester, the header, and the thresher.
“Make a home on the dry-farm. Store the flood waters in a reservoir or pump the underground
waters, for irrigating the family garden. Set out trees, plant flowers, and keep some live stock.
“Learn to understand the reasons back of the principles of dry-farming, apply the knowledge
vigorously, and the crop cannot fail.
“Always farm as if a year of drouth [drought] were coming.”
Questions: How does the technique of dry farming impact the economies of the western states? Why
is this book on dry farming still used by farmers around the world today?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: John A. Widtsoe, Dry-Farming: A System of Agriculture for Countries under Low Rainfall [online].
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Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 12, Embedded Resource 1
Dr. Louise Stanley
Dr. Louise Stanley, first chief of the Bureau of Home Economics.
The USDA formed the Bureau of Home Economics in 1923. Dr. Louise
Stanley served as the first chief of the bureau. She had previously served as
chairman of the Home Economics Division at the University of Missouri.
During her time at the Bureau of Home Economics, Dr. Stanley worked
to apply scientific solutions to the day-to-day problems facing rural families. She is noted for her
scientific analyses of nutrition and for developing recommendations for healthy diets. Dr. Stanley
studied the nutritional needs of Americans during times of disaster, and also compiled estimates of
the foods Americans needed in order to have an adequate diet.
Questions: How is science used today to solve everyday problems? What aspects of your life are
influenced by scientific research?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: The Yearbook of Agriculture, 1962 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1962).
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
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County agents
This chart shows the number of counties with county
extension agents from 1904 to 1924.
“Extension was formalized in 1914, with the Smith-Lever
Act. It established the partnership between the agricultural
colleges and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide
for cooperative agricultural extension work. At the heart of
agricultural extension work, according to the Act, was:
--Developing practical applications of research knowledge.
--Giving instruction and practical demonstrations of existing or improved practices or technologies in
agriculture.”
Questions: Why did the number of counties with extension agents increase so dramatically during
these twenty years? What is the value of education to someone trying to support a family?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: William A. Loyd, County Agricultural Agent Work under the Smith-Lever Act, 1914–1924 (Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, 1926).
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Calvin Coolidge
President Calvin Coolidge served from 1923 to 1929.
“To many Americans, Calvin Coolidge embodied the frugality they sought
in their lives. The image he presented in numerous photographs and films
was that of a simple man who endorsed plain living. Pictures of him as a
rural Vermonter working in the fields of his family’s Plymouth Notch farm
emphasized traditional values and thriftiness and allayed popular anxieties
about excess and indulgence. It was an image that served him well and that
he actively promoted in his electoral and public-relations campaigns.
“In keeping with his image, Coolidge’s great policy concern was economy in government. He
assumed office in August 1923 upon the death of Warren G. Harding and served as president for
six years. During that time he concerned himself with such measures as paying off the national debt,
eliminating waste, and cutting taxes to stimulate capital investment. He also endorsed a business
climate in which advertising played a major role. He generally spoke and acted in ways that supported
business regardless of his private opinions, and viewed the federal government itself as a cost-conscious
business organization.”
Questions: Why have many presidents, like Coolidge, emphasized their rural roots? Is it the
responsibility of government to see that the economy prospers? Why or why not?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 1
Source: “The Coolidge Presidency,” Library of Congress [online].
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Inventing the radio
Italian Guglielmo Marconi and Canadian Reginald Fessenden are credited as two of the pioneers in
radio development. After years of development and experimentation, the first public radio broadcasts
took place in the 1920s. Visit the Federal Communications Commission website and answer the
following questions.
Questions: What impact did communications media such as radio have on farmers in rural areas?
How did the media help connect rural and urban inhabitants? What communication device do you
think still needs to be invented?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
fcc.gov/omd/history/radio/ideas.html
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Labor force
This chart shows the decline in the number of farm
workers from 1850 to 1920.
Questions: Why do you think these changes occurred?
What do the changes tell us about technological
advances? How do you think these changes affected
American communities during this period?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: History of American Agriculture, 1607-2000, U.S. Department of Agriculture [online].
Growing a Nation: Seeds of Change
Lesson 1: 1600-1929, Screen 12, Embedded Resource 6 (CD and online Version 2.0 only)
Nutrition
During the 1920s, the government became concerned about the nutrition of Americans. Watch the
following film to learn why the government was encouraging healthy eating.
Questions: How do the nutrition problems of the 1920s compare with those of today? How does
better nutrition help Americans?
Era 7: The Emergence of Modern America, Standard 3B
Source: Film Food Makes a Difference, 1931, courtesy of U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
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