Agriculture in America:History Summarized

King Cotton

• Cotton played a HUGE role in the history of our country

King Cotton

• Cotton was the second largest cash crop in the U.S. until the Civil War

• 2 main types of cotton– Sea Island Cotton– Upland Cotton

Sea Island Cotton

• Thrived along the coasts of Georgia and Florida

Upland Cotton

• Encompassed the inlands of the colonies– Majority of cotton grown in early America

• THE PROBLEM: – Upland cotton fibers were difficult to

separate from the seeds and chaff– By hand, it took one man an entire day to

separate separate the seeds and debris from ONE POUND of cotton

Upland Cotton

• THE SOLUTION:

• In 1794, Eli Whitney invented the Cotton Engine (Cotton Gin)

Cotton Gin

• How it works:• Insert cotton and turn handle• Inside is a cylinder encompassed with

metal teeth that separates the fibers from the seeds and scrap

Cotton Gin

• The good:– The cotton industry in America exploded– By the mid-1850s, the US was growing

about ¾ of the world’s cotton supply– A modern cotton gin can now process a

THOUSAND pounds of cotton per day

Cotton Gin

• The bad:– Growth of slavery

• Higher demand for cotton meant higher demand for slaves to pick the cotton in the fields

Wheat Reaper• In 1831, Cyrus McCormick invented the

horse-drawn wheat reaper• Much faster and easier than cutting

wheat by hand• Quiz: What device was used to cut

wheat prior to the invention of the reaper?

• Answer: The scythe

scythe

Agriculture in the 1860s

• An estimated 58% of Americans were farmers. Today?...– Today, less than 2% of Americans are

farmers• About 2/3 of America’s population lived

in the Northern states. Why?...– resources– Industrialization

The Civil War• America elects Abraham Lincoln as

President in 1860• Lincoln aimed to end slavery, but the

southern states refused• On April 12th, 1861, confederate forces

fired upon Fort Sumter in South Carolina– Beginning of the Civil War

The Civil War• On April 9th, 1865, the confederacy

surrendered• Effect on Agriculture

– Many farmers left their farms unattended to fight in the war

– When they returned to their farms, many of them laid in ruin

The Civil War• Effect of Agriculture

– Plantations in the south that were very large lost their labor force (slaves)

– As a result, it had 2 major impacts:• Southern farms were forced to downsize• And were forced to start planting different types

of crops that required less human labor

Westward Expansion

• 1803 – President Thomas Jefferson purchases the Louisiana Purchase from France

• Doubled the size of the U.S.

Cattle Industry

• Cattle in the newly discovered West were raised on the prairies

• Cowboys attended to the herds• The problem:

– Proximity to markets• The solution:

Landscape of the “West”

• What did the land in the Louisiana Purchase look like?

• Large prairies covered in native grasses• Ideal for raising cattle

Expansion of the railroads• The first transcontinental line of the

railroad was finally completed in 1869• Provided cattlemen a way to get their

cattle to the market• Railheads – stations along the railroad

where cowboys could drive their cattle and load them on a train– Abilene, Kansas – one of the most

important early railheads

Cattle Drives

Cattle production in the West• In 1874, Joseph Farwell Glidden

patented “Thorny fence” – more commonly known as barbed wire

• This invention changed the landscape of livestock farming – Cattlemen stopped raising cattle on the

open prairie and settled in one particular area surrounded by fences

Barbed Wire• Allowed for greater control of livestock

• Kept cattle inside the fence

• Kept other animals outside the fence

One more problem• With the expansion of the railroads,

cattlemen could get their cattle to market

• BUT………• On the way to slaughter plants in the

East, cattle trampled each other– Death loss– Bruising– Crippling injuries

The Solution• Gustavus Swift

– Meat packer from Chicago– Decided to have livestock slaughtered in

Chicago and have the edible parts shipped to the East chilled

– In 1878, he hired engineer Andrew Chase to design a Refrigerated Rail Car

Refrigerated Rail Cars• Refrigerated cars existed since before

1860 but were not functional in warm weather

• How it worked:– Fans blew air over blocks of ice to cool the

car– Ice was positioned at the top of the car so

the cool air could flow downward naturally– Had better insulation than previous models

Refrigerated Rail Cars• Impact on meat/livestock industry

– eliminated death loss during transportation– higher profits for producers– lower prices for comsumers

Legislation’s effect on agriculture

Morrill Act – 1862“Land Grant College Act”

• Established land-grant colleges– ONE IN EVERY STATE

• Agriculture & Mechanic Arts emphasized• Established for the common person• Agricultural College of Pennsylvania,

better known now as Penn State

Hatch Act - 1887

• Established agricultural experiment stations

• Provided a scientific basis for what was taught in the land-grant colleges

2nd Morrill Act - 1890

• Established land-grant colleges in southern states for minorities

• Provided additional funding for land grant colleges

Smith-Lever Act (1914)

• Established the Cooperative Extension Service

• http://extension.psu.edu/lancaster

Smith-Hughes Act (1917)

– Established vocational education in public schools

Smith-Hughes Details

• Provided federal funds to support the teaching of vocational agriculture, home economics and trade and industrial education

• Provide money to train vocational teachers• Established a Federal Board for Vocational

Education

Smith-Hughes Funding• Specific amounts of money were allocated to

each vocational discipline:– Agricultural appropriations were based on each

state’s rural population– Home economics appropriations were based on

each state’s urban population– Trade and industrial appropriations were based on

each state’s urban population• There was to be a 50-50 federal-state match

on all salaries

Smith-Hughes - Agriculture

– “...that such schools shall provide for directed or supervised practice in agriculture, either on a farm provided for by the school or other farm, for at least six months per year”• This was interpreted to mean that each student

(including adults) is to have a “project” (crops or livestock).

• If the teacher is to supervise it, then the teacher will need to be employed during the summer. This is the basis for 12 month employment of agriculture teachers.

Memorandum of Understanding

• In 1918 a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was established between federal officials responsible for vocational agriculture and for extension.

• FFA/Ag Ed vs. 4-H/County Extension• This MOU was revised from time to time.• A brief description of each program was

provided, then specific duties of each were outlined.

Ag Ed Enrollments

0

50000

100000

150000

200000

250000

300000

350000

1918 1923 1928 1933 1938 1943 1948

DayPart-TimeEvening

Post-war era:Moving forward

Vocational Education Act of 1963

• This was a MAJOR piece of federal legislation. It replaced the Smith-Hughes Act.

• Categorical funding for specific vocational disciplines such as agricultural education was abolished.– Funding went to states on the basis of their

population in certain age categories– States decided how to spend the money

Vocational Education Act of 1963

• Expanded the scope of agricultural education to include all areas of agriculture, not just farming. *****– No longer required “supervised practice on a

farm”. The idea was to expand the scope of Supervised Agricultural Experience (SAE)

– However, some states misinterpreted the wording and cut SAE from Ag Ed completely

• Expanded the scope of home economics education to include all areas of home economics, not just homemaking.

Vocational Education Act of 1963

• States had to submit plans for what they planned to do

• Eliminated federal supervision/control of vocational programs

• Funding for vocational education was substantially increased

Carl Perkins Act (1984)

• This was the most significant rewrite of vocational education legislation since 1963.

• Two broad themes– Accessibility to all persons– Improve the quality

Carl Perkins Act (1984)

• Fifty-seven (57) percent of state funds were allocated to special populations - vocational education was to be accessible to everyone– handicapped (10%)– disadvantaged (10%)– adult retraining (12%)– single parents and homemakers (8 1/2%)– sex bias & stereotyping (3 1/2%)– incarcerated (1%)

Perkins II (1990)

• The Carl Perkins Act is rewritten• Special populations is still a major focus • Money can be used to support existing

programs• Academic and vocational

education was to be integrated• Articulation between secondary and post-

secondary institutions

Perkins III (1996)

• This is the legislation vocational education is currently operating under

• The purpose of this Act is to develop more fully the academic, vocational, and technical skills of secondary students and post-secondary students who elect to enroll in vocational and technical education programs

• Larger focus on Agriscience