Agriculture in America: History Summarized

Upland Cotton Encompassed the inlands of the colonies THE PROBLEM: 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

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 Smith 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 and Mechanic Arts were emphasized Established for the common person University of Nebraska - Lincoln

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

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 - 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.