History of Agricultural Education (Parts I & II)

Agricultural education has a rich and deep history.  Many professional within agricultural education do not have a full understanding of the historical roots of this profession.  An understanding of the events that have shaped agricultural education in the past can be helpful in predicting where it will go in the future.  Although a lengthy, this lesson is designed to familiarize you with some key moments in the history of agricultural education.  This is by no means a complete list.  Each of you is encouraged to investigate more deeply the events and individuals that have laid the foundation for our profession.

1. Describe how agricultural societies promoted the development of new knowledge in agriculture.

2. Describe the role of higher education in promoting scientific knowledge prior to 1862.

3.Describe the provisions of the Morrill Acts and their impact on agricultural education.

4. Describe the impact of the Hatch Act of 1887 on the development of agricultural and extension education.

5. Describe the provisions of the Smith-Lever Act.

6. Describe the provisions of the Smith-Hughes Act.

7. Describe the recommendations for agricultural education found in "Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education".
1.Read Thomas Wessel's article "Agriculture, Indians, and American History" from the January, 1976 issue of Agricultural History. Focus on the first part of the article.

2.Read William Brewer's article "Agricultural Societies, What They Are and What They Have Done.". This article was published in the Annual Report for 1880-81 of the Connecticut Board of Agriculture

3. The oldest agricultural society in the United States is the Philadelphia Society for Promoting Agriculture. It is still in existence today. Spend some time browsing their web site.

4. John Hillison of Virginia Tech believes agricultural societies might be the forerunner of the FFA. Read the paper he presented at the Southern Agricultural Education Research Conference in 2001 titled Agricultural Societies as Antecedents of the FFA  (you will need Adobe Acrobat to view this file).

5. Read "Reclaiming a Lost Heritage: AN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE LAND-GRANT UNIVERSITY SYSTEM"

6. Read Marcus's article "The Ivory Silo: Farmer-Agricultural College Tensions in the 1870s and 1880s" from Vol 60 No. 2 of Agricultural History.

7. Read the Morrill Act and the 2nd Morrill Act

8. Just who was Justin Morrill? What did he look like?

9. Want to know where all the land grant colleges are located? The USDA has maps showing the locations. 

10. Visit the NASULGC web site to learn what NASULGC is all about. If you have Adobe Acrobat (it is free and can be downloaded off the internet) you might want to browse the Kellogg Commission report on the future of the land grant college, Returning to Our Roots The Engaged Institution.

11. In 1995 the National Research Council published Colleges of Agriculture at the Land Grant Universities: A Profile. This book is on-line. You are not expected to read it. However, you might want to browse the table of contents and flip through some of the pages. Use this as a resource as needed.

12. Read the Hatch Act

13. Read Gary Moore's article "The Involvement of Experiment Stations in Secondary Agricultural Education, 1887-1917" from Vol. 62 No. 2 of Agricultural History.

14. Read the Moss and Lass article "A History of Farmers Institutes" from Vol 62 No. 2 of Agricultural History.

15. Read Gary Moore's article "The Status of Agricultural Education Prior to the Smith-Hughes Act" from Vol. 59 No.8 of The Agricultural Education Magazine. 

16. Visit the Virginia 4-H web site to learn about corn and canning clubs. The same types of things were happening around the country (just read the history section unless you desire to read more).

17. Read the Smith-Lever Act

18. Read the Smith-Hughes Act

19. The article "Smith, Hughes, Page, and Prosser" by William G. Camp from The Agricultural Education Magazine (Feb. 1987; Vol. 59; Num. 8) provides some insight into what went on behind the scenes to get the Smith-Lever and Smith-Hughes Act passed.

20. An article by Philip A. Grant Jr. titled "Senator Hoke Smith, Southern Congressmen, and Agricultural Education, 1914-1917" provides additional insight into the passage of the Smith-Lever and Smith-Hughes Act. This article is from Agricultural History; volume 60, number 2; Spring 1986.

21. "Charles A. Prosser and the Smith-Hughes Act" is the title of the article written by Arthur G. Wirth. This article should round out your knowledge of this important act.

22. In 1988 the National Research Council released a study titled "Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education." While you are not expected the read the entire document, you should read the executive summary and other sections that might interest you. This document did have an impact on the direction of agricultural education
1. After completing the above readings, summarize the development of agricultural education in America.  This assignment may be somewhat lengthy, but please limit your response to no more than 5-10 pages.

2. Critique the degree to which agricultural education is meeting the mandates set forth by the National Research Council's 1988 publication "Understanding Agriculture: New Directions for Education."  Write a brief paper outlining your thoughts.

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