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www.rogerknapp.com Established 1997 |
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www.rogerknapp.com Established 1997 |
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4-H History
Introduction
4-H didn't start at any one time 4-H or place, but has developed according to needs of people. It is the result of the work of many people in different parts of the United States. 4-H is a combination of the efforts of people concerned about young people and its early history is an example of it's cooperative nature. The characteristics of 4-H are unique. From its inception, it tied both public and private resources together for the purpose of helping young people.
Turn-of-the-Century America
Throughout the nineteenth century, rural America set the social tone for the country. As the century turned, the rugged individualism, tempered by the obligations of neighborliness that characterized the settlement of America was seen as a residue of the past. Young people were moving to cities, drawn by the potential for jobs. They saw no future in laboring behind a plow. Rural America began to lose its young people. Although agricultural prosperity was a characteristic of the turn of the century, the atmosphere of economic prosperity was darkened by the nagging concern for the future generation of rural children.
Contributing Factors
It is important to note that there were two forces that generated the idea of 4-H work. One was the concern for education in rural areas. The beginnings of the 4-H idea of practical or applied educational principles resulted from concern regarding the relevance of public schools to country life. The Morrill Act of 1862 created the land-grant university system dedicated to general education and the improvement of agriculture and mechanical arts. A principle not then being used in public schools.
The second was concern for advancing agricultural technology. Agricultural production technology was being researched at Experiment Stations established as part of the Land-Grant system. The farming community did not readily accept new ideas and techniques.
An Idea Takes Root
Unlike most of the popular and enduring ideas of the time, 4-H was not the result of an idea of a recognized national leader nor the result of a charismatic personality. Here and there, among farm families, agricultural scientists, school teachers, administrators and concerned citizens scattered the seeds that took root as 4-H.
The following time line shows some of the people and experiences that shaped the 4-H movement:
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1911 | ![]() ![]() |
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1905 to 1914 | ![]() ![]() |
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1914 | ![]() ![]() |
Girl's Programs
While much of the work being done with young people focused on boys and the corn clubs, work with girls focused on home skills like sewing and baking. Knapp was not opposed to girls clubs but was leery of dissipating the limited resources available. He did authorize work modeled after the corn clubs with focus on a single project. In 1909, Martin advocated and outlined a proposal for establishing tomato canning clubs. In 1910, Marie S. Cromer of Aiken County, SC, organized a club, using material supplied by the USDA. At the same time, Ella G. Agnew was establishing girls' canning clubs in Virginia. She was the first woman agent appointed by USDA for farmers' cooperative demonstration work. By 1912, 23,000 canning clubs had been organized.
The establishment of girls' clubs raised philosophical questions about club work conducted up to that time. The principle emphasis in boys' club work until 1910 had been on finding a means of conveying new agricultural techniques from the experiment stations and land-grant colleges to farm operation. The basic program was to improve agricultural techniques and increase production or shift production of other crops. Girls' clubs, confined to canning, sewing, baking, and the like, had no such technological goals. Teaching safe and efficient methods of preserving food was a sufficient goal in itself. However, the canning clubs quickly took on a character different from boys' corn clubs. Girls began as demonstrators of canning techniques, but soon looked at the entire role of women in the home and community. Girls' clubs worked to help women develop self confidence and a sense of community responsibility, an idea later incorporated into all clubs work.
1917 | ![]() ![]() |
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1921 | ![]() |
Additions to Club Work
From the beginning of 4-H, out-of-state trips have been a great attraction to members. Trips have been used for many years to reward 4-H'ers for their hard work and effort. Trips also serve the 4-H program to help participants gain knowledge, information, and ideas, then bring those attributes back to benefit the home community. In 1911 and 1912, several winners in corn, garden, and canning clubs were awarded trips to Washington, D.C. In 1915, 43 county winners and one state winner in corn clubs each won a trip to the Panama Pacific Exposition at San Francisco. Beef winners in 1916 won trips to the International Livestock Exposition in Chicago. Pig club members were awarded similar trips in 1917. A team of Iowa Canning Club girls won a national canning contest in 1922. For their achievements, they were awarded a trip to France where they gave canning demonstrations.
Exchanges became a part of the educational experience. In 1940 a group of New-York City high school youth visited Iowa for a week. The primary purpose was to give the city youth an insight into farm life and to broaden their outlook on the need for rural-urban relations. In 1948 a group of American young people went to Europe and a group of Europeans came to the United States on the first International Farm Youth Exchange. Out-of-state trips and international exchanges have been highly educational for hundreds of young people in 4-H.
Today
In recent years the 4-H program has been experiencing two significant trends. One involves a more precise recognition that the basic purpose of 4-H centers on personal growth of the member. By using 4-H projects as important vehicles for achievements and growth, 4-Hers are able to build life skills they can use the rest of their lives. Life skills are built into 4-H projects, and often activities and events, that help participants become contributing, productive, self-directed members of a forward-moving society. 4-H educational experiences are built around life skills that center on positive self esteem, communication, and decision making. Citizenship and leadership skills, learning how to learn, and the ability to cope with change also are an important part of 4-H educational. programs.
The second trend was toward program and organizational coordination, combining the girls' 4-H organization and the boys' 4-H organization into a single integrated program. The program also incorporates life skills development into an expanding number of delivery modes. In addition to the core 4-H community club model, youth may participate through urban groups, community resource development, special interest groups, EFNEP nutrition programs, school enrichment, camping, and interagency learning experiences.
Today, 4-H offers youth opportunities in communications, leadership, career development, livestock, home improvement, and computer technology. Programs are found in rural and urban areas throughout the world. The program is instrumental in building life skills in youth and making our communities better places to live and work. 4-H will continue to grow and develop with the head, heart, hands, and health of youth around the world.
Postscript
One of the astounding achievements in American agriculture, moved technological and scientific advances from the laboratory and test plot to practicing farmers and homemakers more rapidly than anywhere else in the world. 4-H and the Extension Service were largely responsible for that achievement.
While most institutions in the United States moved toward central management in the 20th century, 4-H remained largely a federally organized group with state and local organizations having as much or more authority than those at the national level. Consensus probably best defines the administrative system of 4-H. With its unique county, state, and federal governance, consensus-building is imperative, if sometimes frustrating. However, the absence of well-defined consensus did not, nor does not, prevent advancement in 4-H. Individual counties or states can pursue their own programs, influence others to join them and often derive consensus in time. Because of the decentralized nature of 4-H, it is difficult to say accurately that 4-H is pursuing or failing to pursue a particular emphasis. In nearly every case, an example can be found of a county or state deeply involved in a program long before there is any national recognition. Just as frequently, nationally initiated programs often become the possession of local 4-H groups and are administered as best fits local conditions. Even in training programs that appear to have national initiative and leadership, training materials often originate in a state and are adopted nationally. Ultimately 4-H has relied on a remarkable number of people of goodwill throughout its history.
During its first 80 years, 4-H changed from an organization primarily concerned with improving agriculture production and food preservation to one dedicated to the development of young people.