GREENWICH, N.Y. — 4-H is an organization that has played a role in the development of youth for over a century. In honor of National 4-H Week happening October 1-7, take a look back at some of the highlights of 4-H’s history.
The beginnings of 4-H can be found in the passage of the Morrill Act of 1862. The Morrill Act created the land grand system which established universities dedicated to agricultural training and research. A second Morrill Act passed in 1890 established more colleges, mainly schools that are now Historically Black Colleges & Universities. These new universities were conducting agricultural research and discovering new products and practices such as milk sanitation and corn seed hybrids. However, schools were having a hard time disseminating their findings because farmers were often unwilling to adopt these new findings.
While more seasoned farmers were distrusting of their findings, researchers found that younger people were usually more interested and willing to try these new ideas. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries there were concerns that rural students were not receiving adequate agricultural education. Many felt that their education was not connecting well to the lifestyle of the rural areas where they lived. To bridge this gap, researchers and teachers brought their new ideas and findings to public schools and communities by forming youth clubs that taught various aspects of farming, including the universities’ new discoveries.
There is not a definitive founder or founding date of 4-H. The group emerged from many youth clubs that formed at similar times but in different places in the U.S. 1902 is typically considered to be the beginning year of 4-H since several clubs were formed that year. A.B. Graham, a school principal in Clark County, Ohio began a youth program in early 1902 with the help of Ohio Agricultural Experiment Station and Ohio State University. Not long after Graham’s group was formed clubs were started in Winnebago County, Illinois by O.J. Kern, Wright County, Iowa by O.H. Benson, and Page County Iowa by Jessie Field Shambaugh.
Most of these early clubs were project-based focusing on a particular crop, animal, or skill. Because of this they had names like “Corn Club,” “Cow Club,” or “Canning Club.” The main goal of these clubs was to have children learn about a subject by doing it themselves. Students would learn about the subject in a group setting and then try it themselves at home. For instance, students might raise a pig or cow, or grow a plot of corn using the knowledge they learned. At the end of a growing season fairs were sometimes held to display the students’ work throughout the year. In some ways children brought home knowledge from the club and taught their parents how to implement those skills and practices on their own farms.
In 1910 Jessie Field Shambaugh designed the recognizable 4-H clover emblem. Originally, the emblem consisted of a three-leafed clover signifying the group’s “H” values of head, hands, and heart. A little later a fourth “H” hustle was added. Eventually the fourth “H” was changed to health establishing the four values that exist today. By 1912 clubs were calling themselves 4-H clubs.
The Smith-Lever Act passed in 1914 created the cooperative extension service connected to land grant universities helping them educate rural Americans in ag-related subjects. 4-H groups became incorporated into the cooperative extension system which helped further establish and spread 4-H across the U.S. Throughout the 1920s 4-H became more organized creating requirements for clubs, determining 4-H leaders’ duties, and clarifying curriculums.
In 1927 the 4-H pledge was penned by a Kansas 4-H leader named Otis Hall. The pledge was adopted at the first National 4-H Camp held that year in Washington, D.C. The pledge spelled out what 4-H stood for and the ideals that 4-H members were to aspire to saying:
I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
My heart to greater loyalty,
My hands to larger service,
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world.
The pledge has remained largely unchanged to this day except for the phrase “and my world” which was added to the last line in 1973.
In the 1930s 4-H clubs grew to offer a wider variety of projects that kids could participate in. Girls could participate in subjects related to home economics such as clothing, food & nutrition, and home management & improvement. For boys, field and trade subjects like soil conservation, electricity, tractors & machinery, and ag production projects were added.
With the outbreak of United States involvement in World War II in 1941 the focus of 4-H turned to supporting the war effort. Much of the organization’s efforts revolved around increasing food production. In its “Feed a Fighter” campaign and similar campaigns 4-Hers were encouraged to use their projects to grow larger yields or raise more livestock. 4-H played a big role in the Victory Garden movement which planted home and community gardens to produce more home-grown food. Other efforts from 4-H club members included participating as Victory Farm Volunteers, conducting recycling drives, clothing making, increasing canning efforts, and purchasing war bonds. With its war-related activity 4-H membership grew from 650,000 members in 1942 to over 1.6 million through the course of the war.
In the post-war years 4-H continued to grow both domestically and internationally. The National 4-H Center opened in Washington, D.C. in 1959 serving as a national headquarters for the group and offering trainings and experiences for youth, leaders, and volunteers. President Dwight Eisenhower attended the Center’s dedication ceremony. In 1948 the first International Youth Farm Exchange occurred with a group of American 4-Hers visiting Europe and a group Europeans coming the United States. This program enabled farm youth to experience the culture and agriculture of a foreign country, and it still exists today. By 1953 4-H clubs were established in 23 countries in Europe, Asia, and Latin America. By 1965 this number grew to 76 countries on five continents.
The 1960s and 1970s 4-H made changes to be more inclusive as an organization. The influence of the Civil Rights Movement led the organization to implement measures to integrate clubs based on race and gender. Changes were also made to programs so that 4-H could reach kids from urban communities as well as those in rural settings.
These kinds of changes were a part of other organizational changes the group made in the latter half of the 20th century. In a more interconnected world, 4-H altered its aim to the personal development of youth by building life skills to make them productive members of society and catalysts for change. While remaining devoted to agriculture and ag youth, 4-H has expanded into other areas of interest such as technology, arts, health & fitness, and more to reach more youth.
Today millions of youths worldwide are involved in 4-H. 4-H offers four main program areas to kids today: STEM, Agriculture, Healthy Living, and Civic Engagement. Though more broad in its offerings, 4-H remains committed to teaching through “hands-on” experiences whether that be showing animals at a fair, cooking meals, growing a garden, building robots, and so much more!
Chandler Hansen grew up and lives in Easton, NY. He is a graduate of Gordon College where he earned a bachelor’s degree in History. He serves as a writer and editor for Morning Ag Clips.
