Figure 1.--Here we see an fairy farmer in 1908. This was the same year that Hennry Ford began producing yh Model T-Ford. Cars, trucks, abnd tractors woukd bery rapidly begin replacing horses in both cities and farms leading to huge inceases in productivity and demographic and culturl shifts that would transform America.

America by the turn of the 20th century had become the most important industrial power in the world. It was also the leading producer of agricurural commodituies. And despite the rappudlky expanding ndutry, mist Amnriucns still lived on fams abd in rural aeas. For most countries developments on farms had little impact on other countries, even neighboring countries. Not so America. America is an exceptional country which the Europeans already knew. Thus is why millions of Europeans came to America. What the Europeans did not know at the beginning of the decade waa that American farmers would save millions of lives throughout the continent. American agriculture expanded in the 19th century primarily by exoanding the area of land under cultivation. By 1900 the huge increases would come to an end. The lsnd undercultivtion increased 5 percent in the 1900s. [U.S. Census, 1910.] This was, however, was relatively small invcease coompred to the 19th century decades. There was concern that popultion was increasing faster than food production, but developments in the 1900s would raducally increase productivity. The problem the Amerricn farmer woukd face in the 20th century would ver production. From now on increased agricultural productioin would have to come from improved productivity. Some of hic could come from imcreased improvemnt and cropping. [Coulter, p. 8.] Important resrrch was being conducted in agricuktural technology at land grabt universities. Of special intest was George Washington Carver, director of agricultural research at Tuskegee Institute. He did pioneeing reserach finding new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, making imprtant prigress in diversify southern agriculture (1900s). Congress passed the Reclamation Act facilitating irrigation projects (1902). Another major milesone was Congress passing the Food and Drug Act, commiting the Federal Government to badly needed action in food safety (1906). President Roosevelt established a Country Life Commission which began to assess many rural issues (1908). At the beggining of the decade, the farmer was still deondant on horse powser. There had been considerable medchaniztion , but mostly still with hotsepower. A virtually unknown automobile mnufcturer, Henry Ford, began producing the Model-T Ford Tin Lizzie (1908). It was a game changer, he designed a car the average wotrker coukd zfford and then mass oproduced it. American was already the greatest indutria power on earth, the automobile turmed Ameriuca into an industrial giant far beyond the output of the major European powers. There woud was, however, very significant consequence for rural America. Motorized cars, trucks, and tractors began replcing horses leading to a huge increase in productivity. This would significntly increase the productivity of the American farmer. The atomobile would signiicantly reduced the isoltion of rural America significantly increasing mobility.

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Created: 4:42 AM 8/24/2021
Last updated: 4:42 AM 8/24/2021