18th century Civic and intellectual leaders in colonial and revolutionary America copy the aristocratic and fashionable Europe interest in agriculture, science, and commerce, and form societies to promote these interests 1785 The Philadelphia Society for the Promotion of Agriculture and other rural concerns are organized 1794 Whiskey Rebellion, a farmers' revolt against taxes on grain in whiskey 1810 First American agricultural periodical, the Agricultural Museum, begins publication 1819 The American Farmer and the Plough Boy periodicals begin publication 1820s Agricultural periodicals begin to express rural issues 1822 First issue of the New England Farmer 1825-50 Some schools and colleges begin to offer courses in agriculture and in sciences helpful to agriculture 1826 Lyceum movement begins in Massachusetts 1828 First issue of the New York Farmer; Southern Agriculturist 1830s Public school movement gains momentum 1830-60 Popular and agricultural education is the most prominent rural issue of this period, especially in the North 1831 First issue of the Genesee Farmer 1834 First issue of the Cultivator 1840 Agricultural journalism becomes permanently established, with about 30 farm journals and a total circulation of more than 100,000 1841 Union Agriculturist and Western Prairie Farmer start publication 1850 Jonathan Turner begins to campaign for industrial universities 1855 Michigan and Pennsylvania pass legislation providing for establishment of Michigan Agricultural College and the Farmers High School, later Pennsylvania State College 1862 The drive for agricultural education culminates in the passage of the Morrill Land Grant College Act 1870s Many State colleges of agriculture begin experimental work 1874 Chautauqua system founded in New York 1875 Agricultural experiment stations established in Connecticut and California 1887 15 States have formally organized experiment stations; Hatch Experiment Station Act 1890s Development of secondary agricultural education in local areas and by State 1890 Second Morrill Act broadens land-grant program and sets up funding for Black land-grant schools 1893 49 experiment stations exist under the Hatch Act 1900 First corn club for boys, forerunner of 4-H clubs 1903 Seaman Knapp begins boll-weevil demonstration project, an inspiration for extension education 1914 Smith-Lever Extension Act passed. Establishment of the federal-state Extension Service was a major step in direct education for farmers 1917 Smith-Hughes Vocational Education Act passed 1920 31,000 students enrolled in agricultural courses 1924 Clark-McNary Act provides for forestry extension work 1925 Purnell Act provides for economic and sociological research to be carried out by the experiment stations 1925-45 Basic research done in land-grant colleges lays groundwork for second agricultural revolution 1928 Future Farmers of America founded 1935 Bankhead-Jones Agricultural Research Act more than doubles Federal support of extension work 1940 584,000 students enrolled in agricultural courses 1941 Extension agents work in every rural county in the country, including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico 1946-54 Land-grant college enrollment increases greatly as veterans enroll under G.I. bill 1958 National Defense Education Act 1964 Antipoverty programs lead to expansion of extension education programs in inner cities 1970 853,000 students enrolled in agricultural courses 1974 Agreement between USDA and land-grant colleges establishes Council on International Science and Education 1980s Enrollments in colleges of agriculture drop in wake of the farm crisis 1985 USDA scientists indicate that agricultural chemicals infiltrate ground water more than previously thought 1990s Distance education becomes an increasingly important way to make cooperative research and extension resources accessible   Next Category >>
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