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B. 1864 D. 1934
Teacher and Agriculturalist
Because he was the Peanut Man
George Washington Carver was a man who saved the poor and helped improve traditional agriculture. He invented many different products using crops and showed farmers a more sustainable way to farm. He saved farmers from starvation, helped the struggling southern economy, and left a lasting impact on the world.
Dr. Carver was very influential in the field of agriculture, changing how farmers grew crops for the better. He was able to convince farmers to be able to grow peanuts with his “300 uses for peanuts”. This success led him to further pursue his career in peanuts, discovering coffee, cookies, and bread, all involving peanuts (Kaufman). George’s ability to figure out different methods to keep the relevance of peanuts alive throughout his career shows an impeccable work ethic. Being a person of color at the time and persuading people to listen to the idea, let alone follow through with doing it, was a big feat for someone to accomplish. Even though he was known as the peanut man, he helped out the economy in other ways with his agricultural skills. “Dr. Carver and others encouraged farmers to restore nitrogen to their soils through systematic crop rotation – helping the region to recover” (“History”). He was once again able to resolve a major issue, but this time with his team in Alabama. He also helped encourage different farming methods and newly developed tools. With all of the former slaves in the south and with people of color leaving that life behind and trying to make a road for themselves in farming, Carver ultimately showed them a pathway into the industry, showing them that there are still things to be discovered and that success drives in the person. Not with what they have or with what they started (“A Mighty”). Being the beacon of light for some people, Carver changed the industry not only with developments or with new ideas, but with helping upcoming farmers find their way. Especially people of color. He was truly a savior for people during this time because of everyone immigrating to America from European countries. This is important because everyone became a farmer at the time.
Dr. Carver was very influential in the field of agriculture, changing how farmers grew crops for the better. He was able to convince farmers to be able to grow peanuts with his “300 uses for peanuts”. This success led him to further pursue his career in peanuts, discovering coffee, cookies, and bread, all involving peanuts (Kaufman). George’s ability to figure out different methods to keep the relevance of peanuts alive throughout his career shows an impeccable work ethic. Being a person of color at the time and persuading people to listen to the idea, let alone follow through with doing it, was a big feat for someone to accomplish. Even though he was known as the peanut man, he helped out the economy in other ways with his agricultural skills. “Dr. Carver and others encouraged farmers to restore nitrogen to their soils through systematic crop rotation – helping the region to recover” (“History”). He was once again able to resolve a major issue, but this time with his team in Alabama. He also helped encourage different farming methods and newly developed tools. With all of the former slaves in the south and with people of color leaving that life behind and trying to make a road for themselves in farming, Carver ultimately showed them a pathway into the industry, showing them that there are still things to be discovered and that success drives in the person. Not with what they have or with what they started (“A Mighty”). Being the beacon of light for some people, Carver changed the industry not only with developments or with new ideas, but with helping upcoming farmers find their way. Especially people of color. He was truly a savior for people during this time because of everyone immigrating to America from European countries. This is important because everyone became a farmer at the time.
Furthermore, George Washington Carver used his intellect to help the impoverished farmers of the south escape hardship. When helping farmers,” Carver sought to make his findings accessible to the communities around him. He put plain-language information and instructions into bulletins that were distributed widely, and he took the Jesup Wagon to farms and public spaces, demonstrating farming and composting techniques, cooking, canning” (“A Mighty”). This proves that George Washington Carver was trying to make the information available to the people that needed it. He was not selling it for payment, because it would only benefit the wealthy farmers. Carver chose to help the poor economy and people. With his expertise in agriculture, he taught the farmers to use compost instead of spending money on fertilizer. Along with that he showed them how to put peanuts and sweet potatoes to use and gave black farmers the means to stay on the land (Kaufman). This evidence demonstrates how he helped the farmers be able to live a better life and how he revived the agricultural economy of the south. He helped reduce starvation and provide farmers improvement in their lives. The tobacco and cotton farmers had extremely dry and infertile land. He used his knowledge of soil to help farmers develop a crop rotation to resupply minerals and essential elements into the soil which helped the farming soil restore (“History”). This section shows how he used his genius to benefit others and permanently change these people. George Washington Carver was genuinely a genius that saved the struggling south.
Even after the genius eventually died, many of his creations and research continued to be used. He made alternatives to non-renewable resources that could be grown: “... helping farmers and his country by making biobased products -- industrial products made from renewable resources rather than from finite petroleum supplies. In the process of laying the groundwork for a future plant-dependent economy rather than a petroleum-dependent one” (Erbach and Flora). The idea of moving from petroleum to something more renewable has grown exponentially, as our economy and agriculture methods are still advancing based on Carver’s vision. His ideas then are what gave scientists and agriculturalists new ideas for renewable products instead of the continuous use of resources that will ultimately run out. More importantly, he created the field of chemurgy in which he was able to utilize the organic materials of sweet potatoes, peanuts, and soybeans to make things like fuel, laundry soap, shaving cream, and rubber. With Henry Ford by his side, he created biofuels (“A Mighty”). Carver looked towards how he could make a better future with replacements that can be renewed. These unique replacements were what sparked interest for many people looking to be in the same field that he was. George Washington Carver was set on making a better future by improving the lives of people currently struggling: “Carver’s inventions and research solved this problem and helped struggling sharecroppers in the South, many of them formerly enslaved now faced with necessary cultivation” (“Inventions”). His creations were made to show people how different crops could be profitable. He greatly expanded the farming economy in the South to the point that we now have a much wider variety of domestically grown products today.
George Washington Carver greatly improved the lives of farmers, showed that his knowledge of the craft was ahead of his time by inventing many uses for peanuts, and helped shape our world into what it is today. He further impacted the world by providing people with knowledge through Tuskegee University and his research. Carver continued this trend of researching and helping people until his death, shaking the world of agriculture for as long as he lived.
Matthew Noll, Eli Bukovac, Giovanni Valenti, Sebastian Villalba
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