agriculture – Opening America's Archives

Agricultural Booklet: “Know Georgia’s Products”

Anna Primary Source Set 10 June 26, 2018June 29, 2018agriculture, post-WWII, SS8H9, technology

Population in the rural areas saw a sharp decline after WWII. Nearly 28,000 families left farming between 1945 and 1950. Although the number of farms decreased the average size of Georgia farms increased. Improvements in farming technology and techniques made farming more efficient. Farmers were encouraged to diversify their crops, prevent soil erosion, and experiment with new methods and products. Mules and plows were replaced by tractors and other motorized equipment.

“Know Georgia’s Products: Key to a New Economy.” Public Service Announcement sponsored by Rich’s Atlanta. 1946. From the Georgia Historical Society Vertical Files, Agriculture – Pamphlets Collection.

“Agriculture in Georgia” Advertising Pamphlet

Anna Primary Source Set 10 June 26, 2018June 29, 2018agriculture, post-WWII, SS8H10

Population in the rural areas saw a sharp decline after WWII. Nearly 28,000 families left farming between 1945 and 1950. Although the number of farms decreased the average size of Georgia farms increased. Improvements in farming technology and techniques made farming more efficient. From the pamphlet, what did you notice that might be helping farming develop and change since the late nineteenth century? How does this change the population of farmers?

“Agriculture in Georgia.” Atlanta : Agricultural and Industrial Development Board, 1948. From the Georgia Historical Society Rare Pamphlet Collection. F291 .G312 1948

The Mexican cotton boll weevil

Anna Primary Source Set 8 June 25, 2018June 29, 2018agriculture, Great Depression, post-WWI, SS8H8

The boll weevil took up residence in Georgia’s cotton fields between 1915 and the early 1990s and the infestation made cotton production unprofitable. This booklet, created by the Georgia State Board of Entomology in 1916, offered farmers some insight into the boll weevil infestation.

Mexican Boll Weevil Pamphlet — Boll Weevil Map From “The Mexican cotton boll weevil” Georgia State Board of Entomology, 1916. From the Georgia Historical Society Rare Pamphlet Collection.

Boll Weevil diagrams From “The Mexican cotton boll weevil” Georgia State Board of Entomology, 1916. From the Georgia Historical Society Rare Pamphlet Collection.

Photo of sharecroppers cotton picking ca. 1880

Anna Primary Source Set 7 June 22, 2018African-American History, agriculture, New South, sharecropping, SS8H7

This is a photograph of African-American cotton pickers in Georgia’s New South economy. Many of these workers lived on the property of white landowners and in many ways acted and lived in the same way as they had in Antebellum Georgia–often in the same slave shacks as their enslaved ancestors.

Click here to read the item description in the GHS catalog.

“The South and Her Problems” by Henry Grady

Anna Primary Source Set 7 June 22, 2018June 25, 2018agriculture, New South, SS8H7

“The South and Her Problems" is a speech by Henry Grady, given on October 26, 1887.

Henry Grady was one of the most celebrated and prominent figures in “New South” Georgia. Grady promoted the ideas of the “New South” as editor of the Atlanta Constitution and helped organize the first International Cotton Exposition in 1881.

“The South and her Problems” by Henry Grady. From the Georgia Historical Society Manuscript Collection.

Excerpts from Official Guide to the Cotton States and International Exposition.

Anna Primary Source Set 7 June 22, 2018agriculture, economy, New South, SS8H7

Housed in the rare book collection of the Georgia Historical Society, this guide was used by attendees of the 1895 Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia. The guidebook includes an introduction to the organization and purpose of the exhibit, a description of each exhibit, general information on Atlanta for visitors, and advertisements from local businesses and organizations. This primary source set includes selected pages from the guidebook.

Click here to read the PDF of the Guide