4-H
4-H is a national youth development program administered by the Cooperative Extension System under the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and United States Department of Agriculture. 4-H provides educational opportunities for youth related to agriculture, STEM, healthy living, and civic engagement. The name of 4-H refers to the organization's focus on developing four personal qualities among youth: Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The mission of 4-H is "to provide meaningful opportunities for all youth and adults to work together to create sustainable community change." 4-H is the United States' largest youth development organization with over six million members nationwide.
4-H operates as a partnership between federal, state, and local authorities. Federal leadership is provided by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture. State-level leadership is provided by each state's land-grant university. Local 4-H programs are facilitated through county-based Extension staff.
History
The foundations of 4-H began in 1902 with the work of several people in different parts of the United States. The focal point of 4-H has been the idea of practical and hands-on learning, which came from the desire to make public school education more connected to rural life. Early programs incorporated both public and private resources. 4-H was founded with the purpose of instructing rural youth in improved farming and farm-homemaking practices. By the 1970s, it was broadening its goals to cover a full range of youth, including minorities, and a wide range of life experiences.During this time, researchers at experiment stations of the land-grant universities and USDA saw that adults in the farming community did not readily accept new agricultural discoveries. However, educators found that youth would experiment with these new ideas and then share their experiences and successes with the adults. As a result, rural youth programs became a way to introduce new agriculture technology to the adults.
Club work began wherever a public-spirited person did something to give rural children respect for themselves and their ways of life and it is very difficult to credit one sole individual. Instances of work with rural boys and girls can be found all throughout the 19th century. In the spring of 1882, Delaware College announced a statewide corn contest for boys, in which each boy was to plant a quarter of an acre, according to instructions sent out from the college, and cash prizes, certificates, and subscriptions to the American Agriculturist were rewarded.
In 1892, in an effort to improve the Kewaunee County Fair, Ransom Asa Moore, the president of the Kewaunee Fair, the Agricultural Society, and Superintendent of the Kewaunee County Schools in Wisconsin, organized a "youth movement", which he called "Young People's Contest Clubs", in which he solicited the support of 6,000 young farm folks to produce and exhibit fruits, vegetables, and livestock. The fairs were quite successful. In 1904, while working for the University of Wisconsin–Madison and trying to repeat what he had accomplished in Kewaunee County over a decade before but with different intentions, "Daddy" R.A. Moore convinced R.H. Burns, then Superintendent of Schools of Richland County, Wisconsin, to have the Richland County Boys and Girls organize and assist in a corn-project activity to help market and distribute improved seeds to the farmers in the state of Wisconsin.
A. B. Graham began one of the youth programs in Clark County, Ohio, in 1902, which is also considered one of the births of the 4-H program in the United States. The first club was called "The Tomato Club" or the "Corn Growing Club". T.A. "Dad" Erickson of Douglas County, Minnesota, started local agricultural after-school clubs and fairs also in 1902. Jessie Field Shambaugh developed the clover pin with an H on each leaf in 1910, and, by 1912, they were called 4-H clubs. Early 4-H programs in Colorado began with youth instruction offered by college agricultural agents as early as 1910, as part of the outreach mission of the Colorado land grant institutions.
The national 4-H organization was formed in 1914, when the United States Congress created the Cooperative Extension Service of the USDA by passage of the Smith-Lever Act of 1914, it included within the CES charter the work of various boys' and girls' clubs involved with agriculture, home economics and related subjects. The Smith-Lever Act formalized the 4-H programs and clubs that began in the midwestern region of the United States. Although different activities were emphasized for boys and girls, 4-H was one of the first youth organizations to give equal attention to both genders. The first appearance of the term "4-H Club" in a federal document was in "Organization and Results of Boys' and Girls' Club Work," by Oscar Herman Benson and Gertrude L. Warren, in 1920. By 1924, the clubs were organized as 4-H clubs, and the clover emblem was adopted. Warren expanded the scope of girls' activities under the program, and wrote extensive training materials.
The first 4-H camp was held in Randolph County, West Virginia. Originally, these camps were for what was referred to as "Corn Clubs". Campers slept in corn fields in tents, only to wake up and work almost the entirety of each day. Superintendent of Schools G. C. Adams began a boys' corn club in Newton County, Georgia, in 1904.
4-H membership hit an all-time high in 1974 as a result of its popular educational program about nutrition, Mulligan Stew, shown in schools and on television across the country. Today, 4-H clubs and activities are no longer focused primarily on agricultural activities, instead emphasizing personal growth and preparation for lifelong learning. Participation is greatest during the elementary school years, with enrollment in programs and activities peaking in the 4th grade.
In the American South during the mid-1960s, 4-H began to broaden its programming to cover life experiences unrelated to agriculture. It merged its segregated African
American and white programs, but full-fledged integration proved elusive. 4-H was successful in removing gender-based restrictions on participation.
The organization is funded by the USDA and by state and local governments. The National 4-H Council's programs are also supported by a number of corporations including Google, Verizon, Microsoft, Land O'Lakes Inc., and Tractor Supply Co.
Past Honorary Chairmen of Council have included U.S. Presidents Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon B. Johnson, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, and Bill Clinton.
Pledge
The 4-H Pledge articulates the organization’s values and goals for its members. 4-H members traditionally recite the pledge at club meetings and other 4-H events. The 4-H pledge is:The 4-H Pledge was adopted nationwide in 1927. It was written by Otis Hall, a state 4-H leader from Kansas. In 1973, the pledge was modified slightly when the phrase “and my world” was added to the final line.
Emblem
The official emblem of 4-H is a green four-leaf clover. There is a white H on each leaf to represent the four values of Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The stem of the clover always points to the right. The emblem was initially designed in 1907 by O. H. Benson, the superintendent of Wright County Schools in Iowa. Some believe that Benson selected the four leaf clover because it represented the idea of “four-square education," an approach to education that emphasizes the balanced development of education, physical growth, moral character, and fellowship.Federal protection
The 4-H name and emblem were previously federally protected under federal code 18 U.S.C. 707, which was enacted in 1939 and amended in 1948. This act prohibited unauthorized use of the 4-H name or emblem, and entrusted the Secretary of Agriculture with its care and protection. This protection was a unique privilege shared by only a few national symbols such as the Presidential Seal and Smokey Bear. 18 U.S.C. 707 was repealed under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Title X of this Act, originally introduced as the Clean Up the Code Act of 2019, removed certain outdated provisions from the U.S. criminal code, including protection of the 4-H name and emblem.Youth development research
Through the program's tie to land-grant institutions of higher education, 4-H academic staff are responsible for advancing the field of youth development. Professional academic staff are committed to innovation, the creation of new knowledge, and the dissemination of new forms of program practice and research. Youth development research is undertaken in a variety of forms including program evaluation, applied research, and introduction of new programs.Volunteers
Over 500,000 volunteer leaders help to coordinate the 4-H program at the county level. Volunteers plan and conduct 4-H related activities, develop and maintain educational programs, or assist in fundraising. Activities include youth development programs, project groups, camps, conferences, or animal shows. The volunteers' goal is to help youth achieve greater self-confidence and self-responsibility, learn new skills, and build relationships.Volunteers are directed by 4-H's professional staff.
Additional programs
Afterschool
4-H Afterschool helps 4-H and other youth-serving organizations create and improve programs for students in communities across the U.S. 4-H Afterschool is an extension-enhanced program that:- Offers youth a safe, healthy, caring and enriching environment.
- Engages youth in long-term, structured learning in partnership with adults.
- Addresses the interests of youth and their physical, cognitive, social and emotional needs.
The life skills gained through 4-H Afterschool give children the tools they need for perceiving and responding to diverse life situations and achieving their personal goals. Participation in these quality programs which use experiential and cooperative learning have all been found to contribute to children's social development and academic success.