| MadSci Network: Botany |
Carver worked at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and for the U.S. Agricultural Experiment Station. He wanted to help farmers in the South live better and be more profitable. In the early 1900s, cotton was devastated by the boll weevil so Southern farmers needed other crops. Compared to cotton, the peanut was a much better crop to improve the soil because it fixed nitrogen plus it was a nutritious food that poor farmers could use to improve their diet. Carver wanted to create a greater demand for peanuts as a cash crop by using them in more products. Carver got a lot of publicity for the 325 products he made from peanuts but none of them was a commercial success. Carver also made 75 products from pecans and 108 from sweet potatoes but none of those products was a commercial success either. Carver's accomplishments were greatly exagerated even during his lifetime and still are. Many textbooks say that Carver singlehandedly diversified Southern agriculture but given that his products were not commercially successful, his inventions had virtually no impact on Southern agriculture. They did bring him great fame. One of Carver's real innovations was his school-on-wheels where he visited farmers and informed them of the latest farming practices. Carver won many awards during his lifetime and is probably still the best known African- American scientist. Carver lived frugally and saved most of his $1,000 annual salary. He used his substantial life savings to set up a foundation to continue his work. Carver's fame got a huge boost in 1921 when the peanut growers asked Carver to appear before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means regarding a tariff on peanuts. The tariff was to protect domestic peanut farmers from cheap imports. Carver so impressed the committee with his peanut products that he spoke longer than normal. Carver got a lot of the credit when the tariff passed and a great deal of publicity. However, the big peanut growers reaped the financial rewards. Probably the best biography of Carver is the one by Linda McMurray quoted in the first webpage. She explains how it is difficult to separate Carver's actual accomplishments from the many Carver myths. If you really want to learn about Carver's work, you would need to read his papers, which are available on microfilm. Some other frequent Carver myths: 1. Carver invented peanut butter. Actually, peanut butter was first sold in the 1890s before Carver even started working on peanuts. 2. Carver generously gave all his inventions to the public and his explanation was often quoted "God gave them to me. How can I sell them to someone else?" Actually, Carver set up the Carver Products Company to try to make money on his products but none were ever commercially successful. 3. Thomas Edison offered Carver $100,000 per year to work for him. Although Carver mentioned this in his speeches, he would not explain further when reporters questioned him about it, and Edison's company had no records to confirm such as offer was ever made. Edison died in 1931, well before Carver, so Edison could not confirm or deny Carver's story. References George Washington Carver, Jr.: Chemurgist George Washington Carver George Washington Carver websites George Washington Carver annotated bibliography The Papers of George Washington Carver History of Peanut Butter Boll Weevil and Southern Agriculture
Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Botany.