Life and Career of George Washington Carver - Coursework Example

George Washington Carver

George Washington Carver was an African-American scientist who was born in about 1864 and lived up to 1943. Carver was born in slavery but overcame all the odds to attend school and later college to become a world famous scientist of his time. His most notable scientific work was about peanuts and their products which contributed a great deal to the growth of peanut business in the U.S from 1920 onwards. He also wrote several other papers in botany related topics and helped improve agricultural production for most farmers by advising them to practice crop rotation instead of continually planting cotton. Carver taught at the Tuskegee Institute for 47 years where he headed the agriculture department and participated in many research activities. George Carver Washington spend the later years of his life promoting his peanuts inventions and responding to questions pertaining his scientific works (McGee 16).

Early life

George was born in a black family to Mary and Giles who had been slaves for William P. McGinnis in about 1864 or 1865. His birth date is not exactly known since there are no exact birth records for him and his siblings. George had eleven siblings, but they all died at a young age. George’s parents had been slaves for William P. McGinnis but were bought by Moses Carver in 1855 for $700. When he was a young boy, they were kidnapped together with his mother and elder brother James. Moses Carver intervened to recover them but only managed to get the young George alone. After the end of the slave trade and slavery in the 1960's, Moses Carver and his wife Susan raised the young George and his elder brother and they encouraged them to learn. In fact, it is Carver and Susan who first taught George how to read and write at home since at the time blacks were not allowed to attend school (Collins et al. 5).

Elementary education

Due to his love for education and academics, George Carver as he was commonly known after adopting the name of his foster parents attended a black's school in Neosho, 16 Km from where they lived. After reaching that town, George decided to seek residence at the house of a certain woman who was very kind to him and after identifying him as Carver's George she gave him a house to live for free (Bolden 9). This woman, Mariah Watkins, noted the intellectual talent in the young George and encouraged him to pursue his studies to benefit the community later in life. Education for black students during that period was not easy, and George had to attend several schools in his elementary studies. For example when he was thirteen years he moved to Kansas City to attend to an academy there and live with new foster parents but soon left the city after he witnessed a black man been killed by a gang of whites. After a determined journey and attending a series of schools he finally attained his diploma at Minneapolis High School in Minneapolis, Kansas (Kremer 12).

College education

After completing high school, George Carver applied to many colleges to join his college education without success. He was mostly rejected because of his race. Many colleges at the time did not admit black students. In 1886 he was accepted at Highland college in Highland, Kansas but after identifying he was black the college also rejected him. Despite these rejections, George Carver had insatiable passion in education and research work. He rented a home and piece of land in Eden Township where he planted flowers and kept a collection of geology artifacts. He also participated in the planting of rice, corn, Indian corn a variety of fruits and forest trees in a 17 acres of land in his homestead. To fund his living expenses in the town, he occasionally did odd jobs to earn some income (Bacon 12).

In 1888 George Carver obtained an education loan from the bank of Ness City amounting to $300 that he used to enroll for an arts course in Simpson College in Iowa. It was in this college that George Carver’s journey to scientific studies and botany were conceived. His instructor at the Simpson College identified the young man’s interest in planting flowers and advised him to study botany to further his studies in the field he was interested in. after considering the advice of his professor, George began his degree in botany at Iowa State Agricultural College in 1891 completing his course in 1894 writing his thesis on the topic, ‘Plants as Modified by Man.’ (Hersey 245).

His professors in the college were very impressed by him and encouraged him to continue his studies and take a master’s degree. George Carver was convinced and for the next two years took his studies under Pammel at the Iowa Experiment Station where he carried out research in plant pathology and mycology. Carver was such a successful student in his research work that he became famous for his research and was immediately recognized as an accomplished botanist. Carver first became known as a botanist due to his research in the field of botany. The college honored him immensely and soon he was offered a teaching job at the institution. The initial scientific work of George Carver was as a botanist, but this was the opening chance for him to become a renowned chemist in his inventions later in life (Clark 3).

Teaching career

After completing his master's degree, George began his teaching career in the college but did not take long before being invited by Booker T. Washington to join Tuskegee Institute as a tutor. After joining Tuskegee Institute he was immediately made the head of the Agriculture Department. In full George Carver spend about 47 years teaching in the Institute where he helped develop the Agriculture Department to a major research center and also performed several research activities in various fields. George Carver organized mobile classes which he called ‘Jesup wagon’ where he taught farmers on rotational farming techniques as a substitute to the traditional cotton planting that had made their farms unproductive. Throughout his teaching career, he taught several generations of black farmers and students on modern farming techniques to increase their productions and become self-sufficient (Brown 3).

George Carver’s teaching career in Tuskegee was not without controversies and conflicts with his fellow lecturers and even the institute principle- Booker T. Washington. When Carver joined the institution, he was given a house to live that was bigger than the ones his counterparts were living. The unmarried lecturers were even living in pairs in the same room but Carver was given a two bedroom house that made his coworkers envious of his treatment and complained to the administration. Some even argued that he had studied in a white’s school and he was black therefore questioning his education qualifications (Hersey 241).

George Carver being the head of the Agriculture Department had been tasked with the role of ensuring that the institute's farm produced enough farm produce to sell and generate sufficient income to sun the department. George never performed this role to expectation and was thus summoned by Booker to explain his poor performance. Carver instead complained of being overworked both physically and in literature writing that made his job too difficult. He also faulted the committee's report as full of lies and threatened to resign if his performance was to be judged according to that report. That was not the only time Carver threatened to resign in his career, and he also issued ultimatums to terminate his career on several other occasions such as; when he got an opportunity to another station, when he disliked his teaching career and when he was denied classes between 1913 and 1914 (Brown 5).

Research career

George Carver began his research while still teaching in Tuskegee Institute in 1911. Although he showed poor leadership qualities as the head of the Agriculture Department, Carver was excellent in teaching techniques and research work. In 1911 he wrote to the institution’s principle requesting for expansion of his laboratory. He had also requested for the laboratory to be equipped with more equipment and requirements for research activities. Booker Washington, however, did not heed to Carver's requests but Carver still remained focused in his research, and after the death of Booker Washington, he was relieved of his administrative duties allowing him sufficient time for scientific research. Carver performed research in agricultural products such as peanuts, sweet potatoes, pecans, soya beans and other crops between 1915 and 1921. He was particularly an agricultural chemist who helped develop modern farming in the U.S (Collins 6).

Peanuts research

The research in peanut was the greatest for George Carver because his research shaped peanut farming and business in the U.S and other parts of the world. Peanuts research started with the zeal to help farmers improve the nitrogen content in soils by practicing crop rotation to interchange cotton planting with legumes. Through this initiative, many farmers engaged in peanut farming and at the same time Carver carried out detailed research in peanut products and how they can be processed and used for diverse uses. This approach resulted in increased crop yields and Carver also began public mobile training in Alabama like he had done in Iowa State (Hersey 260). In order to popularize this new crop be founded an industrial research institute where numerous applications of peanuts were developed through thorough scientific research. In his research laboratory, he invented the production of peanut milk and oil that promoted the peanut trade in the U.S his works received recognition from three American presidents. Peanut companies also were started to process peanut into finished products which began growing in market demand in the years from 1920 (Doeden 23). As a chemist, Carver assisted the peanut company in processing its products in the most efficient manner and ensure that they earned trust in the market. His invention of the peanut oils that was used in massages to heal back aches was most phenomenal. Many people at the time believed that peanut oil helped heal their back problems (Brown 4)

At the height of his scientific research work, Carver worked as an agricultural chemist improving agricultural production for many farmers across America. He also received recognition from three American presidents for his scientific input in the field of agriculture. Through his scientific work nitrogen was increased in soils and farms became more productive (Vicky 8). He offered tutorials and recipes for farmers advising them how to practice profitable farming. The incorporation of alternative crops such as sweet potatoes was also a contribution of Carver in his research laboratory. As a chemistry scientist, he determined that continuous ploughing of cotton on the same piece of land depletes the nitrogen content and hence to reimburse the lost nitrogen crops such as sweet potatoes had to be incorporated in the farming schedule (Hersey 241).

Carver's scientific work was ranged from both botany to chemistry. He began by developing interest in flowers and later on to crop farming. As a botanist, he studied varieties of crops and understood their nutrient requirements as well as their potential yields in different soils. As a chemist, he analyzed soil samples to know that they had low nitrogen content. As a scientist, he identified the cause of the problem and proposed ways to solve the problem. His research work brought a milestone change in agriculture. He spends the later years of his life giving talks to agricultural organizations in different parts of America. He wrote articles and distributed them to farmers and agricultural associations also (Hersey 240).

Conclusion

George Carver was a botanist, chemist, and inventor who helped transform farming in America with proper application of his knowledge in botany and crop pathology to ensure increased crop yields. He used his knowledge in soil chemistry to reduce nitrogen loss in soil by introducing crop rotation. He contributed to self-sufficiency by introducing crops such as sweet potatoes that supplemented the food budget in their diet. Mostly he will be remembered for reviving agriculture during the great depression period through his scientific invention of diverse uses of various crops this promoting their farming.

College education

After completing high school, George Carver applied to many colleges to join his college education without success. He was mostly rejected because of his race. Many colleges at the time did not admit black students. In 1886 he was accepted at Highland college in Highland, Kansas but after identifying he was black the college also rejected him. Despite these rejections, George Carver had insatiable passion in education and research work. He rented a home and piece of land in Eden Township where he planted flowers and kept a collection of geology artifacts. He also participated in the planting of rice, corn, Indian corn a variety of fruits and forest trees in a 17 acres of land in his homestead. To fund his living expenses in the town, he occasionally did odd jobs to earn some income (Bacon 12).

In 1888 George Carver obtained an education loan from the bank of Ness City amounting to $300 that he used to enroll for an arts course in Simpson College in Iowa. It was in this college that George Carver’s journey to scientific studies and botany were conceived. His instructor at the Simpson College identified the young man’s interest in planting flowers and advised him to study botany to further his studies in the field he was interested in. after considering the advice of his professor, George began his degree in botany at Iowa State Agricultural College in 1891 completing his course in 1894 writing his thesis on the topic, ‘Plants as Modified by Man.’ (Hersey 245).

His professors in the college were very impressed by him and encouraged him to continue his studies and take a master’s degree. George Carver was convinced and for the next two years took his studies under Pammel at the Iowa Experiment Station where he carried out research in plant pathology and mycology. Carver was such a successful student in his research work that he became famous for his research and was immediately recognized as an accomplished botanist. Carver first became known as a botanist due to his research in the field of botany. The college honored him immensely and soon he was offered a teaching job at the institution. The initial scientific work of George Carver was as a botanist, but this was the opening chance for him to become a renowned chemist in his inventions later in life (Clark 3).

Teaching career

After completing his master's degree, George began his teaching career in the college but did not take long before being invited by Booker T. Washington to join Tuskegee Institute as a tutor. After joining Tuskegee Institute he was immediately made the head of the Agriculture Department. In full George Carver spend about 47 years teaching in the Institute where he helped develop the Agriculture Department to a major research center and also performed several research activities in various fields. George Carver organized mobile classes which he called ‘Jesup wagon’ where he taught farmers on rotational farming techniques as a substitute to the traditional cotton planting that had made their farms unproductive. Throughout his teaching career, he taught several generations of black farmers and students on modern farming techniques to increase their productions and become self-sufficient (Brown 3).

George Carver’s teaching career in Tuskegee was not without controversies and conflicts with his fellow lecturers and even the institute principle- Booker T. Washington. When Carver joined the institution, he was given a house to live that was bigger than the ones his counterparts were living. Read More