4-H

4-H boys showing prize heifers at a 4-H Fair in Charleston, West Virginia, 1921

4-H Home demonstration agents in Florida in 1933

4-H Club member storing food she canned from her garden, Rockbridge County, Virginia, ca. 1942

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.[5]

A brochure for the 4-H Forestry Program.

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. Thus 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.[6] 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 Agriculturalist were rewarded.[7]

In 1892, in an effort to improve the Kewaunee County Fair, Ransom Asa Moore, 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.[8] The fairs were very successful.[9] In 1904, while working for the University of Wisconsin–Madison and trying to repeat what he had successfully 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 (and beyond).[9]

A. B. Graham started 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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[12] 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 (cf., erstwhile Boys Clubs of America).[13] 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 (1875–1951) and Gertrude L. Warren, in 1920.[14][15] By 1924, these clubs became organized as 4-H clubs, and the clover emblem was adopted.[16] Warren expanded the scope of girls' activities under the program (promoting garment making, room decorating, and hot lunches), and wrote extensive training materials.[17][14]

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 southern United States, in 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.[18]

The organization is funded by the USDA and by state and local governments.[19] 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.[20][21]

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.[22][23]

Newspaper clipping of 4-H club members attending convention, Georgia, 1950

The 4-H pledge is:

I pledge my head to clearer thinking,
my heart to greater loyalty,
my hands to larger service,
and my health to better living,
for my club, my community, my country, and my world.[24]

Otis E. Hall wrote the original pledge of Kansas in 1918. Some California 4-H clubs add either "As a true 4-H member" or "As a loyal 4-H member" at the beginning of the pledge. Minnesota and Maine 4-H clubs add "for my family" to the last line of the pledge. Initially, the pledge ended in "and my country". In 1973, "and my world" was added.

It is a common practice to involve hand motions to accompany these spoken words. While reciting the first line of the pledge, the speaker will point to their head with both of their hands. As the speaker recites the second line, they will place their right hand over their heart, much like during the Pledge of Allegiance. For the third line, the speaker will present their hands, palm side up, before them. For the fourth line, the speaker will motion to their body down their sides. And for the final line, the speaker will usually place their right hand out for the club, left hand for the community, bring them together for the country, and then bring their hands upwards in a circle for the world.

4-H emblem in Oldham County in Vega west of Amarillo, Texas

The official 4-H emblem is a green four-leaf clover with a white H on each leaf standing for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health. The stem of the clover always points to the right.

The idea of using the four-leaf clover as an emblem for the 4-H program is credited to Oscar Herman Benson (1875–1951) of Wright County, Iowa. He awarded three-leaf and four-leaf clover pennants and pins for students' agricultural and domestic science exhibits at school fairs.[25]

The 4-H name and emblem had U.S. federal protection, previous under federal code 18 U.S.C. 707.[26] This federal protection made it a mark unto and of itself with protection that supersedes the limited authorities of both a trademark and a copyright. The Secretary of Agriculture is given responsibility and stewardship for the 4-H name and emblem, at the direct request of the U.S. Congress. These protections placed the 4-H emblem in a unique category of protected emblems, also along with the U.S. Presidential Seal, Red Cross, Smokey Bear and the Olympic rings.[27] The protections for the 4-H emblem were repealed by Title XI of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021.[28]

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.[1] Professional academic staff are committed to innovation, the creation of new knowledge, and the dissemination of new forms of program practice and research on topics like University of California's study of thriving in young people. Youth development research is undertaken in a variety of forms including program evaluation, applied research, and introduction of new programs.

Over 540,000 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. Volunteers' stated goal is to help youth achieve greater self-confidence and self-responsibility, learn new skills, and build relationships.[29]

Volunteers are directed by 4-H's professional staff.

The National 4-H Hall of Fame honors 4-H volunteers, extension professionals and staff employees, donors and others, according to a criterion of "significant impact on the 4-H program and/or 4-H members through the contribution of time, energy, financial resources, etc.".[30] The hall of fame was established in 2002 by the National Association of Extension 4-H Youth Development Professionals (NAE4-HYDP).[31]

National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland

Many conferences are held at various levels of the 4-H program for youth and adults. The National 4-H Conference, which was held at the National 4-H Youth Conference Center in Chevy Chase, Maryland, until it was sold in 2021, is the USDA Secretary's premier youth development opportunity to engage youth in developing recommendations for the 4-H Youth Development Program.

The National 4-H Congress is an annual educational conference that brings together 4-H delegates between the ages of 14 and 19 from across America to share cultural experiences and discuss important issues facing youth. This five-day event is typically held during the weekend of Thanksgiving and has been hosted in Atlanta, Georgia, since 1998. Throughout the conference, 4-H delegates attend numerous workshops, participate in community service activities, and listen to speakers in an effort to develop compassion and increase social awareness.[40][41]

Citizenship Washington Focus is a week-long conference offered for high school-aged students.[42] At the conference, students have the opportunity to learn how to be citizen leaders in their communities. Throughout the week in Washington, D.C., participants visit monuments, meet with members of Congress, and develop communication, leadership and citizenship skills.

The following national conferences are held yearly, and are focused on specific activities inside of 4-H:

• National 4-H Dairy Conference[43]
• Eastern National 4-H Horse Roundup[44]
• Western National 4-H Horse Roundup[45]
• National 4-H Shooting Sports Invitational Match[46]
• National 4-H True Leaders in Equity Institute[47]
• National 4-H Youth Summit Series[48]
  • STEM Summit
  • Healthy Living Summit
  • Agri-science Summit

Other conferences are held by regional and state entities for youth, for volunteer development, or for professional development for staff.

Some 4-H alumni credit the program with helping them in later life.[52]

• 4-H Shooting Sports Programs
• Boy Scouts of America
• Girl Scouts of the USA
• International Four-H Youth Exchange
• National Federation of Young Farmers' Clubs
• National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America)
• Rural Youth Europe

• Buck, Holly (2004). "'Amusements and Recreations... Makes Our Working Hours Profitable': Utah 4- H, 1940-1960". Utah Historical Quarterly. 72 (1): 69–84. doi:10.1093/whq/35.3.409.
• Holt, Marilyn Irvin (1992). "From Better Babies to 4-H: A Look at Rural America". Prologue: The Journal of the National Archives. 24 (3): 245–255.
• Holt, Marilyn Irvin. Linoleum, Better Babies, and the Modern Farm Woman, 1890-1930 (U of New Mexico Press, 1995).
• Keathley, Clarence R; Ham, Donna M. (1979). "4-H Club Work in Missouri". Missouri Historical Review. 51 (1): 209–220.
• Rosenberg, Gabriel N. The 4-H Harvest: Sexuality and the State in Rural America (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2015)
• Thompson, Ellen Natasha. " The Changing Needs of Our Youth Today: The Response of 4-H to Social and Economic Transformations in Twentieth-century North Carolina." (PhD Diss. University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 2012). online
• Wessel, Thomas R. and Marilyn Wessel. 4-H: An American Idea, 1900-1980: A History of 4-H (Chevy Chase, MD: 4-H National Council, 1982).

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 4-H.

• 4-H Website Official website
• Index of National 4-H Hall of Fame
• 4-H Canada