Our Illumination



George Washington Carver

Mostly, all generations have at least heard of George Washington Carver. However, most do not know to the extent the agricultural genius was. He was born on a farm adjacent Diamond, MO, but no one knows exactly when George was born. George, the son of Mary and Giles, was an innovator, a leader who “had an impeccable thirst for knowledge.”

Sadly, his father would never know his legacy as he died in an accident before his birth. Shortly after his birth, people guess to be around 1864, another tragedy occurred. He, his mother and sister were taken by men looking to sell them as slaves.

As a result, he and his mother would never see each other again, but the young Carver returned to the farm and slave owners he was stolen from, Moses and Susan Carver.

George Washington Carver was not a very strong young man. This imperfection would prevent him from working in the fields as most slaves were expected to do. Rather, he worked in the home and helped with the gardening. When he wasn't working, Susan would teach George how to read.

Because of the time he spent tilling the gardens, Carver grew an intense curiosity and fondness for plant life and eventually, residents gave him the nickname “the plant doctor.” He took this image seriously and the determined role model guarded it carefully. In fact, he did not write much about his years as a youth, but here's what we do know.

Becoming “The Peanut Man”

Aspiring to earn a career in science, Carver went on to become the first Black student ever to enroll at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. He later transferred to Iowa College, what we now know as Iowa State University. By 1894, Carver received his Bachelor of Science degree and two years later, his Masters in Bacterial Botany and Agriculture.

The news of Dr. Carver's position as the first Black faculty member of Iowa State University reached Booker T. Washington. Washington then asked Carver to lead the Agriculture Department at the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute (Tuskegee University).

Although he accepted the position, Carver found being at Tuskegee odd. You see, for most of his lifetime, he had only been around white men and women. Now, the farmer was surrounded by other dark-skinned and suspicious light-skinned individuals.

His job was to teach southern farmers a northerner's idea, “scientific agriculture.” The position proved difficult as these men believed they didn't need this re-education. It was because of this, many resented Carver and his plant's presence.

Not only were they reluctant to learn, but the other faculty members were covetous of his spaces in the dorm, expenses, and salary. He earned a yearly salary of $1000, which was well over the normal wages, not even $400 per year in some cases, while he did not have a family to support.

God's Plan for “The Plant Doctor”

If you believe in God as so many slaves were taught to do, you may believe everyone has a purpose or calling in life. George believed he was to train and to improve the lives of others, in particular, poor farmers regardless of skin color.

He knew they could improve the land and their livelihoods by recovering lost nutrients from planting cotton. To him, it was as simple as restoring nitrogen to the depleted soil using a specific system of crop rotation. Sounds silly, but it's not.

Carver would plant ½ acre of nitrogen-fixing vegetables where cotton used to grow and dramatically increase the number of bushels in a few years. Farmers now could sell 266 bushels whereas before, the count was only around 44. Later, they could plant cotton again.

Carver replaced lost nutrients without having to use enriched fertilizers which many of the farmers could not afford. With this in mind, the iconic botanist developed methods of planting food for the one-horse farmer.

Still, in order to help farmers financially, there must be a demand for foods such as peas, soybeans and sweet potatoes. Out of his research, Carver found uses for the by-products like vinegar, starches, flours, chocolate, sugar and even non-food items such as dyes, ink, and paints. However, this is not what made Carver nationally famous.

When Life Gives You Peanuts, Eat Them

In the end, George Washington Carver “discovered more than 300 uses for peanuts and hundreds more uses for soybeans, pecans and sweet potatoes.” The peanut was simple to crop, it gave back to the soil and was a rich source of protein in a time meat was not readily available to poor people.

Out of the peanut, Carver gave the world milk, cooking oil, butter, shampoos, hand lotions, and medicines. The inventions didn't stop there. According to the National Peanut Board, Carver continued to make foods from the peanut, but peanut butter was not one of them. You can attribute mayonnaise and coffee, rubber, plastics and charcoal to his discoveries plus a lot more.

Essentially, Dr. Carver helped pull the south out of a depressed economy as the original peanut farmer. He turned the peanut into a cash cow and a means to feed the southern family and their livestock. Want more on Dr. Carver's research? Read his publication on "How to Grow the Peanut and 105 Ways of Preparing it For Human Consumption."

Dr. George Washington Carver is a remarkable example of what you can become with a dream, passion, dedication, education, and work. He came out of one of the most incredible set of circumstances and became one of the greatest men who lived. No excuses.

Learn to do common things uncommonly well. George Washington Carver (1864-1943)

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Author, Hazel McDonald

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