George Washington Carver: The Plant Doctor

By Arun Raman

Childhood

George Washington Carver wasborn into slavery in Missouri. At ayoung age George’s father died inan accident at a nearby farm. Hewas kidnapped along with hismother and sister at the age of one,but was left behind because of acold. He was brought back to theplantation and was taken care ofby George’s kind owners Mosesand Sarah Carver. After the war,since no school would allowAfrican Americans, Sarah Carvertaught George and his brotherJames how to read. As a child, heloved nature and enjoyed lookingat plants and animals.

School

For schooling, George traveled toNeosho, MO where he first went toschool. Neosho was eight miles awayfrom his home in Diamond, MO andhe walked all the way there. It tookhim until nightfall to reach Neosho.When he realized that the school wasclosed, he slept in a nearby barn. Inthe morning, George rented a roomfrom the owner of the barn who gavehim the name, George Carver.

At the age of thirteen, George Carverwent to study in Fort Scott, KS. Hesoon fled after witnessing a lynching.

After entering many schools,George Washington Carverentered Minneapolis High Schoolin Minneapolis, KS. In this school,he earned his diploma.

College

Carver applied for Highland Collegeand was accepted. He eagerly headedthere, but upon arrival he was turneddown. This was because of his race.Carver inquired why he was accepted tothe college if he was now being turneddown. The college said that it wasbecause they thought he was a whiteman and so they accepted him.

George was accepted to SimpsonCollege and was not rejected. This wasbecause the founder of the college,Matthew Simpson, believed in equalrights. In college, he was the onlyAfrican-American. When his art teachersaw that George was talented in art, sheencouraged him to study at Iowa State.

At Iowa State College of Agriculture, heworked as a custodian to earn a living. Atnight, he studied by candlelight. In 1894, heearned a college degree. This was a greatachievement for former slaves, but this wasnot the end! George’s professors wereimpressed with him, so they told him to geta Graduate Degree. George accepted it.Soon, he got a job as a teacher there.

Tuskegee Institute, AL and Farmer Help

Booker T. Washington wrote a letter toGeorge Washington Carver to direct theschool’s agricultural department.George immediately agreed. He packedhis belongings and headed south toTuskegee in Alabama. He did not haveany professional equipment, so he askedhis students to bring items such aslamps.

He also helped farmers. When cottoncrops were failing, he told farmers toplant peanuts. Some people laughed athim, but some listened to his advice.Now he needed to find new uses forpeanuts, such as lotion, milk, soap,paint, and gasoline.

Peanut Problem

When Chinese farmers saw how wellpeanuts were selling in America, theystarted exporting cheap peanuts toAmerica. People bought the cheapChinese peanuts, so the Americanpeanut farmers were badly losingmoney. They wanted the government toplace a tariff on Chinese peanuts, andCarver was the spokesperson. He hadonly ten minutes to speak, but thecommittee members begged for more.George convinced the government toplace a high tariff on peanuts

Rubber Shortage

During World War II,there was a rubbershortage. Henry Fordturned to GeorgeWashington Carver.He made the firstsynthetic, or man-made, rubber out ofsweet potatoes.

Death

In late 1942, George felldown a flight of steps. Henever recovered from hisfall. On January 5th, 1943,George Washington Carverdied. On his gravestone itread “He could have addedfortune to [his] fame, butcaring for neither, he foundhappiness and honor inbeing helpful to the world”

Family Members: Sister, kidnappedand never seen again; Brother;Father, died in accident; Mother,kidnapped and never seen again.Other family members?

Fun Facts: George WashingtonCarver created __________ frompeanuts. He did this because_________________________.

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1.PeanutButter,BodyLotion,Cookies,IceCream,VegetableOil,etc.

2.Heencouragedfarmerstoplantpeanutcrops,butpeanutswerenotuseful,soheneededtofindnewusesforthem.

How far you go in life depends onyour being tender with the young,compassionate with the aged,sympathetic with the striving andtolerant of the weak and strong.Because someday in your life youwill have been all of these.George Washington Carver

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