State Historical Society of Iowa
Many Iowans tend to feel that important things occur and important people live "Somewhere Else." History has shown that this is not true. Iowans have made a significant impact on agriculture, technology and world events.
The American Midwest has been a world leader in improvements in plants, livestock and agricultural technology. Three names are especially significant. George Washington Carver graduated from and taught botany at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University), the first African-American appointed to the ISC faculty, before taking a faculty and research position at the Tuskegee Institute. There he developed a successful career breeding crops, especially peanuts, that could raise the income of southern African-American farmers. Henry Wallace was another Iowa State alumnus. Like his father and grandfather, he became editor of Wallaces' Farmer Magazine, where he promoted the use of hybrid seed that he had helped develop. He also served as vice president of the United States during World War II. Norman Borlaug was born in Howard County along the Iowa-Minnesota border. He became a leading proponent for the use of hybrid grains in developing countries, exponentially boosting crop yields in what became known as the Green Revolution. His biographers credit Borlaug with saving the lives of one billion people from starvation. For his efforts, he received the Nobel Peace Prize and was a driving force behind the creation of the World Food Prize centered in Des Moines.
Iowa has also produced an impressive list in the fields of science and technology. John Atanasoff was teaching at Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) during WWII when he invented the first electronic computer. Robert Noyes, a Grinnell College graduate, was the inventor of a computer chip that revolutionized the electronics industry and a co-founder of the very successful Intel Corporation. James Van Allen, an astronomy professor at the University of Iowa, discovered a radiation field around the earth that became known as the Van Allen Belt. George Gallup of Jefferson, Iowa, developed a statistical survey technique to sample public opinion with a high degree of accuracy.
Iowans have also led humanitarian efforts. Annie Wittenmyer drew together the efforts of women across the state during the Civil War to improve diets and care conditions in Union hospitals. Carrie Chapmen Catt headed the national organization that led the fight to grant women the right to vote. At the end of WWI, Iowa-born Herbert Hoover accepted the assignment to head up relief efforts to feed the starving in Europe until farms and the economy could be restored. His very successful efforts made him a revered figure for saving the lives of countless children through efficient food programs. Governor Robert Ray demonstrated Iowans' compassion when he promoted a resettlement program for Vietnamese and Laotian refugees. Many other Iowans have served in international relief and rural development projects to raise the standards of living among the world's poor.
Iowa has a distinguished record in agriculture, science, technology and humanitarian efforts. Residents in Iowa towns and cities readily volunteer for community service and relief programs that make their communities better places to live.
| Iowa's Connection to the World Source Set Teaching Guide |
| Printable Image and Document Guide |
These photographs show the Froelich Tractor in Iowa and South Dakota in 1892. The tractor was created by John Froelich, an American inventor who lived in Froelich, Iowa, a small village in northeast Iowa. His invention, shown in the photos, was the first ...
This document is a brief biography of John Froelich, who was inducted into the Iowa Inventors Hall of Fame in 1991. Froelich was an American inventor who lived in Froelich, Iowa, a small village in northeast Iowa. He is best known for inventing the first ...
This is a 2006 video from Iowa Public Television's program "Market to Market" that covered native Iowan, Dr. Norman Borlaug, receiving the U.S. Congressional Gold Medal. The video shows Borlaug, a world-renowned agricultural scientist, being...
Each year the Nobel Foundation awards its globally respected Peace Prize to an individual that plays an outsized role in promoting peace between nations. The 1970 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Norman Borlaug "for having given a well-founded hope -...
On May 1, 1942, the Iowa State Today radio show interviewed mathematics and physics Professor John Vincent Atanasoff and his graduate student Clifford Berry about their work on the Atanasoff Berry Computer, the world's first electronic digital computer.
This 1984 article from The Palimpsest focuses on the invention of the electronic digital computer by Iowa State College (now Iowa State University) mathematics and physics Professor John Vincent Atanasoff with the help of his graduate student Clifford Ber...
This Caltech Media Relations article documents the work of Clair Cameron Patterson, a geochemist born in Mitchellville, Iowa who earned degrees from Grinnell College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Chicago before spending his entire profess...
Clair Cameron Patterson was a geochemist born in Mitchellville, Iowa who earned degrees from Grinnell College, the University of Iowa, and the University of Chicago before spending his entire professional career at the California Institute of Technology (...
This document is the National Academy of Sciences biography for John Robinson Pierce, an American engineer and author. Pierce was born in Des Moines, Iowa, and he worked extensively in the fields of radio communication, microwave technology, computer musi...
This document is a 2017 article from the NASA website celebrating Peggy Whitson's return from the International Space Station and her record-breaking accomplishments. She and fellow astronaut Jack Fischer are shown speaking on the phone with President...
This document is a letter from Iowa humanitarian Annie Wittenmyer that was published in the Keokuk Weekly Gate City. This letter was to the Soldiers' Aid Societies of Iowa Ladies in 1861 and it shared the conditions for recovering soldiers from the Ci...
This document is a letter from Annie Wittenmyer to Iowa Governor Samuel Kirkwood that was published in the Keokuk Weekly Gate City in 1863. Wittenmyer outlined her efforts as State Sanitary Agent and the needs that remained in caring for Iowa's Civil ...
This is a letter from Herbert Hoover to Émile Francqui, who was a Belgian soldier, diplomat, businessman and philanthropist. In the letter Hoover reviewed the success of the relief efforts of the Commission For Relief in Belgium, which he directed, during...
This is a letter written by President Herbert Hoover's wife, Lou Henry Hoover, to her two sons in July 1932. Written during the Great Depression and President Hoover's re-election campaign, Lou Henry Hoover defends her husband from claims that he ...
Carrie Chapman Catt, who grew up in Charles City, Iowa and graduated from Iowa Agricultural College (now Iowa State University), was one of the key leaders of the women's suffrage movement and critical to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the ...
This 2017 video interview, produced by the State Historical Society of Iowa, features NASA astronaut and native Iowan Peggy Whitson. Whitson speaks about her illustrious career with NASA and the influence her Iowa upbringing had on her pursuit of going to space.
This issue of The Iowan Magazine focuses on the work of humanitarian and Iowan Annie Wittenmyer. The document features biographical information about Wittenmyer and a number of newspaper articles written to and by her.
In this article and video report WHO TV visits the Froelich Foundation and Museum in Froelich, Iowa
The museum's account of Froelich's invention and its connection to the Waterloo Engine Company and John Deere. Although a secondary source, it could be useful for teaching students the importance of sourcing documents.
Here is a biography of Borlaug and description of his statue found in National Statuary Hall in the U.S. Capitol.
This animated episode aired on Fox and the National Geographic Channel in 2014. It explores the methods and processes used to measure the age of the Earth and showcases Clair Patterson's quest to remove lead from gasoline.
In this brief video, Whitson identifies the three qualities that resulted in her becoming a ground-breaking and record-breaking astronaut.
This is a visual presentation of Glamour's profile on Whitson in recognition of her being named one of the magazine's 2017 Women of the Year.
A detailed biography, her obituary, and a history of the Iowa Soldiers' Orphans' Home that she founded are all available here.
This secondary source explains Herbert Hoover's humanitarian efforts during World War I as chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, his leadership of the Food Administration once the United States entered the war, and his post-war international relief efforts as head of the American Relief Administration.
On the 75th anniversary of the start of World War I, biographer George H. Nash spotlighted Hoover's remarkable achievements as chairman of the Commission for Relief in Belgium.
This is the compelling story of Iowa suffragist Carrie Chapman Catt, who devoted most of her life to the expansion of women's rights nationwide and around the world. She is recognized as one of the key leaders of the American women's suffrage movement. Her political strategies and organizational skills significantly contributed to the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution 100 years ago on August 18, 1920.
The Archives of Women's Political Communication is an online archives launched in 2006 by the Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics at Iowa State University devoted entirely to women's political speech. The archive houses the speeches and campaign advertising of U.S. women senators and representatives, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, governors and lieutenant governors, first and second ladies, and international women leaders. It also features the speeches of historically significant women, social activists and women who have used their position of celebrity to advocate for political causes. Iowa's first and only elected female Governor, (Kim Reynolds, elected 2018), Senator (Joni Ernst, elected 2014), and first Representatives (Cindy Axne and Abby Finkenauer, elected 2018) each have their own page that showcases their biography, speeches, and campaign ads. Carrie Chapman Catt herself is showcased by the archives. Her page contains a biography and timeline of her life, FAQs, and links to many primary sources.
Listed below are the Iowa Core Social Studies content anchor standards that are best reflected in this source set. The content standards applied to this set are elementary-age level and encompass the key disciplines that make up social studies for students 6th through 12th grade.
| No. | Standard Description |
| SS-Gov.9-12.19. | Evaluate the effectiveness of political action in changing government and policy, such as voting, debate, contacting officials, campaign contributions, protest, civil disobedience, and any alternative methods to participation. (21st century skills) |
| SS-Gov.9-12.22. | Identify and evaluate the contributions of Iowans who have played a role in promoting civic and democratic principles. |
| SS-Econ.9-12.21. | Explain why advancements in technology and investments in capital goods and human capital increase economic growth and standards of living. |
| SS-US.9-12.15. | Assess the impact of individuals and reform movements on changes to civil rights and liberties. |
| SS-US.9-12.22. | Evaluate the impact of inventions and technological innovations on the American society and culture. |
| SS-US.9-12.23. | Analyze the relationship between historical sources and the secondary interpretations made from them. |
| SS-US.9-12.24. | Critique primary and secondary sources of information with attention to the source of the document, its context, accuracy, and usefulness such as the Reconstruction amendments, Emancipation Proclamation, Treaty of Fort Laramie, Chinese Exclusion Act, Roosevelt's Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine, Wilson's Fourteen Points, New Deal Program Acts, Roosevelt's Declaration of War, Executive Order 9066, Truman Doctrine, Eisenhower's Farewell Speech, Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, Test Ban Treaty of 1963, Brown vs. Board of Education decision, Letter from a Birmingham Jail, and the Voting Act of 1965. |
| SS-US.9-12.27. | Evaluate Iowans or groups of Iowans who have influenced US history |
| SS-US.9-12.25. | Analyze how regional, racial, ethnic and gender perspectives influenced American history and culture. |
| SS-WH.9-12.26. | Assess Iowans or groups of Iowans who have influenced world history |
| SS-WH.9-12.23. | Critique primary and secondary sources of information with attention to the source of the document, its context, accuracy, and usefulness of sources throughout world history. |
