Trade between different groups of people develops when each has something the other wants. When Europeans arrived, American Indians traded furs for blankets, iron pots and firearms they could not make themselves. The first Midwestern American settlers moved beyond self-sufficiency quickly, feeding corn to hogs and shipping pork to eastern cities. Iowa farms became a food basket for the world, producing corn, soybeans as well as meat and shipping it around the world.
Agricultural products and farm equipment are Iowa's top exports. In 2019, Iowa was the second largest exporter of U.S. farm goods. Corn, pork and soybeans top the list of farm products. With the insatiable demand for energy, fuels produced from plant corn and soybeans (ethanol, biodiesel, etc.) have moved toward the top of the list of Iowa's most valuable exports in dollars. Iowa ranks in the middle of states for manufactured goods. Tractors, combines and other farm machines are also major Iowa exports.
In 2019, Canada purchased $4.2 billion in Iowa products, followed by Mexico at $2.3 billion. Japan and China were third and fourth. Tensions and trade barriers between nations can greatly impact a country's ability to buy and sell goods. Crop harvests in far-away countries like Brazil and Australia can impact prices for Iowa farmers. Automobiles account for a huge share of the dollars Iowans spend on foreign products. China, Mexico, Germany and Japan sell cars and car parts that end up on Iowa highways, but Canada is the overall top exporter to Iowa.
Iowa has also "imported" people. In the mid-19th century, immigrants from Northern Europe countries, like Germany and Ireland, flowed onto the Iowa prairies to establish farms, small towns, and river cities along the Mississippi. Toward the end of the century, there was a shift to southern and eastern Europe with the draw of work in the coal mines and meat packing plants.
Wars of the 20th century displaced families who looked to Iowa for refuge. In 1975, Gov. Robert Ray organized a resettlement program for refugees from Southeast Asia. He encouraged churches and other non-profit groups to sponsor families to find housing and employment and to learn English. Those who were fleeing wars in Bosnia and several African countries also arrived in Iowa. Immigrants from Mexico and a number of Latin and South American countries came to Iowa seeking employment, such as in meatpacking plants. Marshalltown, Sioux City, Perry and other towns came to have sizable populations of Spanish speakers.
Iowa may be in the middle of the country, but it is indeed part of a global world. It both buys and sells products on the world market. Its people reflect diverse ethnicities. Around the world, when people think of Iowa, they think farms, but Iowa is much more.
Trade: Responsibility on the World Stage Source Set Teaching Guide |
Printable Image and Document Guide |
This Traidcraft website describes what fair trade means. It provides a simple definition for students to use, as well as examples of fair trade practices.
After being struck by the overwhelming poverty she saw on a trip to Puerto Rico in 1946, Edna Ruth Byler was moved to take action. She believed that she could provide sustainable economic opportunities for artisans in developing countries by creating a vi...
This is an Iowa State Daily article about the store Worldly Goods, which is a nonprofit, fair-trade store that offers a variety of products from more than 40 different countries, including coffees, chocolates, clothing and jewelry. It also offers other un...
Herlinda Artola, who is making a wall hanging by 'painting with wool', a technique where vibrant colors of wool are woven to make a piece of art. She works with Ten Thousand Villages, a fair trade partner group Intercrafts, Peru, in Peru.
Artisan Daniel Doku, who is the owner of (Ten Thousand Villages) fair trade partner group in Ghana, Dan Beaded Handicraft. He is making a wind chime from recycled glass.
This document is the Fair Trade constitution that was passed at the University of Iowa (UI) in Iowa City. The university has been named an official "Fair Trade University" upon the passing of a student-led resolution that calls for a university ...
This open letter was written to the Fair Trade Certified organization thanking them for their help in becoming Fair Trade Certified. Since becoming a part of the Fair Trade community, this farm (Wholesum Harvest) has been able to re-invest in health insur...
The Korean War significantly affected the food supply in Korea. Heifer International stepped up to help with the situation. In this photo, each man is holding an example of the animals and insects that the Heifer Project was sending as aid to South Kore...
This two-page article published in The Berkshire News, August 1952. The text tells about 200 pigs flown from Des Moines to Korea by Northwest Airlines through the Heifer Project Committee and Christian Rural Overseas Program. The hogs came from several Io...
This excerpt from The Goldfinch highlights humanitarian efforts in Iowa. The document focuses on the work of Monticello students to participate in global peace.
This excerpt from The Goldfinch highlights the humanitarian efforts of Iowan Herbert Hoover's to help victims of war after World War I.
This excerpt from The Goldfinch highlights humanitarian efforts by Iowan Norman Borlaug, an agricultural scientist who focused his life's work on finding innovative ways to feed the global population.
This photograph shows children – Alberto Paz, Virginia Guzman, Dominga Castillo, Mario Castillo, and Junior Castillo – listening to recordings of their voices on a tape recorder. Each of the kids reads portions of a story to have their voices record...
This photograph shows an unidentified Vietnamese woman and child in the crowd of Vietnamese refugees Iowa recruited and welcomed to the state, in this 1975 photo from Des Moines. Iowa was the first state to offer resettlement assistance to refugees in 197...
Former Iowa Governor Robert Ray talks about his decision to bring refugees from Southeast Asia to Iowa to live in 1975.
Former Iowa Governor Robert Ray discusses Iowa's response to the Tai Dam refugees in 1975.
Clementine Msengi, a refugee from Rwanda who survived a war that killed nearly one million people in her country including most of her family, is featured in this Iowa PBS video.
Owner Paco Rosic calls his Galleria de Paco restaurant in Waterloo, Iowa, "the Midwest Surprise." Rosic is a graffiti artist and refugee from the Bosnian War of the early 1990s, and he created this art while lying on his back on industrial scaff...
This Iowa Public Radio broadcast is about how nearly 1000 refugees have been resettled in Iowa in 2016. Larry Bartlett, Director of Admissions for the U.S. State Department, says that while these new Iowans come from all over the world, the one thing they...
This article from Voice of America focuses on the work of Sam and Tricia Gabriel in Des Moines, Iowa. The Gabriels were resettled in Iowa from Liberia as children. They founded the Genesis Youth Foundation to provide services and mentorship to the childre...
This is an interview with Mihnet, who came to Iowa as a refugee from Bosnia. Mihnet was enrolled as a high school student in Iowa, and was featured in the PBS documentary, "Our Kids."
This brochure from the Iowa Bureau of Refugee Services outlines the responsibilities of Iowans who become refugee family sponsors.
This children's book focuses on nine children who share their family stories of immigrating to Iowa. Each journey begins in a different county.
This biography highlights the life of Edna Ruth Byler and her work to support free trade.
Find out the history of the Ten Thousand Villages organization that focuses on promoting the work of international artisans.
This article focuses on the work of Ten Thousand Villages, which has been a pioneer in fair trade and ethical practices.
This blogpost details the process that the University of Iowa became one of the first universities to commit to fair trade.
This letter was written in support of the TRADE Act in 2009 by the Sierra Club, a prominent conservation organization.
This website highlights examples of folklife throughout the state and provides a learning guide to teachers.
This interview is with former Iowa Governor Terry Branstad, who gives his perspective regarding refugees coming to Iowa.
This story from Iowa Public Radio highlights how two groups worship separately in their own primary languages, but come together, praying and singing in multiple languages, with interpretation provided by church members.
This article from the Iowa Center for Advancement reflects on a new humanitarian crisis, and Iowans sharing their perspectives on life as a refugee.
This Library of Congress audio highlights Day Day's life at a refugee camp in northwestern Thailand in 1991 until he followed friends to Waterloo, Iowa, and began work in a Tyson pork plant. He looks forward to the possibility of someday taking what he had learned in the United States (and in the U.S. labor movement) back to Burma to assist the people there.
This article highlights the hardships of refugees who work in meat packing plants during the pandemic and while surviving the 2020 Iowa derecho, a powerful storm that ripped through the state.
These three articles share additional information about Paco Rosic.
An organization developed for and dedicated to international fair trade.
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 fifth-grade students.
No. | Standard Description |
SS.5.14. | Explain how various levels of government use taxes to pay for the goods and services they provide. |
SS.5.15. | Explain how trade impacts relationships between countries. |