George Washington Carver, the legendary agricultural scientist and inventor, has received increasing local attention.
Indianola’s Simpson College, where Carver attended, recently held a celebration in his honor and awarded a medal named after him to Critical Race Theory propagandist.
February 1 is George Washington Carver Day in the state of Iowa, a holiday formally acknowledged by the Indianola city government.
There is a push to rename Highway 92 after Carver.
Liberals and progressives are trying to claim Carver as a DEI icon.
But what’s the real story behind George Washington Carver? Was he really progressive? What we uncovered challenges the narrative advanced by progressive commentators.
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Who was George Washington Carver?
In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a “Black Leonardo da Vinci.” This moniker reveals something of the genius and influence of George Washington Carver. But such distinction would not have been expected of young George when he was born on the first day of 1864.
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George was born a slave in our southern neighbor, Missouri. His master, Moses Carver, didn’t fit the political stereotypes of his day. He was a slave owner who supported the Union. As a result, he was almost universally disliked by his neighbors in the war-torn border state. After slavery was abolished in Missouri, Moses and his wife Susan raised George and his older brother James as their own sons. George would eventually take Moses and Susan’s last name.
While living in Kansas, there was another person named George Carver, causing confusion with the mail. In an effort to avoid confusion, Carver chose a random middle initial and asked to receive mail as George W. Carver. When someone asked if the “W” stood for Washington, Carver grinned and said, “Why not?” And thus he became George Washington Carver.
After attending Simpson College (more on that later), Carver graduated from Iowa State University (then called Iowa State Agricultural College). He was then recruited by Booker T. Washington to teach at the Tuskegee Institute (now Tuskegee University). From there his career blossomed.
A pioneer in crop rotation, Carver encouraged farmers to restore nitrogen to their soils by practicing systematic crop rotation: alternating cotton crops with plantings of sweet potatoes or legumes, such as peanuts, soybeans, and cowpeas. These crops both restored nitrogen to the soil and were good for human consumption.
Carver also worked to expand markets for poor farmers by discovering new uses for crops like peanuts. He worked hard to find organic ways for farmers to replenish the soil while still making a profit.
George Washington Carver’s work was publicly recognized by U.S. presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge, and Franklin D. Roosevelt. In 1916, Carver was made a member of the Royal Society of Arts in England, one of only a handful of Americans at that time to receive this honor. In 1920, he appeared as an expert witness before the United States House of Representatives, advising them on the trade war with China (apparently, some things never change).
Carver died in 1943 while sitting up in bed painting a Christmas card which said, “Peace on earth and goodwill to all men.” (Luke 2:14) He was buried next to Booker T. Washington at Tuskegee University.
On his gravestone it was written, “He could have added fortune to fame, but caring for neither, he found happiness and honor in being helpful to the world.”
What’s George Washington Carver’s Connection To Warren County?
Those of us in Warren County have a unique claim on George Washington Carver. After being denied admission to another school because of the color of his skin, Carver came to Indianola and studied art and piano at Simpson College.
It was his art professor at Simpson that noted Carver had a unique talent for drawing plants. She encouraged him to study botany, changing the course of his career and life.
Though often called “doctor” due to his accomplishments, Carver never earned a doctorate. He ended his formal education with a master’s degree from Iowa State. However, Simpson College awarded him an honorary doctorate.
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Carver always spoke fondly of his time in Warren County.
Those of us who live here have the privilege of literally walking where George Washington Carver walked. We can sit in the classrooms where he studied; traverse the paths that he walked.
It’s an important part of our local heritage.
Was George Washington Carver A Conservative?
The Left is trying to claim Carver as one of their own. But nothing could be further from the truth. While George W. Carver generally avoided partisan politics (his callings taking him elsewhere) he embodied multiple principles that are consistent with a conservative view of the world.
It should be noted that Carver was a lifelong Republican. But even more importantly, he exemplified two principles that are central to American conservatism: Christian faith and personal responsibility.
Carver was a committed Christian, having converted to the Faith when he was a young boy. He operated during a time when many people were insisting that the Christian religion and modern science were incompatible, with the outdated notions of Christianity being squashed by the force of contemporary science. But Carver always insisted the opposite was true.
On multiple occasions, George Carver testified that his faith in Jesus Christ was the only means by which he could effectively study art or science. He saw his scientific and artistic pursuits as an extension of his personal faith in Christ.
But for Carver, his faith was more than theory. It was highly practical. He compiled a list of “eight cardinal virtues” whose possession defines “a lady or a gentleman”:
- Be clean both inside and out.
- Who neither looks up to the rich nor down on the poor.
- Who loses, if needs be, without squealing.
- Who wins without bragging.
- Who is always considerate of women, children, and old people.
- Who is too brave to lie.
- Who is too generous to cheat.
- Who takes his share of the world and lets other people have theirs.
Not only does this speak to Carver’s high sense of morality, but his commitment to another conservative principle – personal responsibility. He challenged people to do things that would better their own lives.
One of George Carver’s life works was to help small and struggling farmers provide for themselves better (a cause Iowans can heartily applaud). But he did this, not through government handouts and welfare statism, but by educating farmers on ingenuitous and creative uses of their resources, by opening new markets for their products, and leveraging consumer demand.
Far from being a Leftist poster boy, George Washington Carver was a committed Christian, lifelong Republican, and advocate for personal responsibility.
Securing Carver’s Legacy
How can conservatives in Warren County re-claim George W. Carver as a part of our noble heritage?
Perhaps local conservative groups can host and sponsor a George Washington Carver Day event in 2027, highlighting his commitment to conservative principles.
Maybe conservatives need an alternative George Washington Carver award granted to a man or woman who embodies Carver’s “eight cardinal virtues”.
Somehow, Warren County conservatives need to reclaim the legacy of George Washington Carver, our local conservative legend.
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