Kansas History - Winter 2021-2022
(Volume 44, Number 4)
Winter 2021-2022
"Connected Growth: Wheat and Tenant Farms in Kansas, 1880-1925"
by David Ress
The fast-paced contemporaneous growth of wheat and of tenant farms in central and western Kansas were distinctive trends from the late nineteenth century through the interwar years of the twentieth century. A challenging environment for crop production has been a usual explanation for the first; land speculation and disposition of lands granted railroads are usually explanations for the rise in tenancy. There was however, as this article argues, a link between the nature of the product and the options producers had to venture into its production. This link was inherent in the product itself: its markets, the transportation challenges associated with it, the processing required and the returns it yielded to primary producer and processor. For many Kansan farmers, the capital required to acquire their own land and necessary equipment was beyond their financial reach. For those Kansans (and out of state residents) with capital to invest, there were few practical alternatives to purchasing land to be rented.
“Get in There an’ Pitch”: Children and Teenagers on the Kansas Home Front
by Marilyn Irvin Holt
Early in World War II, Little Orphan Annie told America’s youth to “Get in there an’ Pitch.” They had a stake in the war’s outcome, and the home front needed young people to step up. The message was repeated innumerable times by adults, schools, youth organizations, slogans, and government-backed programs. As a result, Kansas children and teenagers collected tons of scrap materials for war-time manufacturing. They took the place of adults in agriculture, maintained Victory Gardens, bought war stamps, and raised money to purchase military equipment. Despite their active participation and the fact that they were urged to get involved, their role in the war effort is often overlooked in histories and studies of life on the home front. This article moves the young people front and center. It examines what they were asked to do, their contributions to the war effort, and its importance.
“Recognizing Historic Places in Kansas”
by Jamee Fiore and Patrick Zollner
This article examines how historical preservation programs (like the National Register of Historic Places) have enabled the preservation and interpretation of important sites in Kansas, ranging from Fool Chief’s Village to St. Mark’s AME Church in Topeka. The State Historic Preservation Office at the Kansas Historical Society receives many requests for evaluation from the public every year (more than sixty in 2020 alone), and these applications are reviewed by experts who research and consider each site, following established criteria related to the site’s significance and physical integrity. Properties listed in both the state and national registers contain important parts of our past that are still evident on our landscape.
Book Reviews
Book Notes
Index and Errata
