The Man Who Made Peanuts Famous: George Washington Carver
George Washington Carver was born into slavery on a Missouri farm in the early 1860s — his exact birth date is unknown. After the Civil War, he was freed, but his path to education was difficult. As a Black child in the segregated South, he faced extreme prejudice.
Still, Carver was determined. He walked for miles to attend school and was so fascinated with plants that neighbors called him the “Plant Doctor.” That curiosity turned into a life’s mission: to heal the land and help others thrive.
🌱 Carver’s Crop Revolution
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, cotton was the dominant cash crop in the American South. But planting only cotton year after year stripped the soil of vital nutrients. This led to soil erosion, poor harvests, and generational poverty for farming families.
Carver knew that rotating crops — planting different crops each season — could restore soil health. He recommended peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans. These plants add nitrogen to the soil, making the land fertile again.
Farmers asked, “But what can we do with all these peanuts?”
So Carver put his creativity to work. He developed over 300 new inventions using peanuts, including:
Cooking oil
Flour
Soap
Ink and dyes
Cosmetics
Fuel
And, of course, peanut butter!
He didn’t invent peanut butter (that credit goes elsewhere), but he made peanuts an essential part of American life.
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