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William Sogg's Farm Cadet Essay, World War I, 1918
New York State Archives, NYSA_A3112-77_B3_F088_Sogg
Document Description
In 1917, the New York State Education Department began a program that allowed students between the ages of 16 and 18 in good academic standing to sign up and become Farm Cadets. Many teens jumped at the chance to become a Farm Cadet, and to leave their homes in the cities and towns and to assist with the war effort by replacing the laborers who had enlisted in the military and gone to fight overseas. From April-September, students worked on farms throughout the state and, in order to receive academic credit for their contribution, wrote an account of their time spent as a Farm Cadet. In this essay, William Sogg talks about the time he spent as a cadet, working on a farm in Marcellus, New York, 1918.
Questions
Where did William work as a farm laborer?
How did William help on the farm? Provide textual evidence from the essay.
How did William feel about his work on the farm and the pay he received? Provide textual evidence.
How do you think William’s work impacted the war effort and the local economy? Explain your answer.
Historical Challenges
How did New York State regulate child labor in the early 20th century? What jobs were children permitted to do? Did the state set restrictions on the number hours children could work? For the purpose of labor, at what age was an individual considered an adult? How did these rules or lack of rules relate to the Farm Cadet Program? Would such a program be legal today? Explain why or why not.
Interdisciplinary Connections
Art: Draw an illustration to accompany William’s essay.
English Language Arts: Write an essay about a time in your life that you helped an individual or group of individuals. Use the same format found in William’s essay.
English Language Arts: Write a poem about William’s life as a farm laborer using information from his essay.
Resources
Gilbert, Martin. The First World War. Harper Collins: New York, 1995.
New York Times article. ASKS NEWSPAPERS FOR AID.; Secretary Wilson Urges Them to Help Mobilize Farm, Labor. Mar 22, 1918, Friday Page 20, 480 words
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F04E7DF1E3FE433A25751C2A9659C946996D6CF
http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F04E7DF1E3FE433A25751C2A9659C946996D6CF
About this Activity
Lesson Topic:
Historical Context
The presence of over four million American soldiers in Europe meant the absence of those same individuals from the American workforce. Certain areas of the country noticed a significant decline in the number of active farms due to the absent farm labor. State officials feared that if too many farms became inactive during the war a severe food shortage would follow. New York State attempted to solve the issue of a labor shortage by enacting several programs which recruited workers and students into farm labor.
The Farm Cadet Program, also called the New York State Boys’ Working Reserve, allowed high school students to enroll as farm laborers. Farm Cadets could work on their own family farms or be placed on another farm in the state. The state required each farm cadet to submit an essay at the end of their service documenting their activities and the ways in which they contributed to the war effort. Although not old enough to fight on the battlefield, these individuals could provide the labor necessary to maximize food production for both the local communities and the world. Both the federal Food Administration and the state Food Commission promoted the idea that contributing to the production of food was both a public duty and a patriotic act.
Essential Question
How are the children of a nation utilized in times of war and conflict?
Check for Understanding
Describe William Sogg's experience and explain his motivation for his service.
