Have you ever wondered “Why the chicken crossed the road”? Ask yourself was the “chicken” courageous and adventurous or innocent and uneducated of the dangers of what might happen to him? Some men lead by example and others fallow in anticipation of an unforeseen out-come. How many times have you asked yourself “Who am I: Am I a leader or a follower”? And do you and I benefit from the innovative leadership skill and mistakes of others.
The men and women that forged their way across the unexpanded plains of the new frontier of the United States in the 19th century faced many obstacles. Guided by his will to survive and persevere; George W. Swink set out to make his new home better for himself and others. George W. Swink was a farmer and rancher that seen a problem with providing water to his crops and livestock in the new harsh arid climate. Injecting
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Would George W. Swink stop? No! The Lower Arkansas River Valley was growing vastly by now. What would benefit such a growing population that was now producing more than its share of alfalfa, cantaloupe, watermelons, onions, cucumbers and cattle that were all being shipped and sold commercially via the train and wagon coaches? The clever innovator the George W. Swink was brought the Honey Bee farms to the valley [ ]. This created more common wealth for the farming individual by helping to produce a higher crop yield and new grocer’s product (honey). With such an ever expanding community not everyone could be a farmer or rancher. Industry was evolving rapidly by this point throughout the United States. We have seen in the past that growing communities create their own problems. Some towns die out and others thrive. Economically and socially new ideas have to be endeavored to help prevent this problematic state. George W. Swink again rose for his modest shack and built the American Crystal Sugar Factory [ ] to help employ the hard working men and women of Rocky
Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.
This chapter in our nation's history begins on May 18th of 1933, the day when President Roosevelt signed the Tennessee Valley Authority Act. The purpose of this act was to fix one of the many socioeconomic problems found during the times of the Great Depression, and helping the entire Tennessee Valley region would essentially help a greater portion of the American Society (1). To do this, a central authority was created within this region that focused on the usage and development of resources within the entire area. The overall goal of this authority was to improve agriculture, industry, methods to protect against flooding, and the quality of life throughout the Tennessee Valley. What was created by this act quickly brought this change to
During the time period of 1865-1900 American agriculture changed greatly. Several components such as technology, government policy, and economic conditions caused agriculture to transform in the way it did. The main advancements in technology were new farming machinery and the growth in the railroad, both benefited the farmers grow and move crops. The government policies seemed to never favor the farmers, they passed laws making it harder for farmers to make a living. The economic conditions for farmers became rough due to the price of crops dropping from overproduction.
Leadership is the elaboration of group inspiration. One person entrusted as leader can implore the aid, and support of supporters in the accomplishment of a common mission. According to Gurdjian, Halbeisen, and Lane “Becoming a more effective leader often requires changing behavior. But although most companies recognize that this also means adjusting underlying mind-sets, too often these organizations are reluctant to address the root causes of why leaders act the way they do” (Gurdjian, Halbeisen, and Lane, 2014) However, today abundant businesses engross importance on the improvement of leaders. Some of the ultimate leaders were formerly followers, such as in instructive businesses. One aspect as leaders many have to contemplate in striving
During the early 19th century, especially before the American Revolution and after the War of 1812, American society has changed greatly. The North and the South followed different paths, gradually developing into two distinct and very different regions. And in the 1800s, the disparities between the two regions because of the difference in economic, social and political structure, continued to widen leading up to the Civil War that raged across the nation from 1861 to 1865 which concluded the decades of diverse ideas and culture between the two regions. The South’s economic were known vastly for its agriculture and farming. Its fertile soil and warm climate were ideal for large-scale farms and crops like tobacco and cotton.
Over the last 90 years the American farming industry has changed drastically in terms of farming techniques, advanced machinery, government farming policies, and chemical inputs. These developments have revolutionized the agriculture industry but every adjustment can bring about both positive and negative ramifications. Author and historian Paul K. Conkin gives a detailed account of the transformative years of early American farm life spanning from the early 20th century into the 21st century when increasing food prices rocked the nation and the early farm laborers struggled to keep up with the changing industry demands. Farmers faced hardships during The Great Depression which then fueled necessary changes in legislation that secured a farmer’s
Coal miners, working at reduced wages, were earning $5.42 per day” (49), “In 1975, when beef prices reached a fifty- year-high, the only job paying less than an agriculture job was a gas station attendant” (94), and yet they still wanted to be a rancher despite the money they were making. This statement is exactly what Lou Gehrig was talking about when he said, “The agriculture lobby is very strong in the state of Wyoming. So I don’t know if we’re going to be successful or not, but we’re going to give her a go.” The desire for agricultural stability is what created such a strong economic stance for
New England’s harsh soil and climate made one’s living from farming extremely hardening, and the ability of the New Englanders to overcome this is “an early American success story.” These crops that were difficult to harvest put a premium on the industry pricing and caused the famous frugality of New
At the turn of the 20th century, the United States had become the leading industrial power in the world, due to 19th century technological advances which escorted America out of an agrarian based economy and into the industrial revolution. However, this period of transition made life increasingly difficult for American farmers. For example, improvements to America’s railroads presented a competitive advantage to large crop producers while placing family farmers at a substantial disadvantage. Furthermore, the prices of crops such as cotton, once the keystone of America’s agricultural economy, were falling which made it more difficult for farmers to survive. Consequently, farmers were forced to mortgage their property. Although some of the farmer’s complaints about life in the early 20th century, such as national monetary policy were unjustified, railroads and other consequences of the industrial revolution posed serious threats to the way of life for farmers.
Even years later, survival on the land was difficult and the ranchers had to work at it every day. To prevent other cattlemen from stealing cattle form their herd’s Texan pioneers made barons for cattle. At Theodore Roosevelt’s National Memorial Park they sustained a herd of Buffalos; this was to conclude the extensive herds on the Plains (Ferris 45, 41). In the capital there was around four cents per reductions (Smart 142). In the mid-1970’s many of the land movement commenced which lead to more than five million cares national from advancements. Many groups had a budget for what they were going to spend, the grass banks had a funded that was granted and they received $160,000 (White 60, 119). Sheep rearing as well as farming itself were quite rewarding in this time and area. The running of the sheep and farm life had a very good living for heritage. Christopher Dyer says 20% at lowest was the profits that Stable’s received (Epstein 345). Before World War II many of the farms of family’s had flocks of chickens to pay the bills (Halberstadt 53). There were many problems that were in their way which they had to face. Many groups got grants from different developments which helped with paying off their gambling problems. Many of the acres were getting developed by houses and many buildings to form cities (White 78, 59). When deciding where you will hold your cattle the operation consists of finding natural boundaries such as woods and find steams which will provide food,
Nonetheless, by the mid 1880’s, it became too much for the markets to handle as more products were being produced than ever before, leading to the declining of prices and no real profit. Through the expansion of white agriculture, farmers faced many bumps in the road. As the rainfall increased in the 1870’s, farmers experienced a variety of troubles such as fencing their lands to enclose it and protect it from the herds of cattlemen. And because wood and stone fences were too expensive, they turned to the use of barbed wire. Another problem was water. The farmers relied heavily on the flow of water to their plantations from rivers and streams through the drilling of wells. However, after 1887, they experience a dry spell where some farmers were left to turn to planting dry-resistant crops and by using deep wells pumped by windmills. Nonetheless, such a big problem could only be solved with large scale irrigation, something the federal government wasn’t prepared to fund. Due to crop prices falling and production getting more and more expensive, thousands of farmers fell into debt that they cannot afford to pay and were therefore forced to leave their farms. Farmers were no longer self sufficient and became reliant on store bought supplies, bankers and interest rates, railroads, national markets and overall world supply and demand. Later in the 1880’s, overproduction of crops led to the declining of prices and caused millions of American farm families to fall into distress as the economy continued to decline. Furthermore, the farmers faced grievances surrounding railroads, institutions managing credit banks, loans companies and insurance corporations as it was harder to pay back loans, and unfair pricing as some goods cost more than others. American farming soon no longer was an image cherished by Americans, but was instead a declining operation competing
During the late nineteenth century agriculture drastically increased as a result of technological innovations. Transportation led the way in enabling more and more Americans with the ability to travel westward to farm and mine resources. Railroad systems also guaranteed the widespread distribution of goods that were produced in the west at inexpensive prices, which allowed for such big production rates on farms and exploitation of resources west (Nash 381).
In his fireside chat of 1937, President Roosevelt talked of the plight of the “Forgotten Man.” In 1935 California’s farmland, that forgotten man was the solitary transient, considered at the bottom of the economic and social ladder, spurned by the farmers as bums, tramps, and worse, labor agitators. A decade before, here were masses of these men working across the fertile farm lands- as they were necessary to reap the harvest. Now, though, just as the tractor and the combine harvester stripped the Great Plains bare, so did the machines strip these men of their living; 5 men working a harvester could do the work of 350.
In corporate America the term used to describe a person in a position of power is “Manager”. A leader can be a manager, but a manager is not necessarily a leader. Leaders motivate, challenge, and influence others to achieve goals. Great leaders have the necessary skills and attributes which allow them to connect with the team and organization. Being a leader is not the same as managing an organization. Leader’s posses the interpersonal skills needed to influence others to achieve a goal willingly. Leading is a major part of a manager’s job. Leaders do not need to be a manager to lead people, but managers must know how to lead as well as manage.
The word ‘leadership’ often times triggers a preconceived image of an ideal leader—typically accompanied by the aura that the effective leader should be at the top of the hierarchy, ready to produce the solutions to complex problems. However, this is not true of leadership, given that effective leadership is not achieved by position but rather through style and situational awareness. Examining leadership requires the consideration of the catalysts for different types of leaders. Popular leader development theories tend to focus on the natural servitude of the leader, his or her capability to manage, and leader behavior.