New York State Boys' Working Reserve Pamphlet
Suggested Teaching Instructions
Document Description
New York State Food Commission's "New York State Boys' Working Reserve" pamphlet about the Boys' Reserve work program. The pamphlet was used to recruit males between the ages of 16-21 to work on farms during World War I, March 1918.
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 do nations attempt to satisfy their basic economic needs during times of war?
Check for Understanding
Describe the plan laid out in this document, explain the issue this plan addresses, and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan.
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 of 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?
Interdisciplinary Connections
Art: Draw an illustration for the front of this pamphlet.
English Language Arts: Write a paragraph describing your fictional experience as a farm cadet to be included in the updated New York State Boys’ Working Reserve Pamphlet.
Science: What technological advances existed in the early 20th century that increased the production of farms? What farm jobs still had to be done without the aid of technology? How did these conditions affect the lives of farm cadets?