History of FCS

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  • "A Treatise on Domestic Economy" textbook was written

    "A Treatise on Domestic Economy" textbook was written
    Written by Catharine Beecher, this was the first FCS textbook recognized by the Department of Education. She ended up writing 33 textbooks total.
  • Morril Act of 1862

    Justin Smith Morril proposed this act. It made it possible for newly founded western states to establish colleges for their citizens. This, in turn, opened many opportunities to several thousands of farmers and other working people who were previously excluded from higher education in the past.
  • Land Grant Universities

    Land Grant Universities
    These were the institutions founded as a result of the second Morrill Act, which purpose was to extend access to higher education even further by providing additional endowments for all land-grants. However, this act excluded states that made distinctions of race in admissions, therefore, these land grants were created so blacks were also eligible to receive the funds. There is currently one Land Grant University in Arkansas.
  • Rumford Kitchen

    Rumford Kitchen
    This was developed by Ellen Swallow Richards at the 1894 Chicago World's Fair. In this kitchen, she served over 10,000 people lunch in over 2 months. On the menu, she provided people with the nutritional values and the cost per serving of each food item she was serving.
  • W.O. Atwater and the Bomb Calorimeter

    W.O. Atwater and the Bomb Calorimeter
    This apparatus was invented by W. O. Atwater, known as the "Father of Nutrition," to measure the heat given off during a reaction. This can be specifically used to determine the calorific value of foods and fuels.
  • Lake Placid Conference

    Lake Placid Conference
    This was the first collaborative meeting in the field of home economics where eleven leaders gathered at the Lake Placid Club in New York. This purpose of this conference was to discuss the lates advancements being made, and they adopted "Home Economics" as the name for this new field of study.
  • Smith Lever Act of 1914

    This act created the Cooperative Extension Service including FACS. It was ultimately an outreach program based through land-grant universities that worked alongside the Morrill Act to educate the rural Americans about advances in agricultural practices in technology.
  • Smith Hughes Act of 1917

    This act provided federal aid to the states to promote pre-collegiate vocational education in agri and home economics. The main purpose of vocational education was to prepare individuals for useful employment.
  • American Dietetics Association was founded

    American Dietetics Association was founded
    The first president of this association was Lulu C. Graves. She helped start this program, along with 57 others. Lulu and the others in this program were fully dedicated to helping the government conserve food and improve the public's health and nutrition throughout the corse of World War I.
  • Betty Lamp was Adopted

    Betty Lamp was Adopted
    This apparatus was made of either iron or brass, burned fish oil or fat trimmings, and had wicks of cloth. In 1926, the AHEA adopted the Betty Lamp as a symbol for the association. The name was derived from the German words "besser" or "bete," meaning "to make better." It symbolizes the bond of cooperation and the need of exact knowledge.
  • Hatch Act

    This was a federal law that was passed to limit certain political activities of any employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. This act ensures that both federal programs are administered in a nonpartisan fashion and that federal employees are advanced based on merit, not political affiliation.
  • School Lunch Program

    School Lunch Program
    The beginnings of this program were introduced by Ellen Swallow Richards, when she created the Rumford Kitchen in 1894. However, the work of this movement and many other things laid the foundation for the now nationally accepted School Lunch Program, which was made official in 1946. The main goal of this program is to promote the health and well being of the nations children by creating nutritional guidelines for schools to follow.
  • Vocational Education Act of 1963

    This act was created to help secondary school officials meet the needs of both youth and adults who must go to work before being able to obtain professional college training. Its main purpose is to provide high quality vocational education opportunities for ALL people in ALL communities in ALL occupations that require less than a bachelor's degree for job entry.
  • Vocational Amendments of 1968 and 1973

    This was the first vocational legislation to officially reference postsecondary students, and it extended set-aside funding for students from specific populations.
  • Vocational Amendment of 1976

    This promotion equal opportunities for women and girls.
  • Clara Williams- doctorate degree

    Clara Williams- doctorate degree
    She was the first African American to graduate from New Mexico State University. She was not allowed in the classroom, so all her notes were taken in the hallway. They also didn't let her walk to get her diploma. After this, she taught black students by days and taught their parents by night in areas of home economics. Years later, in 1980, New Mexico State University formally apologized for how she got treated as a student, and awarded her an honorary doctorate degree that was well deserved.
  • Carl Perkins Act

    The main purpose of this act was to provide individuals with academic and technical skills needed to succeed in a knowledge and skills based economy. It is also the principle source of federal funding to states and grants for then I provident to secondary and postsecondary CTE programs.
  • Food Guide Pyramid

    Food Guide Pyramid
    The Food Guide Pyramid was introduced by the United States Department of Agriculture in 1992. It shows the types and serving sizes for the foods we should eat every day to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
  • AHEA to AAFCS

    On this day, the American Home Economics Association (AHEA) voted to change the name of the profession to Family and Consumer Sciences (FACS). The association then became the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences (AAFCS).
  • From FHA to FCCLA

    The FHA- Future Homemakers of America was founded at a convention in Chicago in June 1945. The name was later changed to FCCLA- Family, Career, and Community Leaders of America. It is a nonprofit national career and technical student organization for individuals in FACS education in school from grades 6-12. The main goal is for members to make a difference in they families, careers, and communities by addressing personal, work, and societal issues through FACS education.