Abstract
Andrea Wulf asserts in her book, Founding Gardeners The Revolutionary Generation, Nature, and the Shaping of the American Nation , that James Madison was the “forgotten father of environmentalism” in America. The purpose of my project was primarily to delve into this claim, and I concluded that Wulf was only partially right. Wulf primarily uses Madison’s Address to the Agricultural Society of Albemarle, May 18, 1818 as a basis for her claims. While this address is noteworthy for many features, I assert that it’s only part of a growing movement that started before Madison’s speech. From individual planter efforts, to agricultural newspapers and societies, to books, Madison joined a relatively small group of Virginia planters that were attempting to reverse the state’s steady agricultural decline. My project attempted to put Madison’s speech in the proper context of a Virginian agricultural movement that had other forgotten fathers.
Highlights
The second resolution required the secretary to forward a copy of the Address to the state Agricultural Society of Virginia.4 Why were these men and fellow Virginian planters so impressed by Madison’s words?
James Madison spoke these words almost two hundred years ago in an address to the Agricultural Society of Albemarle in October of 1817, further marking his place in history.1 The meeting was attended by more than thirty area farmers who carefully listened to Madison’s Address.2 Impressed by his words and reason, the Society immediately adopted two resolutions
Whilst all are sensible that agriculture is the basis of population and prosperity, it cannot be denied that the study and practice of its true principles have hitherto been too generally neglected in the United States
Summary
The second resolution required the secretary to forward a copy of the Address to the state Agricultural Society of Virginia.4 Why were these men and fellow Virginian planters so impressed by Madison’s words?
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